Press Releases

 Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) Chair Marcia L. Fudge (OH-11) and Members of the CBC will join an official Congressional Delegation to Johannesburg, South Africa to attend memorial services for former President Nelson Mandela on Tuesday, December 10.  Twenty-one Members of the CBC, including Chairwoman Fudge, will join the delegation. The delegation will be led by Congressman Aaron Schock (R-IL).

Since its establishment in 1971, Members of the Congressional Black Caucus helped lead the anti-apartheid movement in America, organizing rallies, participating in protests and sponsoring more than 15 anti-apartheid bills over 14 years. The CBC was also instrumental in the creation of TransAfrica, a foreign policy organization that brought attention to issues concerning Africa and the Caribbean, and that organized opposition to U.S. support of apartheid in South Africa.

In 1985, CBC Member Representative William H. Gray (D-PA), chairman of the Committee on Budget, introduced H.R. 1460, a bill that prohibited loans and new investment in South Africa and enforced sanctions on imports and exports with the nation. Congress approved this legislation one year later, and it became known as the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986. This legislation called for a trade embargo against South Africa and the immediate divestment of American corporations. The Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986 and the work of the CBC were critical to ending the racist and inhumane treatment of South Africa’s people by its government.

Read CBC Chair Marcia Fudge’s statement on the passing of former President Nelson Mandela.

Watch an interview with former CBC Member, Representative Ron Dellums (D-CA), who introduced the CBC’s first anti-apartheid legislation in 1971.

View photos of CBC Members with President Nelson Mandela.

###