The Foreign Service Journal, March 2003

the continent: There is no tradition of U.S. secretaries of State having any significant interest in Africa, although before the collapse of the Soviet Union, some countries like Angola or Zaire were fairly important Cold War battlegrounds. Africa was met with disinterest, and often disdain, by most who held the position before Powell. But now, says one diplomat, “If we want something we can say, ‘Let’s go to the secretary.’ We might not get it, but this is very different, very good.” The assistant secretary of State for African Affairs was as far as they used to get, he says. So, although it’s not enough to eliminate policy crit- icisms of, for example, the slow flow of money to the AIDS fight, what appears to be an emphasis on anti- terrorism and oil, and the imposition of conditionali- ties in the name of governance — it counts a lot that Powell is interested in Africa. Certainly it’s unusual. Twenty-five African heads of state and government have met with President Bush, so far. This has long been a key priority of Africa: getting the ear of the United States. Rightly or wrongly, African leaders credit Powell. The easy way — the temptation, really — is to try to explain the man, especially with regard to Africa, in terms of race. He is, after all, the first African- American secretary of State, and though a New Yorker, one with roots in the “Third World” — his parents were Jamaican immigrants. And, among Africans, there was pride and expectation on seeing that someone who might be considered “kith and kin” had secured such a powerful position in the U.S. government. During his first official trip to Africa in May 2001, Secretary Powell told allAfrica.com ’s Ofeibea Quist- Arcton: “There is a little bit of additional pressure and there are the expectations that are placed upon me because I’m black. But I’m secretary of State of the United States of America first .... So, I try to do what is right as secretary of State of the United States. But it will always be shaped, to some extent, by the fact that, even though my parents came from Jamaica, their parents came from somewhere off the west coast of Africa. So, there is a connection here and I’m sure that connection will always give me that little bit of added pressure to do what I can for Africa.” On that trip, Powell linked hands with young vic- tims of HIV/AIDS in South Africa’s Soweto township to sing, “Lean on Me.” No Free Pass But while this may be a necessary part of under- standing Secretary Powell, especially in terms of his relationship with Africa, it is not sufficient. He does- n’t get a free pass because of race. At the September 2002 Earth Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, he was booed and heckled by a vocal minority while speaking. There, as President Bush’s emissary, he had opposed targets and timetables on the use of renew- able energy resources, and had criticized Zimbabwe’s land policies as well as Zambia’s rejection of genetical- ly engineered corn. That same year, “with regret” Secretary Powell also pulled out of the Durban World Conference Against Racism. In a brief statement, Powell said he didn’t think a successful conference was possible. “I know that you do not combat racism by conferences that produce declarations containing hateful language, some of which is a throwback to the days of ‘Zionism equals racism;’ or supports the idea that we have made too much of the Holocaust; or suggests that apartheid exists in Israel; or that singles out only one country in the world — Israel — for censure and abuse.” Powell is, as he frequently notes, and as most who deal with him in an official capacity recognize, the sec- retary of State of the United States of America. There is a certain irony in the fact that the very position that elevates his stature and the hopes associated with his greater clout, also continually raises the question as to whether Africa’s interests are being best served. “He is the spokesman for a very insecure adminis- tration that is selling a crock of promises to Africa in a vain attempt to stall the rising discontent of the African people,” wrote one African editorialist, noting that for all of Powell’s criticism of Zimbabwe, he embraced Kenya’s Daniel Arap Moi, who “has ruled with an iron fist while his regime is mired in corrup- tion. But we must understand the rules of the game as it is played and directed by the United States.” F O C U S M A R C H 2 0 0 3 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 31 Charles Cobb Jr. is senior writer and diplomatic corre- spondent for allAfrica.com , the leading online source of news from and about Africa. He is the co-author of Radical Equations, Math Literacy and Civil Rights (Beacon Press, 2001), with civil rights organizer and educator Robert Moses.