Standing Fast Against Apartheid

For people of faith, this is a call to action. The June 17 "March for the Children of South Africa" in Washington, D.C., will dramatize our response to the desperate cry for help that has been sounded by the persecuted churches in South Africa.

In that land of increasingly blatant injustice, more than 10,000 children have been imprisoned without formal charge trial since the state of emergency was imposed in June 1986, and peaceful organizations have been condemned as treasonous because they reject the cruel policies of apartheid. The South African churches are standing fast against the terror and violence wrought by an illegitimate government, and as a result have been targeted as its next victims.

"Let there be no doubt about it. The churches are under fire!" proclaimed Rev. Frank Chikane, general secretary of the South African Council of Churches. "We are determined to stand fast against whatever the South African government tries, but we will not be standing alone. I call upon all Christians of good faith to stand with us in our struggle for peaceful change in South Africa."

The call for support could not have been more clear. In the spirit of the concept of the universal church, countless persons of faith in this country will mobilize in support of our brothers and sisters who are facing the ominous prospect of martyrdom. As they stand in the shadow of the cross, we are called to demonstrate our spiritual solidarity with them. We can do nothing less.

The "March for the Children of South Africa" will be the culmination of the launching campaign titled "From Pentecost to Soweto." This campaign is sponsored by the South Africa Crisis Coordinating Committee, which formed after the tragic August 1988 bombing of Khotso House, the headquarters of the South African Council of Churches. Representatives from a wide variety of U.S. Christian denominations and traditions have come together to plan a long-term campaign titled, "Stand for Truth: Until South Africa is Free."

Black churches in the United States are playing a leading role in the campaign. A team of black church leaders went to southern Africa in a "Journey of Solidarity" and returned to convene in January a "Historic Black Church Summit" in Washington, D.C., that formally endorsed the campaign.

THE JUNE 16 AND 17 "SOWETO DAYS" will consist of a number of significant events in Washington, D.C.:

- Friday, June 16, is "Lobby Day" in support of Senate Bill 507, the comprehensive sanctions bill. The day begins with a 10 a.m. briefing, followed by a noon gathering on the steps of the U.S. Capitol building, and then visits to senators from 1 to 4 p.m. State councils of churches will coordinate the senate visits.

Sanctions are particularly crucial at this time, since several major bank loans to South Africa are scheduled for renewal this year. International sanctions could deny the apartheid regime as much as 25 percent of its operating capital.

- A "Service of Remembrance" to commemorate the 1976 massacre in Soweto, South Africa, and prepare for Saturday's activities will begin at 7 p.m. Friday at Metropolitan AME Church (1615 M St. NW). Rev. Allan Boesak, president of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches and an anti-apartheid leader in South Africa, will preach at the service, which will include nonviolence training. An all-night candlelight vigil at the White House will begin after the service.

- On Saturday, June 17, an 11 a.m. rally/service at the Sylvan Theater near the Washington Monument will feature musicians, entertainers, and religious and labor leaders who will "speak for the children" of South Africa. The ceremony will culminate in a "March for the Children" to the White House, where marchers will one-by-one call out names of apartheid's victims and demand an end to U.S. support of the South African regime.

The march will be led by American children bearing the names of their South African counterparts, followed by other constituency groups calling out the names of their South African sisters and brothers.

Finally, religious leaders from all over the country and from every major denomination will present the collected names at the White House, decrying government complicity with and corporate support for the heresy of apartheid. As Allan Boesak has stated, '"Constructive Engagement' is destructive engagement! Apartheid must end once and for all. We do not want our chains to be made more comfortable. We want freedom."

The body of Christ is under attack in South Africa. On June 16 and 17, we will rally to declare that such attacks are indeed an assault upon us all. Our cries of outrage will not be easily silenced, for we are determined to "Stand for Truth: Until South Africa is Free." The principalities and powers must come to see that further support of apartheid will be as politically impossible as it is morally corrupt. Let us march for the children of South Africa.

Michael S. Curry was Sojourners' executive assistant when this article appeared.