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New National HI At K MONITOR Deeember. 1979 Focus on International and National Aspects of the “Andrew Young Affair’’ Y f *< / Andrew Young’s resignation last August as United States Ambassador to the United Nations brought to the surface a number of major Third World concerns. These includ ed (a) the ongoing American policy position in relation to black Africa, (b) the hitherto largely unspoken role of the Middle East on black American and Third World life, and (c) Black-Jewish relations in the United >_ States. Ry Andrew Young Perhaps oddly enough, Mr. Young—as he doubtlessly would have it—has moved into the background, as the issues which he would feel deserve attention have come into national and world prominence. Shortly after his resignation, Mr. Young indicated that he would probably go into public relations work and make his home once again in Atlanta. While the over whelming majority of United Nations leaders have been unstinting in their praise of Andrew Young’s almost unparalleled influence on U.N. life, sentiments regard ing Mr. Young’s positive role in global affairs have been the least praiseworthy in the American press. Thus former Ambassa dor Andrew Young returns to private life with the not altogether novel recognition that “a prophet is not without honor, except in his own country.” ...ON THE INTERNATIONAL SCENE ON THE NATIONAL 5CENE........ Page 4 Monitor Microscope A Close-Up View Os Third World Events*. So far as black African nations have been concerned, Mr. Young brought to the United Nations a fresh appreciation of the worth of darker-skinned peoples and a long-delayed recognition of the equal dig nity of all the member nations of the U.N. as a world body. When Andrew Young became U.S. Am bassador to the United Nations, most of the member nations still chafed under what they had remembered as the “cool and sophisticated racial arrogance” of United Nations Ambassador Adlai Stevenson. Stevenson —a former Democratic Party presidential candidate —had made a strong impression upon the American mind as a man of bold liberal persuasion. But, as Third World nations were to discover be fore the backlash of the mid-1960’s by black Americans toward what they per ceived as a hollow and patronizing liberal ism, Mr. Stevenson saw and treated blacks of whatever rank in the world in almost the Rudyard Kipling spirit, as “half-devil and half-child.” The negative American image and impress was further strengthened by what was seen as the racist antics and bufoonery of Patrick Moynihan during his chaotic and often notorious tenure as American Am bassador to the United Nations. Perhaps ironically, in the light of current events, it was during the tenure of Arthur Goldberg, a statesmanlike man of Jewish descent, that black and Third World sentiments regard ing the racial posture of the United States took on some positive dimensions. Have you given to Operation PUSH, OIC, SCLC, NAACPor the local Urban League this month? The entry by former Ambassador An drew Young into the world body brought for the first time for the United States a strong sense of positive commitment to principles and policies of reciprocity and mutual respect, and involving a truly global view of world affairs. During the period in which Mr. Young represented the United States at the United Nations, black Africa received the primary and most immediate benefits of his almost unique capacity to gain the attention of the press. Only an oil crisis of earth-shattering proportions and presidential involvement in Egyptian-Israeli peace negotiations could serve to shake black Africa from its place of perceived primacy, brought about by Am bassador Young. Perhaps more than to any one figure has credit been due to Mr. Young, for (1) a generally increased nationwide respect in America for the role of Africa in world political and economic life, for (2) a fresh and positive sensitivity to racism and the denial of political rights especially embed ded in southern Africa, and for (3) a per ceived willingness by the United States—for the first time in its membership in the Unit ed Nations—to reckon with the United Nations as a body to which it must pay at least respectful deference. These are major accomplishments. That the United Nations representatives saw Mr. Young as being by far the ablest American diplomat to have worked among them at the ambassadorial level was evident in the massive outpouring of tributes to his global influence given upon Mr. Young’s depar ture from his U.N. post. Black Americans perhaps need to be deeply sensitive to the unquestioned fact that world opinion sees in Andrew Young a man of unmatched greatness as far as Americans are concerned. Q At a meeting of world religious leaders shortly before Mr. Young’s departure, the positive tributes stood out—in marked con trast to the “damning with faint praise” at best of Mr. Young—so evident in the white American press. It may be that the white American daily press itself will be the loser. That a hitherto suppressed controversy con cerning blacks and the white daily press has surfaced, and will continue for some time, seems clear. IS 0® J* -= •= •' § B JL taaSatcnfaiKSr: Unfortunately, however, the Jewish community in the United States has been caught in the middle of this essentially unhappy debate. But there may be some crucially important positive elements. A growing number of black leaders have noted that black Americans may see, in what has been described by the Jewish community’s detractors as “Jewish domi nance of the American media” a clear sug gestion as to one possibly major means for blacks to move, as with the Jewish com munity, toward far greater power and peace in our community, where outside domi nance has had a tremendously negative influence on black Americans. □ As the months have passed since the initial furor over the precise manner in which Ambassador Andrew Young left his United Nations office, American Jewish opinion has begun to be increasingly posi tive. Perhaps most notable has been the ur bane and peaceable voice of the venerable international Jewish sage and statesman, Arthur Hertzberg of Englewood, New Jersey. A rabbinical leader without a pres ent peer, Rabbi Hertzberg has literally confronted the American Jewish establish ment for its attitudes of non-supportiveness or outright indifference, in many instances, regarding black Americans. ••••••••••••••(Continued on page 6.)