Peter Storey papers, 1958-2024, bulk dates 1963-2014

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Summary

Creator:
Storey, Peter John, 1938- and Human Rights Archive (Duke University)
Abstract:
Peter Storey, born in 1938, is a South African Methodist Minister who has been involved in anti-apartheid activism, social justice work, and Methodist ministry. The collection contains electronic records for organizational files, correspondence, articles, addresses, educational materials, and other assorted files related to his activities from 1958-2024. Subjects featured in the collection include activities within the Methodist Church of Southern African, the Central Methodist Mission, South Africa Council of Churches and other ministry work, anti-apartheid activism, Nelson Mandela, Gun Free South Africa, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, educational materials and speaking engagements, and the Seth Mokitimi Methodist Seminary, among others. Acquired as part of the Human Rights Archive.
Extent:
11.97 Gigabytes
Language:
Material in English
Collection ID:
RL.01260

Background

Scope and content:

Collection contains electronic records such as document files, spreadsheets, presentations, and image files spanning Peter Storey's career from 1958-2024. Materials include organizational files, correspondence, articles, sermons, lectures, addresses, educational materials, and other assorted files, many of which were scanned from physical versions. The collection documents Storey's leadership and activities within the Methodist Church of Southern Africa (MCSA), the Central Methodist Mission (CMM), South African Council of Churches (SACC), Gun Free South Africa (GFSA), and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). Subjects included in the collection are Nelson Mandela, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, P.W. Botha and the Khotso House explosion, urban ministry, crisis intervention, political violence and elections in South Africa, Storey's activities at the Duke University Divinity School, and the Seth Mokitimi Methodist Seminary (SMMS), among others.

Biographical / historical:

Peter Storey was born in 1938 in Brakpan, South Africa and educated in Methodist ministry from Rhodes University's Divinity School. After his graduation in 1959, he pastored in Cape Town and eventually was a chaplain at Robben Island Prison, where he ministered to political prisoners including Nelson Mandela.

In 1967, Storey became a Methodist minister in District Six just after the passage of the apartheid law called the Group Areas Act, which forcibly removed Black residents from the district. Storey's church, alongside other churches, mosques, and residents of the district spent the next several years protesting the forced removals and developing methods for resistance. Storey's advocacy and ministry work would continue in several endeavors during this period including the creation of Dimension , a newspaper for the Methodist Church that opposed apartheid policies, bringing the 24-hour telephone counseling center, LifeLine to South Africa, and the election as Vice-President of the South African Council of Churches (SACC).

By 1972, Storey was transferred to Johannesburg, and in 1976 appointed to the city's Central Methodist Church (later Central Methodist Mission or CMM). That same year Black South Africans, particularly students, protested a decree forcing them to learn and use Afrikaans in schools. The protests were later referred to as the Soweto uprising due to police brutality and violence towards the people in Soweto. Storey's activism throughout the uprising including solidarity services for SACC staff in Soweto, designation of the church as sanctuary for youth fleeing the police and seeking study spaces, and later his own statements about the events, led to the loss of 200 white members of the church. However, Storey drew in a diverse and politically engaged following. The CMM also became a center and sanctuary for anti-apartheid protests and memorial services, but also a target for bomb threats and government Security Forces.

As apartheid rule continued, Storey worked to raise awareness of the issues through political and social dimensions. In 1981, Storey was elected as President of SACC and worked alongside SACC's General Secretary, Bishop Desmond Tutu in anti-apartheid work within and outside of South Africa. This included delegations in 1984 to Europe, the United States, the United Kingdom, and the United Nations, successfully calling for pressure to end South Africa's Forced Removals Policy. But opposition to their work also led to tribunals, threats to SACC by President PW Botha, and the destruction of SACC's headquarters, Khotso House, in 1988.

Later, Storey became Presiding Bishop of the Methodist Church South Africa (MCSA), Bishop of Johannesburg/Soweto/West Rand area, chair of the Message Committee of the 1990 Rustenburg Church Leaders' Conference, co-chair of the Wit-Waas Regional Peace Committee, and was a Peace Monitor in Soweto for the 1994 election at the end of apartheid rule in South Africa.

It was at this time Storey founded Gun Free South Africa, which aimed to reduce the number of firearms in circulation in South Africa. After the 1994 election, Nelson Mandela appointed Storey as a member of the search committee for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. In 1997, Storey retired as a Bishop. However, Storey continued to stay engaged in ministry work and activism through publishing, lectures around the world, six years at Duke University Divinity School, and advising the first Truth and Reconciliation project in Greensboro, North Carolina. In 2006, Storey returned to South Africa, where he worked on planning, funding, and opening the Seth Mokitimi Methodist Seminary (SMMS) in Pietermaritzburg.

Sources: Rhodes University's profile on Peter Storey, https://www.ru.ac.za/media/rhodesuniversity/content/graduationgateway/hondocs/Bishop_Peter_Storey.pdf, accessed January 23, 2025; Duke University Divinity School profile on Peter Storey, https://divinity.duke.edu/faculty/peter-storey, accessed January 23, 2025.

Acquisition information:
The Peter Storey papers were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library as a gift in 2006 and 2014, and as a purchase in 2024.
Processing information:

Processed by Jill Katte, John Mayrose, Patrick Stawski, March 2007. Electronic records addition (2014-0189) processed by [Matthew] Farrell, September 2020.

Encoded by Jill Katte, March 2007

Physical materials in accession 2007-0038 in collection were deaccessioned and returned to donor by request in 2024. Revisions include updates to the inventory and notes. Most titles were retained with some devised based on the content of the materials or information provided by the donor.

Processed by Tere Elizalde, January 2025.

Accessions described in this collection guide: 2007-0039, 2014-0189, 2024-0171

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged into two series: North America Office Files and South Africa Office Files. Materials are arranged in original order from the donor.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Contents

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Restrictions:

Access restricted. Some materials in this collection include student records. In accordance with the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 as amended, Duke University permits students to inspect their education records and limits the disclosure of personally identifiable information from education records. Contact Research Services for more information.

Access note. Some materials in this collection are electronic records that require special equipment. Contact Research Services with questions.

Access note. Some materials in the collection are email messages and require additional screening. Contact Research Services for more information.

Terms of access:

The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the Rubenstein Library's Citations, Permissions, and Copyright Guide.

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Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Peter Storey papers, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University

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https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/m1p074