africa today's yesterdays ii

Africa Today's Yesterdays IIAuthor(s): Edward A. Hawley, Mustapha K. Pasha and George W. R. KaluleSource: Africa Today, Vol. 26, No. 1 (1st Qtr., 1979), pp. 27-48Published by: Indiana University PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4185826 .

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Africa Today's Yesterdays 1I

Edward A. Hawley, Mustapha K. Pasha, and George W.R. Kalule

It has been both fascinating and frustrating to skim through 25 years of Africa Today to find the passages reprinted on the pages that follow. The fascination of reliving 25 years of history is self-evident. The frustration was in part anticipated, as we knew in advance it would be difficult to select a few short passages from such a wealth of material, and this proved to be the case. However, we had not realized the difficulty of finding passages from many of the best articles that were adaptable to representation by brief quotation. We resisted the temptation to summarize and have limited ourselves to using the direct words of the author, although we are aware this has meant leaving out many articles that long- time readers will recall.

For example, nowhere in these selections will be found any quotes from the four landmark issues on U.S. investments in Southern Africa. Vol. XI, No. 3, March 1964, "Partners in Apartheid: United States Policy on Southern Africa," was the first issue of Africa Today devoted in its entirety to a single theme, a practice that became increasingly common in subsequent years. Two years later, the January 1966 issue (Vol. XIII, No. 1) presented "A Special Report on American Involvement in the South African Economy." In 1970 the two most widely circulated issues ever released appeared: "Allies in Empire: The U.S. and Portugal in Africa," and "Apartheid and Imperialism: U.S. Corporate Involvement in South Africa" (Vol. 17, Nos. 4 and 5, July-August and September-October 1970). These two issues, produced after Africa Today Associates took over the journal from the American Committee on Africa at the beginning of 1967, were nevertheless produced in cooperation with ACOA. Though crammed with information previously unavailable in such a concise form we were unable to fairly represent any of them with a brief quotation.

Joining the executive editor in compiling this section are MtIStaplia K. Pasha and (;eorge W. R. Kalule. students at the Graduiate School of International Sttidies at thle Uniiversity of D)enver fromn P-akistani and Uganda respectively. Mr. Pasha has been oni Africa Today's part time staff for ahuilost three years. and Mr. Kaltlfe, formerly an executive in The East African Comnmunity. recently join-ed tIs as book review editor.

Vol. 26 (1979) No. 1 27



Similarly we were unable to find suitable short quotes from any of the many articles appearing from 1968 through 1971 about the black-white controversy in the African Studies Association that led to the formation of the African Heritage Studies Association and a continuing dialogue on political responsibility in ASA. Our first issue as a quarterly, January 1971, entitled "Academe and Africa," was on this theme.

Earlier, a great deal of attention was given to political developments in Nigeria. We have quoted from the fifth in a series of articles by Stanley Diamond on this theme, which resulted in a sharp exchange of letters in subsequent issues, and a further series of articles.

Although we are aware of our lack of success in covering the entire continent with consistency, we did find a surprising number of articles over the years on the smaller countries on the continent, on North Africa, and on francophone Africa, and regret being unable to fully indicate this range in the direct quotations.

One of the most delightful discoveries was the cover of the 10th Anniversary issue (ACOA's anniversary - November 1963, rather than Africa Today's) which we have reproduced for this 25th anniversary issue. Its meaning will be enhanced for all who have watched the two serializations of Roots, and it is also especially appropriate for the UN's "Year of the Child."

Those of us who made this survey, the other editors, the members of Africa Today Associates, would all like to take this opportunity to thank our predecessors in the editorial chair, Keith Irvine (who took over from George Shepherd and George Houser. who produced the early issues), Collin Gonze, and John Marcum, for erecting the solid foundation on which we have been able to build.

We begin our selections with a reproduction of the heading and first paragraphs of the first issue, a four page mimeographed bulletin. Expansion to a more substantial publication was rapid, however. The second issue contained six pages and the other two 1954 issues 12. A printed heading was added at the beginning of 1955, and since September of that year all issues have been printed.

