Letter from Leon H. Sullivan to E. Bruce Heilman

Letter from Leon H. Sullivan to E. Bruce Heilman

This letter written on January 27, 1981 is one of a series of letters from Leon H. Sullivan to President Heilman. Sullivan asks for Heilman's reply to a previous letter requesting that Heilman use his influence to convince companies associated with the University to sign and implement the Sullivan Principles and encourage them to engage in a strategy of selective divestment for South African companies that do not adhere to the Sullivan Principles in order to put pressure on the South African government. Sullivan states that Heilman is "aware of the system of apartheid existent in the Republic of South Africa that denies basic freedom to a man merely if his skin happens to be black, or if he is considered non-white" and creates urgency around the situation and the necessity of Heilman's support in order to prevent an "armed confrontation" that would result in "great loss of life and unimaginable human suffering."

Letter from Leon H. Sullivan to President E. Bruce Heilman, 27 January 1981, RG 6.2.5 Box 23 "Sullivan Principles/South Africa", University Archives, Virginia Baptist Historical Society.

1981-01-27

English

UA6.2.5.23-19810127.JPG

Richmond (Va.)