lang: en
Summary
Students at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill campaigned for the university to divest all holdings in companies operating in apartheid South Africa. After a year and a half of protests, shantytowns, sit-ins, and fasting, the UNC-Chapel Hill Endowment Board voted on October 1, 1987 to sell all stock in companies doing business in South Africa. The campaign achieved its goal of complete divestment.
Background
In 1983, the UNC-Chapel Hill Endowment Board agreed to stop investing in firms that rejected the Sullivan Principles, a code of fair business practices for companies operating in South Africa. Students formed the Anti-Apartheid Support Group in 1985 and demanded complete divestment, but the Endowment Committee refused in a 4-2 vote. The students then escalated their campaign in March 1986, seeking full divestiture for moral reasons.
What happened
On March 18, 1986, the Anti-Apartheid Support Group built three shanties in the main quadrangle; after negotiations, Chancellor Fordham allowed them to stay for a week [source: nv-database]. On April 7, after the shantytown had grown to nine shanties, university employees tore them down and five students were arrested for refusing to leave [source: nv-database]. In November 1986, students built another shanty and nine protesters chained themselves to radiators in business offices, but charges were dropped [source: nv-database]. The Board of Trustees rejected divestment in a 6-5 vote on December 12, 1986, though two trustees were won over by the worsening situation in South Africa [source: nv-database]. In February 1987, the board rejected a ‘Conscience Buying’ proposal [source: nv-database]. In May 1987, five students began an eight-day fast, and the Endowment Board chairman agreed to form a divestiture committee with students [source: nv-database]. On June 25, 1987, the committee decided the school should free itself from companies tied to South Africa [source: nv-database]. Finally, on October 1, 1987, the UNC-Chapel Hill Endowment Board voted to sell all stock in companies doing business in South Africa, citing the declining worth of investments and disproportionate time spent on the issue [source: nv-database].
Key people & organizations
- Robert Reid-Pharr
- Herman Bennett
- Helen Moore
- William Entwistle
- Marguerite Arnold
- Dale McKinley
- Chancellor Christopher Fordham III
- William A. Darity
- Clint Newton Jr.
- S. Bobo Tanner
- UNC Anti-Apartheid Support Group
- UNC Board of Trustees
- UNC Endowment Committee
Tactics used
The campaign combined shantytown constructions, sit-ins, picketing, fasting, and persistent deputations to create sustained public pressure and moral urgency, forcing the administration to repeatedly confront the issue. [source: nv-database]
Outcome
Verdict: won.
The campaign achieved complete divestment on October 1, 1987, when the Endowment Board voted to sell all stock in companies tied to South Africa, meeting the students’ demand. The board was convinced by the declining value of the investments and the disproportionate time and energy spent on the issue [source: nv-database].
Lessons
- Sustained nonviolent direct action, including shantytowns and fasting, can keep an issue visible and force institutional decision-makers to engage.
- Building alliances with sympathetic trustees and faculty can help shift internal votes over time.
- Highlighting the financial costs and administrative burden of maintaining contested investments can sway reluctant board members.
Sources
- Global Nonviolent Action Database —
[[nv-database]]
Disclaimer: Included as a teaching example of campaign craft, not as endorsement.
Sources & verification
nv-database— grounding: primary — license: link-only- Rewritten: 2026-06-25 via
worker_casestudies_v2.py