Africa Today's first logo (1955)

28 AFRICA TOD)AY



A F R I C A T 0 D A Y Bviletin of The American Committee on Africa 28 East 35th Street, New York 17) N. .

Volume I A R i'l No. 1

AMERICAN COMWTEE ON AFRICA I.AUNCIED

What mny people concerned with Africa have desired for some time has finally happened. An American Committee on Africa has been formed.

Africa, like the rest of the hitherto little known underdeveloped areas of the world, is thrusting itself upon our- attention. Events are moving at an aozing pace. New African states are being born on the West Coast and racial wars threaten to engulf millions in East Africa and South Africa.

From Vol. 1 No. 4 (Oct. -Nov. 1954) p. $

Southwest Africa and the U. N. by The Rev. Michael Scott

America has a particular interest and obligation in the matter of Southwest Africa.... America was one of the principle allied and associated powers which entrusted the mandate of Southwest Africa to the Union of South Africa as a sacred trust of civilization. It would therefore be appropriate if the U.S. were to accept her responsibilities on the special committee on Southwest Africa which has now been set up as a permanent organ of the United Nations.

From Vol. 2. No. 1 (March-Apr. 1955) pp. 14-16

Profile: Mr. Julius Nyerere Passers by are not in the habit of turning to stare at Negroes on New York's 37th Street, But, although nobody turned to stare at a short serious colored man with a small moustache and a preoccupied air, as he emerged from the airlines terminal on Monday, February 21st, they might well have done so. For - arriving by air from Africa, unheralded and unsung (although causing some misgivings in British breasts) Mr. Julius Kambarage Nyerere, history teacher, part-time politician, and President of the Tanganyikan African National Union, had just doubled the number of Tanganyikans in America.... Mr. Nyerere came to America to tell the United Nations Trusteeship Council that public opinion i'n Tanganyika agrees with the majority report of the U. N. Mission that Tanganyika will be ready for self-government in 20 or 25 years from now. (p. 14)

Vol. 26 (1979) No. 2 29



From Vol. 4, No. 2 (Mar. -Apr. 1957) pp. 4-8

On Freedom's Stage by Kwame Nkrumah

We are on a conspictuous stage and the world marks our demeanor. Edmund Burke

Never has this been truer than today. How we conduct ourselves when we become independent will affect not only Ghana but the whole of Africa. We have a duty not only to this country, but to the peoples everywhere in Africa who are striving towards independence. If we can make a success of our independence, we shall have made an incalculable contribution towards freedom and progress throughout Africa . . . We must show that it is possible for Africans to rule themselves, to establish a progressive and independent state and to preserve their national unity. (p. 4) (Extracted from a speech by the then Prime Minister of Ghana in the Legislative Assembly, Nov. 1956)

From Vol. 4, No. 6 (Nov.-Dec. 195 7) pp. 10-12

Evolution or Revolution? The Narrowing Gap by Alan Paton

It is strange but true that the more rigid the South African government gets, the more fluid does the future seem to be. No one really believes that the present state of affairs can last, not even the loudest supporters of "baasskap" or white supremacy. . . . How is this change going to take place? No one really knows. I don't believe anyone really believes it will take place gradually, not even the United Party, which stands for gradual and safe change. Will the change come about by revolution or evolution? Most thinking people agree, that the longer the choice is put off, the more indistinguishable these two will be. (p. 10)

From Vol. 5, No. 1 (Jan. -Feb. 1958) pp. 9-20

U.S., Africa and the U.N. by Senator Hubert H. Humphrey

From time to time there has been a moderate amount of talk in administration circles about the need for a new approach to Africa. Vice President Nixon, after his whirlwind tour of Africa last spring, especially urged that a new policy be adopted of sympathy and support for African peoples. . . . Our official position at the United Nations on key African issues has given little cause for hope that any such fresh approach is being formulated, much less implemented. This year, as in the past, we have once again lost a great opportunity to make it clear to the world through the United Nations that we really believe in freedom and self-

