Washington-Based Sullivan Foundation With Close Ties to African Dictator Reported Under Water

Hope Sullivan and Eq. Guinea dictator, Mr. Teodoro Obiang

 

A well-known civil rights foundation may have ended its operations after a scandalous fundraiser in Equatorial Guinea that controversially sought to “whitewash” that nation’s lawless dictator, Teodoro Obiang Mbasago.

A blogger for U.S. News and World Report, Elizabeth Flock, wrote this week that the Sullivan Foundation, named after the Rev. Leon H. Sullivan, had disconnected its phones and was not updating its website. Another organization, GoodWorks International, appeared to have taken over the space, she said.

Leon Howard Sullivan (October 16, 1922 - April 24, 2001) was a Baptist minister, a civil rights leader and social activist focusing on the creation of job training opportunities for African-Americans, a longtime General Motors Board Member, and an anti-Apartheid activist.

Over the summer, Hope Masters, daughter of Leon Sullivan, organized a fundraiser called Africa Rising but it immediately drew fire for its choice of location in the impoverished West African nation and for its disgraced host.

Africa-focused human rights advocates said a foundation committed to a better Africa shouldn't be hosting an event that promoted a dictator known for his human rights abuses. In her response, Masters described that criticism as "misguided rants" and argued that Obiang has "modernized his country and has implemented major political reforms."

Obiang has been known to use his massive oil fortune for political and personal aims. He recently invested millions in persuading the U.N. cultural agency UNESCO to create a scientific scholarship carrying his name. He also invests in media, buying full page ads in The New York Times and an entire issue of  a New York-based African Observer, to extol his dubious achievements.

A spokesman for Equatorial Guinea Justice (EG Justice) was quoted by the blogger to say: "To the extent that the organization worked as a positive force to bring attention and funding to education and health projects in Africa, its closing is unfortunate… But the Equatorial Guinea summit, "tarnished its reputation."

"One would hope that the Sullivan Foundation's good deeds will be taken up by other organizations," said EG Justice spokesman Joe Kraus in Flock’s piece, "who support governments “that demonstrate through actions their commitment to good governance."