American Committee on Africa (ACOA)
United States of America
The African Committee on Africa (ACOA) was formed in 1953 to support the liberation struggle in Africa. It grew out of the ad-hoc organisation Americans for South African Resistance (AFSAR), setup to support the Defiance Campaign of the ANC in 1952. It started with an office in New York City and opened an office in Washington DC in 1967. The NY office had a national focus and organised sanctions and disinvestment campaigns on universities, churches, states and cities. It merged in 2001 with AF and APIC to form Africa Action.
The Amistad Research Centre, Tulane University, holds the entire archive covering the period 1949-2001 and it includes the records of AFSAR. ACOA material can also be found in the collection of Mary-Louise Hooper (see below).
http://www.amistadresearchcenter.org/
The Penrose Library, University of Denver holds the magazines of the organisation, Africa Today, covering the period 1954-1998.
The African Activist Archive at Michigan State University Library holds the archive of Ms Mary-Louise Hooper who worked for Chief Albert Luthuli and, when forced to go back to the USA, worked with the ACOA and IDAF-USA.
Swarthmore College holds a small collection of the papers of AJ Muste, one of the founders of ACOA.
http://www.swarthmore.edu/library.xml
The Law Faculty at Florida State University holds a small collection covering the period 1980-1998 and contains publications, pamphlets and press releases.
The University of Cape Town Library holds the archive of the Amistad Research Centre on microfilm, covering the period 1952-1985.