30 AFRICA TODAY



From Vol. 2, No. 3 (July-Aug. 1955) pp. 13-14

What Americans Know About Africa by George M. Houser

Firstly, there is a renewed American interest in African questions, as is shown both by requests for speaking engagements and by the number of people who attend meetings on African topics. ... Secondly, the average American who is undergoing this renewed interest in Africa is not too well informed. He is well beyond the "big-game-and-Tarzan" stage, but is not yet precise in either his geographical information nor in his political analysis. Africa is looked upon as an undifferentiated country rather than as a complex and variegated continent. . . . Thirdly, American opinion is definitely anti-colonial. There is, however, a lack of information to back up opinion, and a tendency greatly to over-simplify. (p. 13)

From Vol. 3, No. 4 (July-Aug. 1956) pp. 2-5

Hollywood's Holy War Against Africa by Oladipo Onipede

It would be putting it mildly to say that Hollywood has engaged in an unrelenting propaganda war against the African, the South Sea Islander and the American Red Indian. . . . Thus Hollywood, thousands of miles away from Africa, helps to widen the already tense gap between the colonial agents and the African people. Understanding and cooperation between the two are indispensable to African development, but Hollywood has elected from the year of its birth to undermine and destroy the very basis of African development. (pp. 2-3)

From Vol. 3, No. 6 (Nov.-Dec. 1956) pp. 9-11

Algeria at War by Dr. George Shepherd Jr.

We are serving neither the interests of the French nor of the Arabs or indeed our own best interests by helping the French to persist in their illusion that they can somehow hang on to Algeria. In the end we shall find ourselves hated by both sides - the French because we did not give them enough military support, and the Arabs because we helped the French with helicopters and other military supplies. If we are to have any strength and influence in North Africa and the world of tomorrow, we should stop trying to straddle the fence, and accept once and for all the fact that Algeria is going to be an independent country, run by the Algerians. Such a stand by America would provide the charismatic shock that the French need to introduce a fresh and vital approach to their position in Algeria. (p. 11)

Vol. 26 (1979) No. 1 31



determination. . . . The only policy which has made sense to me in the past and continues to make sense to me today, is the active involvement of the United Nations in the Algerian situation by a request for a cease-fire and the creation of a commission for conciliation. Every informed observer agrees that Algerian independence sooner or later is inevitable. Meanwhile, the long-run security of the entire Western World can best be strengthened by facing realities on Algeria rather than fostering illusions. (P. 9)

From Vol. 6, No. 1 (Jan.-Feb. 1959) pp. 6-10

Pan Africanism What is it? by St. Clair Drake

The final session of the All-African People's Conference reminded me of the last day at an African Methodist Episcopal Church conference back home. . . . The session began with singing. An American Negro dentist who had been chairman of the entertainment committee led everybody in an animated rendition of "Gimme that old Freedom Spirit . . . It was good for Mother England . . . and it's good enough for me . . ." The South African delegation . . . with Michael Scott standing with them as an honored guest, drew deafening applause as they sang "God Bless Africa" in the Zulu language. Kwame Nkrumah was escorted to the platform while his Finance Minister, K.A. Gbedemah, was leading the audience, with all the strenuous fervor of an old "Prison Graduate," in singing, "There Is Victory for Us . . ." Nkrumah gave a quiet, but eloquent and passionate, "charge," challenging the delegates to go back home and never to relax their efforts till all Africa is free. (pp. 6-7)

From Vol. 7, No. 1 (March 1960) pp. 5-6

The Discovery of African History by Basil Davidson

Thus the chart of African history, so lately bare and empty and misleading as the maps once were, begins to glow with illuminating detail. Bearded monsters and "men whose heads do grow beneath their shoulders" begin to disappear; and humanity, in all its smallness and its greatness, begins to emerge. And it begins to be seen, if fleetingly and partially as yet, that the writing of African history is not only possible and useful, but will be as well a work of rediscovery - the rediscovery of African humanity. (p. 5)

The opinion section, Talking Drums, appeared for many years under the symbol reproduced on the next page. The following is an excerpt from one such editorial.

