Page 4 - Spelman Spotlight
Changes Made In African Policy
by Pam D. Moore
Demonstrators voice their opinion of the U.S. in Zimbabwe.
Photo by George Balams
Professors Discuss
U.S. Policy In Africa
by Avy D. Long
According to the U. S. Ambas
sador to Mozambique, Willard De
Pree, the United States has taken a
different attitude toward Africa
and a different approach to han
dling the problems of South
Africa.
De Pree spoke to a group of stu
dents and faculty in the Manley
College Center conference room at
4 p.m. Monday, October 23, dur
ing this visit to the campus. De
Pree’s visit here was sponsored by
the International Affairs Commit
tee of Spelman College.
De Pree said that during the
early 70’s when he was delegated to
work on African affairs under Kis
singer, he “tried mightily for two
years” without success to get Kis
singer interested in Africa. Neither
administration nor the American
public had any interests in Africa,
he said.
There existed, De Pree said, “an
entirely different set of priorities.”
As outlined by him, these priorities
were the prevention of a nuclear
war and the Middle East conflict.
According to De Pree, Africa was
viewed in terms of its relationship
to the Soviet Union and other for
eign matters, not in terms of the
“merits of the situation in Africa.”
The Atlanta University Center
Southern Christian Leadership
Conference (AUCSCLC) was
formed by a group of students in
March of 1977 during the Reginald
Eaves incident and the movie
“King.” The purpose of the
AUCSCLC is to help eliminate
apathy and bring about an aware
ness of the fact that although we as
blacks have come a long way, we
still have a long way to go. Accord
ing to the president of the organi
zation, Emmett Carson, “We as
black students are too comfortable
in our present situation. Although
things are easier now than they
were in Martin Luther King, Jr.’s
time, things are stili not as they
Today this policy no longer
exists, he said. America was losing
support of Africa, the Third
World, NATO, the Dutch, and
other nations because of its policy.
In addition, the coupe in Portugal
which pushed Africa to the front of
world issues, and the change in
U.S. administration also spurred
on this new policy toward Africa.
During the past administrations,
De Pree said that Africa was
viewed in terms of three issues:
Rhodesia, Namibia, and South
Africa. The policy, then, was to
handle each issue one at a time.
The Carter administration’s atti
tude is to attack all three fronts at
one time, which is to try to gain
Namibian and Zimbabwean (Afri
cans of Rhodesia) independence
while pushing South Africa to end
apartheid.
De Pree said that this new way of
looking at Africa has not won the
support of everyone in Washing
ton. “The debate is still going on,”
he said. And Congress has come
close to reinstating the Byrd
Amendment (which allows the
U.S. to trade with Rhodesia
against U.N. sanctions). This
would put the U.S. on the side of
South Africa and Rhodesia and
should be. Our environment is not
conducive to progress because of
the fact that blacks must try harder
and achieve more in order to sur
vive in a white society....Until
changes are made in our environ
ment, no progress will be made.
The main objective of the
AUCSCLC is to help students to
realize the condition we are in and
to attempt to change things by
nonviolent means such as demon
strations, boycotts, and the distri
bution of informative literature.
Thus, our main emphasis is on the
improvement of the black condi
tion.”
The AUCSCLC is forming four
main committees:
1) Church Committee~The pur-
damage U.S. relations with black
Africa, he said.
As of now, De Pree said that
Africans like the new changes in
African policy and also the
appointment of Andrew Young as
ambassador to the United Nations.
Young, De Pree said, “is exceed
ingly effective in dealing with the
Africans.”
Toward the end of his speech,
De Pree made three observations:
1) Zimbabwe (Rhodesia) will
be independent shortly and will not
settle for less regardless of what the
U. S. does.
2) The Africans are as dissatis
fied with terrorists acts as Ameri
cans are and do not urge their
people to do them. They view such
occurences as “a savage result of
war,” he said. One African leader
told De Pree that he would not
forego war for independence, and
reminded De Pree that 200 years
ago Americans took up arms for
independence. “I agree with him,”
said De Pree.
3) It is to the U. S. interests to
develop a working relationship
with Marxist governments. “Even
though Mozambique had opted
for Marxism and Leninism, we can
work together,” De Pree said.
pose of this committee would be to
help needy persons in various
churches by doing some undeter
mined manual labor service such as
cutting grass or heavy moving for
an elderly person.
2) High School Committee—The
purpose of this committee is to
motivate high school students to
obtain a college education ora spe
cialized job skill, thereby enabling
the students to become productive
members of both American society
and the black community.
3) Roots Committee—This com
mittee sets up forums on a regular
basis in which both well-known
and not-so-well-known speakers
relate their experiences with racial
(continued on page 10)
The procedure of the United
States policy toward Africa has
changed, but the content remains
the same, ” said Mr. Earl Picard,
instructor in political science at
Atlanta University. Picard and
other professors voiced their
reponse to a presentation made by
Willard De Pree, U.S. Ambas
sador to Mozambique. Instead of
focusing separately on Namibia,
Rhodesia and South Africa, the
Carter administration’s procedure
is to deal with all three countries at
the same time.
Picard said that the U.S. is try
ing to bring about a moderate tran
sition of power in Southern Africa,
and not a transition which would
give blacks complete political and
economic control.
“Before the Carter administra
tion the United States’ concern
was simply to stop the fighting and
placate blacks. This administra
tion is more concerned wtih the
real interest of blacks and not just
placating then,” said Ms. Jeanne
Meadows, a political science pro
fessor at Spelman.
Dr. Hamid Taqi, visiting profes
sor of political science and African
Studies and director of the Inter
national Studies Program at
Morehouse, said, “The ambassa
dor gave evidence of an apparent
conflict on policy between the
executive department and Con
gress.”
“White majority rule has gone in
Rhodesia. The pressing decision
now is what form the new govern
ment will take,” said Dr. Stephen
Goldfarb, assistant professor in
the department of history at
Spelman.
Picard sees United States policy
as a willingness to support a civil
rights struggle in Southern Africa.
The nature of this struggle would
allow for economic and political
participation by blacks but the
primary control would still be in
the hands of whites or moderate
blacks like Ndabongi Sithole and
Bishop Able Muzorewa.
He believes that the United
States is still not looking intrinsi
cally at Africa but is looking at it
from the standpoint of global com
petition between capitalism and
socialism. “A turn to socialism in
the Southern region of Africa is the
key to a turn to socialism in the
entire continent,” Picard said
Ms. Meadows agreed with a
statement by the ambassador in
which he stated that the United
States has come out strongly on
the side of blacks but has made no
tangible commitment.” The effect
of our economic interests there is
probably the reason for not mak
ing this commitment,” she said.
“Congress,” Dr. Taqi said,
“which is largely subject to busi
ness interest groups is keeping with
business group objectives; Con
gress sees only the short term
returns in adopting a particular
policy.” On the other hand, he
added, the executive branch has an
elaborate staff which can conduct
extensive research and offer more
accurate information for the Presi
dent to act upon. Thus, he focuses
on the long-term effects of a policy
which explains the conflict
between the two branches.
Congress nor the President is
any more than lukewarm towards
black majority rule in South
Africa, said Dr. Taqi. “Both its
economic and strategic interests
are at stake there,” he said.
Dr. Goldfarb said that the situa
tion in Rhodesia looks bad
because of the many different
(continued on page 9)
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Demonstrators rally in Hurt Park to protest lam Smith’s visit
to the U.S. Photo by George Balams
AUCSCLC Combats Black Plight
by Benita Clarke
