Organization in Solidarity with Central America Records

Collection

Identifier: LR001627

Staff Only

The papers of OSCA consist of correspondence with public officials, activists, religious leaders, and national affiliates in the Latin American solidarity movement, organizing materials for local and national demonstrations, and many newsletters related to Latin American politics and popular movements. Also included are general membership and, Steering & Planning Committee minutes from Detroit CISPES, Detroit CASC, MICAH, and OSCA.

Important subjects in the collection: Anti-clericalism--Central America Assassins--Central America Contra War Detroit Area Coalition for Central America (DACCA) El Salvador--Politics and government, 1979- Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front Five Hundred Years of Resistance Coalition Human rights--Central America Offenses against the environment--Central America Latin American Solidarity Committee (LASC) Michigan Labor Committee for Democracy and Human Rights in Central America Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA) Nicaragua--Politics and government, 1979- Nicaragua--Revolution, 1979 Archbishop Oscar Romero United States--Federal Bureau of Investigation United States--Foreign relations--Central America--1979- United States--Foreign relations--Cuba--1959- Women guerrillas--Central America

Important correspondents in the collection: George W. Crockett, Jr. Bernard Firestone Morris Gleicher Auxiliary Bishop Thomas Gumbleton Doug Lent Maryanne Mahaffey Bishop Coleman McGehee, Jr. Jackie Rubio Rudy Simons

Dates

1977 - 1995
Majority of material found within 1980 - 1989

Creator

Organization in Solidarity with Central America (Detroit, Mich.) (Organization)

Language of Materials

Material entirely in English.

Access

Collection is open for research.

Use

Refer to the Walter P. Reuther Library Rules for Use of Archival Materials. Restrictions: Researchers may encounter records of a sensitive nature – personnel files, case records and those involving investigations, legal and other private matters. Privacy laws and restrictions imposed by the Library prohibit the use of names and other personal information which might identify an individual, except with written permission from the Director and/or the donor.

Extent

21 Linear Feet (21 SB)

Additional Description

Abstract

Formed through the merging of several Detroit and Michigan groups, the OSCA educated the public on Central American issues, particularly the human rights violations in El Salvador in the 1980s. Their papers represent the activities and writings of the Latin American solidarity movement.

History

The Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador (CISPES) was founded in 1980, the same year El Salvador’s five revolutionary groups united to form the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN), an armed guerrilla group, in response to increasing human rights violations committed by the Salvadoran military and death squads. Beginning in 1980, the Michigan Interfaith Committee on Central American Human Rights (MICAH), a faith-based solidarity organization, educated and organized the public on issues in Central America. Detroit CISPES and the Nicaraguan Network merged in 1985 to become the Central America Solidarity Committee (CASC). CASC and MICAH merged to form the Organization in Solidarity with Central America (OSCA) in 1993.

The fifteen-year civil war in El Salvador, which resulted in 75,000 deaths, ended with the signing of the Peace Accords in 1992. The FMLN then organized as a political party and participated in the 1994 elections. OSCA closed its office in 1995.