How Ron Dellums helped to launch South Africa’s black political parties

It was March 1990, and throughout the State Department’s Bureau of African Affairs, there was euphoria about the impending end of South Africa’s hated apartheid system. Nelson Mandela had been released after 27 years in prison. All of the banned political parties were legalized. Hundreds of other political prisoners had been released.

Secretary of State James Baker called me. At the time, I was serving as the bureau’s head in my capacity as assistant secretary of State. “I am going up to Congress to meet with the Congressional Black Caucus,” he told me. “They recently had a delegation visiting South Africa, and they want to talk to me about it.”

{mosads}We rode to the House Rayburn building together, where we met with five members of the CBC and their spokesperson, Rep. Ron Dellums, a California Democrat who died last week at age 82.

Dellums told us the caucus members were thrilled with their visit to South Africa, and the palpable atmosphere of liberation and end to political stress.

With political liberalization under way in South Africa, and to a lesser extent elsewhere, African political parties needed help getting started, he told me. Dellums was especially interested in Mandela’s party, the African National Congress (ANC). He said they were trying to get organized to negotiate with the existing white government for a transition to majority rule, while preparing for new parliamentary elections. The ANC needed material help, and Dellums recommended to Secretary Baker that the United States find a way to provide that help.

Secretary Baker replied that the United States should not get into the practice of interfering with the internal affairs of foreign countries by assisting political parties: “We just don’t do that sort of thing.”

Dellums’ response was a fascinating view of the interface between foreign policy and domestic politics. President George H.W. Bush, in the aftermath of the collapse of the Soviet Union, was interested in helping Poland economically as it was breaking away from Soviet hegemony. Bush proposed to forgive half of the debt Poland owed to the United States, in the amount of $50 billion, an arrangement that Congress would need to approve.

As Secretary Baker already knew, the vote in the House would be close. The amount of debt to be forgiven, $25 billion, was substantial in 1990. Then Dellums made an offer. The Congressional Black Caucus would unanimously vote for debt forgiveness for Poland, if the administration would seriously consider providing material support for the ANC.

Without blinking, Secretary Baker said, “Congressman Dellums, you’ve got a deal.”

In the days following, we found the funds necessary to provide modest support to the ANC. Congressman Dellums and I agreed that support would best take the form of physical supplies, including office equipment, furniture, vehicles and telecommunications items. He did not object to the argument that the U.S. government could not assist just one of the newly legalized African parties. In addition to the ANC, we would help the Pan-Africanist Congress and the Black Consciousness movement.

Thus, the late Congressman Dellums played an instrumental role in launching the South African black political parties as they embarked on their four-year negotiation for black majority rule under democracy. While I am saddened by his passing, I am pleased that he lived to see the democratic system that he helped establish flourish for 28 years.

Herman J. Cohen is former Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs (1989-1993), the U.S. ambassador to Senegal and The Gambia (1977-1980), a National Security Council member, (1987-1989) and a 38-year veteran of the Foreign Service.