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ABUSA Works for Awareness
Twenty one years ago this week the student group ABUSUA was struggling to fight apartheid by demanding that Oberlin divest from companies in South Africa. These students also were trying, as we are today, to encourage retention rates of black students. As the editor at the time wrote: “If there is no struggle, there is no progress.” –The News Team February 28, 1986
ABUSUA was founded in 1968 as a Pan-Africanist/Black Nationalist organization committed to heightening the cultural and political awareness of Black students at Oberlin. Since then, ABUSUA has served as a support base for many Black students here, in addition to being a preserver of Black history by sponsoring a number of cultural, political and artistic activities... Currently co-chaired by Caprice Bragg and Calvin Walton, ABUSUA continues to be a very politically active group. Divestment from South Africa-related stock is still one of ABUSUA’s main goals this year. The group demanded divestment at a closed Trustee meeting last September. “We’ve been trying to get the College to divest for 17 years,” said ABUSUA’s Recording Secretary Carla Dozier. While the divestment issue remains the prime objective for ABUSUA, there are a number of important concerns on its agenda... Retention and financial aid are two more problems ABUSUA is working to remedy, according to Withers. “Too many people are in limbo because they couldn’t pay bills. It doesn’t matter if we bring in 100 Black students if we lose 90 of them,” he continued. “We have to keep students here for four years.” | ![]() |
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