30th Anniversary of Assassination of Oscar Romero

One of the commemorative posters from the Sanctuary Oral History Project Collection

Thirty years ago Oscar Romero was shot and killed while celebrating mass in the chapel of a hospital. The date prompts commemorative activities in El Salvador and across the world in recognition of his courage in confronting a repressive regime. Of course, he still has his enemies, who condemn him as a recruiter for Marxism and not as a martyr for human rights.

In the early 1980s, refugees from Central America became the focus of the Sanctuary Movement. Faced with civil war, military aggression and terror, citizens left the country and joined refugee camps in Honduras or traveled north to Mexico and then to the United States. US policy did not recognize Central Americans, or El Salvadorans, as qualifying for refugee status. Those who were caught were deported and returned to their countries. Becoming aware of the situation, churches responded to the needs of the refugees by offering sanctuary.

On March 24, 1982, five congregations in Berkeley and one in Phoenix, Arizona, publicly committed to "protect, defend and advocate for" men, women and children fleeing from Guatemala and El Salvador. Churches throughout the country joined in this movement. After protection was no longer necessary for Central American refugees, the movement continued, focusing on issues with immigrants from throughout the world

For the past few months, we've been adding materials from our collections on the sanctuary movement to our digital content site. Of special note are transcripts of 12 of the leaders of the movement, part of an oral history project begun by Eileen Purcell, one of the movement leaders.

We also have two very comprehensive collections of the movement: Gustav Schultz Sanctuary Collection, GTU 90-5-01; National Sanctuary Defense Fund Collection, GTU 98-9-04.

This Saturday, March 27, an Archbishop Oscar Romero Commemoration will be held at Grace Cathedral, San Francisco, beginning at 11 am. Carla DeSola and the Omega West Dance Company will be among the performers.

GTU Videos

The Graduate Theological Union : A Vision of Excellence, 1983 from GTU Archives on Vimeo.

The Graduate Theological Union : A Vision of Excellence, 1983. To view enter: GTU2400.

The Graduate Theological Union: A Vision of Excellence (1983) was commissioned by the GTU Development Office as part of the Capital Campaign to raise funds for the completion of the GTU library. The tape was produced, written and narrated by George Conklin and Linda McFadden. Among those interviewed are Mary Ann Donovan, JTSB; Benjamin Reist, SFTS; Claude Welch, academic dean; Bishop John Cummins, Diocese of Oakland; Joseph Asher, Rabbi at Congregation Emanu-El in San Francisco; William Herzog, ABSW; John Coleman, JTSB; Will Herzfeld, PLTS; Teruo Kawata, PSR; and Michael Blecker, president of GTU. This video, converted from a VHS tape, jumps and skips.

Voices of the GTU, 2001 from GTU Archives on Vimeo.

Voices of the GTU, 2001. To view enter: GTU2400.

Voices of the GTU premiered at the inauguration of James A. Donahue as President in February 2001. Produced by Kevin C. Koczela and Greg Tarin, the short film is a series of interviews with students and faculty explaining their experience at GTU. Those interviewed include Donahue; Margaret Miles, dean and vp for academic affairs; Judith Berling, former dean; John Dillenberger, former dean and president; Cheryl Kirk-Duggan, faculty; Ruth Ohm, student; Kirk Wegter-McNeilly, student; and Nancy Pineda-Madrid, student. The archives has the complete videotaped interviews of each person interviewed.

These are two of the videos from the archives. We also have three others that we have not yet received permission to post, but which can be viewed within the library:

Holy Hill was aired on KRON-4's local news-magazine program --30 Minutes: Assignment Four--on December 14, 1974. The report is anchored by Phil Wilson. Among the students featured are Alda Clark Marsh Morgan, wearing a headscarf, and Jacob K. Moody, with the glasses and short curly hair. Claude Welch, John Bennett and John C. Coleman are also interviewed. The original is on a Sony V-30H tape. This digital copy was transferred from the VHS show copy, which is a little jumpy.

A Holy Alliance: Part 1 The New Seminarian and Part 2 Devotion and Diversity ran on the CBS Sunday morning show For Our Times in 1984. The show was produced by Chalmers Dale and Pamela Ilott and narrated by Douglas Edwards. The show focuses on the changes in theological education at the Graduate Theological Union. There are interviews with presidents, deans, faculty and students from the various GTU member schools. Topics discussed include cooperation with University of California-Berkeley, minority clergy education, what it means to be in the ministry, the work of the church in the world and Catholic Religious Life.

My 20th century : the Graduate Theological Union aired March 30, 2001 on KTVU-TV 2, 10 o'clock news. George Watson produced and narrates this television segment which aired March 30, 2001 on KTVU-TV 10 o'clock news about the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, Calif., its history and in the present day. Shots of the present day are intercut with historical film footage about Berkeley. James Donahue, President of the GTU, Cheryl Kirk-Duggan, Assistant Professor of Theology and Womanist Studies, and Laura Kakis, Director of the Pacific School of Religion Choir are interviewed. The segment includes shots of the area, the GTU Library, classes in session, and a choir rehearsal.