Overview
| Repository: |
Yale University Divinity School
Library
409 Prospect Street New Haven, CT 06511 Email: divinity.library@yale.edu Phone: (203) 432-5301 |
| Call Number: | Record Group No. 102 |
| Creator: | Episcopal Churchpeople for a Free Southern Africa. |
| Title: | Records of Episcopal Churchpeople for a Free Southern Africa, |
| Dates: | 1961-1998 |
| Physical Description: | Total archival boxes 8; total linear footage 3.5' |
| Language(s): | Materials in English. |
| Summary: | The records in this collection primarily document the ECFSA's work in relation to Namibia. The ECFSA has served as a link between Anglicans in Southern Africa and people in the United States by publishing a newsletter, issuing news releases, sponsoring public meetings, preparing and publishing special reports, sponsoring speaking and study tours for Southern Africans, raising funds to support education and provide relief in Southern Africa, and providing aid and counsel to visiting Southern Africans. The organization has encouraged its supporters to contact U.S. political leaders regarding crucial issues. |
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| Finding Aid Link: | To cite or bookmark this finding aid, use the following address: http://hdl.handle.net/10079/fa/divinity.102 |
| Request Materials: | To view manuscript and archival materials at the Yale Divinity Library, please submit the request form at http://www.library.yale.edu/div/request.htm. |
| Catalog Record: | A record for this collection, including location information, may be available in Orbis, the Yale University Library catalog. |
Administrative Information
Provenance
Gift of the ECFSA.
Information about Access
Open to qualified researchers.
Cite As
Records of Episcopal Churchpeople for a Free Southern Africa, Record Group No. 102, Special Collections, Yale Divinity School Library.
Biographical Sketch
| 1956 | Episcopal Churchmen for South Africa, an organization of Episcopal laypeople, was founded, with headquarters in New York City "to support the work and witness of the Anglican Church of the Province of South Africa, particularly as it faces the doctrine and practice of apartheid." |
| 1966 | The international territory of Namibia, formerly known as South West Africa, was a mandate of the United Nations. In 1966 the U.N. stripped the Republic of South Africa of legal authority in the territory, but South Africa maintained de facto control over Namibia and continued to work toward annexation of the territory. |
| 1968 Jan 25 | Bishop Robert Mize was advised by South African Department of the Interior that his residence permit would expire in July 1968 |
| 1968 Sep 1 | The African community of the Old Location at Windhoek, capital of Namibia, was forced to evacuate by the South African government. |
| 1971 Jun 21 | World Court affirmed South Africa's presence in Namibia to be illegal and asked that the United Nations not recognize So. Africa's presence and administration |
| 1971 Jun 30 | Evangelical Lutheran Ovambo-kavango Church (ELOC) and Evangelical Lutheran Church (ELC) Bishops wrote an open letter to the Prime Minister asking South Africa to withdraw from Namibia on the basis of Human Rights violations |
| 1971 Jul 25 | Anglican Bishop Colin O'Brien Winter wrote statement in Support of ELC/ELOC letter |
| 1971 Dec 13 | General strike of African workers begun by contract laborers spread throughout country |
| 1972 Feb | Bishop Winter and two white assistants, Father S.F. Hayes and David de Beer, received deportation orders to leave Namibia by March 4 at noon |
| 1972 Mar 6 | UN Secretary General Kurt Waldheim visited So. Africa to talk to government about Namibia |
| 1972 Apr 2 | UN Security Council passed two resolutions reaffirming the occupation of Namibia as illegal and calling for conditions to enable the independence of Namibia |
| 1975 Jun 16 | Richard Wood (elected Suffragan Bishop in Damaraland after expulsion of Bishop Winter in 1972) received deportation order to leave Namibia by June 23 |
| 1975 Jun 22 | Bishop-in-Exile Winter ordained Roger Key and Edward Morrow and admitted James Kauluma as a deacon in England |
| 1975 Sep | Kauluma began studies at Union Theological Seminary, NY |
| 1977 | ECSA filed requests under the Freedom of Information Act with eight U.S. government agencies for disclosure of their relations with the South African Bureau for State Security. |
| 1977 May | Anglican, Lutheran, and Roman Catholic Churches made a joint statement on torture in Namibia |
| 1977 Oct 12 | Kauluma ordained as Priest in NY and elected as Bishop Suffragan following resignation of Bishop Richard Wood |
| 1978 Jan 17 | Consecration of Kauluma as Bishop Suffragan Elect, the first black Bishop in Namibia1978 JulRev. Edward Morrow, Anglican vicar general, his wife Laureen, and Rev. Heinz Hunke, provincial superior of Roman Catholic order of Mary Immaculate, received orders to leave Namibia within seven days |
| 1978 | Council of Churches in Namibia (CCN) formed |
| 1979 May 16 | Eight So. African Security Police raided and searched CCN offices looking for "banned literature" |
| 1980 | Reports of a death squad and death list organized by So. African government to kill prominent citizens |
| 1980 Nov 19 | Bombing of printing press of ELOC at Oniipa, Namibia, (had been previously sabotaged on May 11, 1973) |
| 1981 Jun 18 | Bombing of Anglican Mission Seminary Buildings at Odibo, Namibia |
| 1983 Feb 16 | The Executive Committee of the CCN sent two open letters: one to Members of the Western Contact Group and one to the Prime Minister of the Republic of South Africa |
| 1984 | Episcopal Churchmen for South Africa changed its name to Episcopal Churchpeople for a Free Southern Africa |
| 1984 Mar | Anglican, ELOC, and Roman Catholic leaders helped direct a court application for the release of 37 detainees abducted by So. African Defence Forces in a raid on Angola 6 years previously |
| 1986 Jan 23 | Arson fire destroyed CCN offices |
| 1986 Apr 29-30 | CCN meeting of major political and community groups that support UN resolution 435, resulted in the Ai-gams declaration |
| 1987 Aug | German Evangelical Lutheran Church withdrew from CCN |
| 1989 | CCN continued to work towards independence in conjunction with UN forces and others |
| 1990 Jan 29-30 | Namibian Core-group met in Switzerland, including representatives from WCC and CCN to celebrate successful implementation of UN Resolution 435, completion of repatriation of Namibian exiles, peaceful elections, and the development of a draft for a Namibian Constitution and to discuss future needs and problems |
| 1990 Mar 21 | Namibia officially declared independent from South Africa |
Description of the Records
While the ECFSA publications in Series V document its work throughout Southern Africa, the materials in the first four series relate primarily to the Namibian situation. The majority of the files in these series date from 1970 to 1990.
This record group provides valuable documentation of the political and religious situation in Southern Africa during the past three decades. The ECFSA newsletters and special reports, in particular, provide extensive factual information and analysis of the situation. ECFSA efforts to influence U.S. government policy toward South Africa are also documented. The extensive files relating to the Council of Churches and other church groups and organizations in Namibia provide detailed, grassroots documentation of events and situations. Since the offices of the Council of Churches in Namibia suffered an arson fire in 1986, some of the documents in these files may not be accessible elsewhere. Individual files for several African church leaders document their activities and influence.