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Fifty years of support and participation in the drive toward democracy in South Africa has earned some recent recognition for a new Santa Rosa resident, both here and there.
The South African award bestowed upon George Houser is named for Oliver Tambo (left) , the African National Congress' president-in-exile during the years that Nelson Mandella was imprisoned. Tambo died in 1994. Non-violence was a consistent theme throughout his lifetime of political involvement, George Houser recalls, starting with his early participation in the American Civil Rights Movement.
The Peace and Justice Center of Sonoma County will hold their annual Community Celebration and Awards Ceremony--at which George Houser will be honored-- Saturday evening, Nov. 13 at the Sebastopol Veterans Building from 5-8:30 pm. A silent auction and no-host bar with hors d'oeuvers will precede the presentation of the awards, which begins at 7:30. Tickets are $40 at the door. Information at (707) 575-8902.
Bayard Rustin and George Houser (right) in a sit-in protest against segregated restaurants in Toledo, Ohio in 1947.
As Houser explains, South Africa was the only region on the continent that was claimed and colonized by the Dutch, who introduced the concept of apartheid, a state-controlled form of enforced segregation.
Houser, an ordained Methodist minister, was interviewed about the role of the clergy in pressing social justice issues on the PBS/ Tavis Smiley blog.
