Description
Communications, newspaper clippings, publications, and press kits related to the University of California's divestment of
holdings in apartheid South Africa during the 1980s.
Background
In 1985, the University of California Board of Regents established the University Advisory Committee for Investor Responsibility,
which consisted of faculty, staff, students, and alumni across the UC system. The committee aimed to study corporate citizenship
in companies included in the university's investment portfolio, with a specific emphasis on reviewing companies associated
with South Africa. At the time of the committee's establishment, the University of California system had over $2.4 billion
invested in corporations that held business ties with South Africa, an apartheid country that institutionalized racism, segregation,
and oppression of black South Africans. In the spring of 1985, widespread protests across the University of California system
campaigned for divesting financial holdings in companies doing business with South Africa. The committee's efforts led to
revised University of California's divestment policies that specified the investment in companies in South Africa that were
in good standing of the Sullivan Principles. Named after Reverend Leon Sullivan, the principles aimed to ensure equal treatment
of black people in the workplace and improve the overall quality of life for black South Africans. The committee's first recommendations
led to the UC Regents' divestment from Eaton Securities, an electrical equipment manufacturer.
Restrictions
All applicable copyrights for the collection are protected under chapter 17 of the U.S. Copyright Code. Requests for permission
to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Archives and Special Collections. Permission
for publication is given on behalf of the Regents of the University of California as the owner of the physical items. It is
not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the researcher.