The State - News from July 11, 1985

The Oakland City Council voted to halt most dealings with companies that do business with South Africa. The policy, approved 8 to 0, covers city product purchases, service contracts and investments and would withdraw an estimated $158 million worth of investments from institutions linked with South Africa. Voting on the measure--strongly backed by Councilman Wilson Riles Jr., the only Oakland councilman arrested in recent San Francisco Bay Area apartheid protests--was interrupted, however, because of an anti-apartheid demonstration. The council adjourned for an hour to let the protesters cool down, and then returned to approve the divestiture.