32 AFRICA TODAY



From Vol. 7, No. 2 (April 1900) p. 3

"Talking Drums"

Mass Murder in South Africa As Africa Today goes to press, news of the incredible Sharpeville massacre near Johannesburg is reaching the world. International reaction indicates world revulsion. The U.S. State Department's prompt condemnatory statement is heartening. Prime Minister Verwoerd's policemen, trigger-happy with their machine guns, make it difficult for the new South Africa Foundation to "sell" South Africa to the world. The firm determination of Africans in the Union to oppose apartheid, even under the threat of jet airplanes, continues to astound us. In the end it is the Africans who will bring change to South Africa. What we are witnessing today in the Union may be just as history- making as recent events in the Congo, not to mention the courageous struggle of American Negroes to win equal rights, particularly in the South.

From Vol. 7, No. 4 (June 1960) pp. 5 - 7

D'ilemma on the Horn of Africa by A.A. Castagno

. . .Somali nationalists cannot help but feel gravely about the perennial loss of life which in large part results from the maladministration inherent in multi-national control. They believe that they alone can administer their own people - that they alone know how to apply the complex and intricate testurs, the customary laws which govern the often delicate relations among the various Somali clans. Here lies a main raison d'etre of the rising Somali demand for a 'Greater Somalia.' . . .Ernest Bevin probably made one of the most important briefs on behalf of Somali claims for unity when he addressed the House of Commons in 1946. He said: "At about the time we occupied our part of the Horn of Africa, the Ethiopians occupied an inland area which is the grazing ground for nearly half the nomads of British Somaliland for six months of the year. Similarly the nomads of Italian Somaliland must cross the existing frontiers in search of grass. In all innocence, therefore, we proposed that British Somaliland, Italian Somaliland, and the adjacent part of Ethiopia, if Ethiopia agreed, should be lumped together as a trust territory, so that the nomads should lead their frugal existence with the least possible hindrance and there might be a real chance of a decent economic life. . ." (pp. 6, 7)

Vol. 26 (1979) No. 1 33



From Vol. 8, No. 2 (February 1961) p. 3

"Talking Drums" Picking Up The Pieces

The shocking murder of Patrice Lumumba has turned an African trouble spot into the focus of the gravest international crisis since Suez . . . Although there is no evidence of American complicity in Lumumba's death - there is every indication that it was both a moral and political horror to our State Department - our failure to insist at the very least on U.N. protection of Lumumba against his captors, who obviously felt they would profit by his demise, has for many implicated us in his death. Had we acted earlier on the political facts of life which were plain enough to see, had we acknowledged, about the time of his "disappearance," that the release of Lumumba and his participation in political discussions were essential to any stable settlement in the Congo, today's crisis might not have occurred.

From Vol. 8, No. 5 (May 1961)pp. 11-14

Haile Selassie's Ethiopia - Myth or Reality? by Donald Levine

The public hanging of General Mengistu Neway in Addis Ababa on March 30 may seem to have brought to a close the unexpected episode in Ethiopian history that began with a short-lived coup d'etat by the Imperial Bodyguard last December . . . As all who knew him will attest, General Mengistu was no ideologist, but a bon vivant. The fact that he was led to sacrifice his easy life and enviable position and to betray the Emperor's trust in him should suggest to all concerned that there is precious little progress or stability in the Empire of Ethiopia . . . Perhaps in no other "under-developed" country have so much thought and energy gone into producing the appearance of progress . . . In nearly every area of Ethiopian public life a progressive facade has been erected to cover the status quo . . . If the facade of progress was built with empty words and hollow architecture, the facade of stability was achieved through the system of shum-shir, appoint-demote . . . The shum-shir system turned men's thoughts from social action to personal advancement . . . The Emperor, after having succeeded in bluffing his countrymen, then Europe and the United States, now manages to bluff even himself. Nevertheless, each day makes his alternatives more clear and ineluctable - either to launch at last an unambiguous program of modernization and liberalization, and perhaps redeem his place in history in spite of everything; or else to face the downfall of his throne and possibly the Congolization of Africa's oldest independent nation.

