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Inventory of the East Bay Sanctuary Covenant Collection
GTU 89-11-01
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Title: East Bay Sanctuary Covenant collection
Dates: 1974-2000
Bulk Dates: 1983-2000
Collection number: GTU 89-11-01
Creator:
East Bay Sanctuary Covenan
Collection Size:
3.8 linear feet (4 record boxes)
Repository: The Graduate Theological Union. Library.
Berkeley, CA 94709
Abstract: The collection contains the records of East Bay Sanctuary Covenant (EBSC) from 1982 through 2000. Founded in 1982, the organization
was created by local congregations to help refugees to the United States from El Salvador and Guatemala. By 2000, E BSC expanded
its mission to provide support for refugees from anywhere in the world and is still active.
Physical location: 1/C/2, 1/D/4
Languages:
Languages represented in the collection:
English
Spanish
Collection is open for research.
Copyright has not been assigned to The Graduate Theological Union. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts
must be submitted in writing to the Archivist. Permission for publication is given on behalf of The Graduate Theological Union
as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must
also be obtained by the reader.
East Bay Sanctuary Covenant collection, GTU 89-11-01. Graduate Theological Union Archives, Berkeley, CA.
Donated by Irene Litherland on April 10, 1990, and additional materials at a later date.
Biography / Administrative History
The East Bay Sanctuary Covenant (eastbaysanctuary.org)was formed in 1982 on the anniversary of the assassination of Oscar
Romero by five founding congregations. Based in Berkeley, CA, EBSC was founded to provide protection, support, and advocacy
for Salvadoran and Guatemalan refugees. By 1985 membership had grown to 25. Initially, refugees were housed among the covenanting
faith communities.
The congregations collectively established an office with a full-time Director, a Refugee Rights Coordinator, Health Services
Coordinator, a Direct Services Coordinator, and an Office Manager. EBSC circulated a newsletter, Exodus, as part of an Education
and Outreach initiative. The organization focused on Accompaniment, maintaining relationships with sanctuary groups on the
U.S.-Mexico border; Refugee Rights, providing legal services for asylum seekers from Central America; and Social Service,
recruiting healthcare professionals to provide services for the refugee population, and organizing housing and employment
opportunities for the population.
The Sanctuary Movement began during the Vietnam War when churches - some in Berkeley, CA - offered "the availability of shelter
and sustenance to military personnel who are conscientiously unable to continue their participation in the armed forces or
in combat duties."
A similar, but much larger, movement began in the early 1980's in response to refugees from Central America. Faced with civil
war, military aggression and terror, citizens began to travel north to Mexico and then to the United States. U.S. policy did
not recognize Central Americans, or El Salvadorans, as qualifying for refugee status. Those who were caught were deported
and returned to their countries. Becoming aware of the situation, churches responded to the needs of the refugees by offering
sanctuary. The movement lasted in vigor through the end in the 1980s. EBSC then expanded its services to include people from
all over the world. As of May 2015, the EBSC handles over 500 Affirmative Asylum cases.
Scope and Content of Collection
The collection documents the founding and activities of the East Bay Sanctuary Movement based in Berkeley, CA. The collection
contains office procedures, immigration resources, urgent action notices, news clippings, committee packets and minutes.
The collection is organized by date as follows: Series 1, Organizational files and services; Series 2, Exodus newsletter;
Series 3, Reports by Christian Urgent Action Network for El Salvador (CUANES); Series 4, EBSC Steering Committee packets
and Executive Committee minutes.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in
the library's online public access catalog.
Sanctuary movement.
Church work with refugees--United States.
Political refugees--Central America.
Asylum, Right of.
Christianity and justice--United States.
El Salvador--History--1979-1992.
Violence--El Salvador.
State-sponsored terrorism--Guatemala.
Victims of state-sponsored terrorism--Guatemala.
Gustav Schultz Sanctuary Collection, GTU 90-5-01
National Sanctuary Defense Fund Collection, GTU 98-9-04
The Sanctuary Movement Oral History Project, GTU 2009-3-02