34 AFRICA TODAY



From Vol. 8, No. 10 (December 1961) pp. 4-5

It's up to us: Uhuru na Kazi

by Julius Nyerere

The independence of Tanganyika on December 9 brings with it only one thing - an opportunity to build . . . We want Tanganyika to become an African socialist country. By this I mean a country in which the society, including the State, recognizes its responsibility to every individual member whilst calling upon every individual to recognize his responsibility to society. We want to build a country in which no citizen can go hungry while others have food, in which no one is denied the opportunity to develop himself to his maximum capacity for the service of others, in which there will be a marriage for unity of action and harmonious relationships between all the members of society. To this end we shall try to build on the past African tradition in which every family was responsible for all its members, and every member responsible for the family. We are simply trying to extend the family . . . We know that all this will be difficult and that we have a long way to go. We know that for some time to come we shall need to accept any help from outside that is honestly offered to us; we believe indeed that we can work in partnership with outside capital without conflict of interest. But we know most of all that our future depends on our own efforts and the intelligent use of our own resources.

From Vol. 9, No. 1 (February 1962) p. 2 Appeal For a Poet in Prison

Agostinho Neto is an Angolan poet: no mean feat in a land where, after 500 years of colonial rule, 99 percent of the population still cannot read or write. Poetry is, in fact, a dangerous calling in Angola; today Neto lies in Lisbon's Aljuba prison. Does he recall from his cell the

Sound of chains on the road songs of birds in the wet greenness of forests freshness in the tender-soft harmony of coconut trees . Neto was 25 years old when he first went to Portugal to study

medicine. His first poems were published in 1948. Then as now, they celebrated the African soul and its liberation from alien rule.

Rhythm of bloody wounds of naked feet Rhythm of fleshless nails But Rhythm Rhythm 0 painful voice of Africa.

Vol. 26 (1979) No. 1 35



Quite rapidly his verse came to be known, acclaimed, recited and shouted from the rooftops by Angola's first generation of young in- tellectuals. They thought, therefore they were. And they discovered they were not black Portuguese.

We are the ignorant blacks wha must respect the whites and fear the rich .

From Vol. 9. No. 9 (November 1962) pp. 7-9

Mozambique Prepares for Revolution by Our Special Correspondent

Because of rigid police control there is very little nationalist activity in Mozambique today. A small amount of activity exists among Mozambique emigres residing in Egypt, Tanganyika, Nyasaland, and Swaziland. These groups have not succeeded in establishing a firm base within the territory, but operate from outside. Until recently, the Mozambique groups have experienced the same difficulties in forming a united front that exist among the Angolan groups, but thanks to the efforts of Dr. Eduardo Mondlane, a Mozambiquan now teaching at Syracuse University in New York, such divisions are no longer important . . . The nationalist movement is, generally speaking, in a primitive stage, and since its formation its leaders have concentrated on securing support from the outside. The nationalists may try in the future to foment large-scale uprisings in the hope of ob- taining direct African or United Nations intervention. Their present desire is to be more of a nuisance to the Portuguese than anything else . . . In June 1962 Eduardo Mondlane made a trip to Tanganyika, where he succeeded in uniting MANU and UDENAMO into a group also known as the Mozambique Liberation Front (FELIMO) [sic] . . . Mondlane was elected President of the new group, receiving 116 out of the 135 votes cast. (pp. 7-8)

From Vol. 10, No. 9 (November 1963) pp. 22-28

The Trial of Awolowo: A Nigerian Tragedy by Stanley Diamond

It would be easy to balance an analysis of the trial and imprisonment of Obafemi Awolowo, quondam Premier of the Western Region and former head of the Action Group, and of the official Opposition, on the ugly post- enlightenment epigram - "Revolutions eat their own children." It would be easy . . . but it would be wrong. The fate of Awolowo is a personal tragedy, bizarre in that such an outwardly bland, headmasterish, un-

36 AFRICA TODAY



dramatic sort of man should be the protagonist . . . It is a personal tragedy, as it is a national tragedy, but it is not the aftermath of a revolution, although it may well be the prelude . . .

One often hears unfavorable comparisons with Ghana. The reason is simple. Ghana is undergoing a revolution, a revolution that is public relations-conscious, and poignantly desirous of friendship, but, nevertheless, a revolution . . . The treason trials in Ghana and those in Nigeria are, therefore, not aspects of a similar social process; they are the mirror images, the reverse of each other. Ghana condemns those who conspire against the idea of a Central Government, are proponents of "tribalism" or "regionalism," or other special interests, are opposed to rational planning on any realistic scale, and are either opportunistic or reactionary; that at least is the formal tendence of the charges. Conversely, Nigeria punishes and keeps a sharp eye, each Region in its own way, on those who speak of the need of radical change, of a stronger, more reliable Central Govern- ment, of socialist democracy. (pp. 22-23)

From Vol. 11, No. I (January 1 964) p. 3 (from "opinion... Africa In Curlers

The honeymoon is over. America is seeing Africa in curlers. Ridiculously divided into several dozen unmanageable units, desperately poor, sen- sitive and jealous, the continent is certainly not ever going to return to the state of peaceful somnolence to which we grew accustomed in the colonial period . . . But this is no reason to damn the bride and suggest that she run back to mother, as our press does . . . That the US press should have misinterpreted these troubles as parts of a Communist conspiracy does not augur well for us. The period of turbulence in Africa is only just beginning. We can expect that the following characteristics of New Africa will keep the pot boiling for some time: 'Nationalism ... .'Underdevelopment of human and natural resources ... 'In a world of power-blocs, Africa may sometimes represent a prize rather than a participant... Problems such as these cannot be simplified or dismissed with editorial impatience. The US press has a responsibility to inform itself of the forces at work in Africa before passing judgement or recommending policy. Vol. 26 (1979) No. 1 37



From Vol. I 1, No. 7 (Septernber 1964) pp. 4-6

Tshombe in Wonderland by Collin Gonze

We are now in the fourth chapter of The Adventures of Moise Tshombe, White Impersonator. Before hazarding guesses on his further adventures, we might well synopsize the story thus far . .. Readers will recall how, in the first installment, Tshombe used his position as head of the Conakat to strike a business bargain with the Union Minibre, sole exploiters of the local mineral wealth. The alliance precipitated a world crisis which ended only when the UN took physical control of the Katanga mining complex. In the second chapter, we saw and heard little of Tshombe. We had brief glances of him traveling through the Rhodesias and Angola, taking the waters in Switzerland, on a brief sojourn in Barcelona, and then, apparently, peacefully settled among frierds and admirers in Madrid. Like other monarchs in flight, he had departed with his liquid treasury . . . The third chapter is only now being reconstructed. If the Leopoldville crowd could not be beaten, Tshombe must have reasoned, then why not join it? There was nothing to lose by trying. He thus wrote to perhaps a dozen men in the Central Government. At least three answered these overtures: Victor Nendaka (secret police), Joseph-Desiree Mobutu (army) and Justin-Marie Bomboko (justice). These were the three later pivotal in dumping Adoula . . .Thus began Chapter Four, the Return of the (unrepentant) Prodigal Son. To justify Belgo-American support for his rule, Tshombe must rapidly restore the Congo to the conditions of tranquility to which overseas in- vestors are accustomed . . . (pp. 4, 6)

Frorn Vol. 11, No. 8 (November 1964) p. 9 To Zambia

A Poem by A.C. Jordan

You are the Heart of Africa! - A mother once full-breasted, fertile, proud, But over centuries humbl'd and made barren By the cold and hunger of a soulless world. Awaken with the din of joyful drums And beat aloud, as vigorous as the waters Of Zambesi's Thundering-Smoke, to feed Once more those bloodless-veins, those wither'd breasts; So Africa's hungry children shall survive And gain new strength to build a brighter world, Untrammell'd by the wiles and endless strife Created by the ravenous kings of gold.

38 AFRICA TODAY



From Vol. 12, No. 10 (December 1965) pp. 9-11

"Let My People Go" Martin Luther King

Africa has been depicted for more than a century as the home of black cannibals and ignorant primitives. Despite volumes of facts contraverting this picture the stereotype persists in books, motion pictures, and other media of communication . . . Africa does have spectacular savages and brutes today, but they are not black. They are the sophisticated white rulers of South Africa who profess to be cultured, religious, and civilized, but whose conduct and philosophy stamp them unmistakably as modern- day barbarians . . . For the American Negro there is a special relationship with Africa. It is the land of his origin. It was despoiled by invaders, its culture was arrested and concealed to justify white supremacy. The American Negro's ancestors were not only driven into slavery, but their links with their past were severed so that their servitude might be psychological as well as physical. In this period when the American Negro is giving moral leadership and inspiration to his own nation, he must find the resources to aid his suffering brothers in his ancestral homeland. Nor is this aid a one way street. The civil rights movement in the US has derived immense inspiration from the successful struggles of those Africans who have attained freedom in their own nations. The fact that black men govern states, are building democratic institutions, sit in world tribunals, and participate in global decision-making gives every Negro a needed sense of dignity . . . Civilization has come a long way, it has far still to go, and it cannot afford to be set back by resolute wicked men. Negroes were dispersed over thousands of miles and over many continents, yet today they have found each other again. Negro and white have been separated for centuries by evil men and evil myths. But they have found each other. The powerful unity of Negro with Negro and white with Negro is stronger than the most potent and entrenched racism. The whole human race will benefit when it ends the abomination that has diminished the stature of man for too long. This is the task to which we are called by the suffering in South Africa, and our response would be swift and unstinting. Out of this struggle will come the glorious reality of the family of man.

AFRICA ?TODR

Africa Today Logo used in the 1960s.

Vol. 26 (1979) No. 1 39



From Vol. 14, No. 5 (October 1967) pp. 5-13

Southern Africa and United States Policy: A Consideration of Alternatives

by John Marcum

A relatively modest alteration of American policy might produce a major change in the chemistry of the Southern African cauldron. To inject such an element of hope we should simply: (1) Give forthright support to any action necessary to secure the legal authority of the United Kingdom and United Nations in Rhodesia and South West Africa, respectively, with a view toward the orderly transfer of power to freely chosen local governments. (2) Adopt a set of ground rules for systematic disengagement from the support of what we oppose, meaning an end to all . . . military assistance to Portugal (and) South Africa . . . (3) Affirm what we are for by means of education and economic programs wherever these are possible . . . The burden of this paper is simple. Current American policy toward Southern Africa is as ineffectual as it is dishonest . . . Before we wake up to find that we are allied with racial supremacists in a war against African Ho Chi Minhs, we need to adopt a coherent policy along the lines suggested above, a policy which, if consistently applied, might at least offer some hope of minimizing conflict and restoring sanity to a situation that contains an enormous potential for destruction . . . To do less is to ab- dicate world leadership. It is to acknowledge that we have become so detached from our own revolutionary origins and so unaware and unable to understand the needs and aspirations of the great bulk of mankind that we can only respond with moral cliches and irrelevant gestures. Therein lies the full meaning and urgency of the policy alternatives before us. And it should be kept in mind that we have already intervened in Southern Africa - but on the wrong side. (pp. 12, 13)

From Vol. 15, No. 2 (April-May, 1 968) pp. 7-11

Africa's New Rulers by Claude E. Welch, Jr.

The newest phenomenon in Africa is an old phenomenon indeed - seizure of power by the military. The continent has entered a period of political turmoil, touched off by a steady decline in the popularity of civilian leaders and a growing awareness of African "mini-armies" that they can take control with considerable ease and impunity . . . If the newly risen officers cling too tightly to their desire to stand above politics, to avoid the arduous labors of building legitimacy and national unity, they will fail in their self-appointed task of bringing order and stability. Their broken statues may one day be inscribed, "Look on me, ye mighty, and despair."

40 AFRICA TODAY



The power to transform African society and build cohesive nations does not result from possession of a gun, a lesson the African military will learn through bitter and long experience. (pp. 7, 1 1)

From Vol. 16, No. 2 (April-May 1969) p. 3 Propaganda and Reality in Mozambique

William Minter

The assassination of Mondlane (and, before him, Sigauke in 1966, Muthemba and Kankhomba in 1968) and the attempted assassinations of other FRELIMO leaders are one aspect of Portuguese counter-insurgency policy. The attempt to use Kavandame and others to play on tribal feelings - particularly northerners against southerners - is another aspect. Yet another is the "new look" being projected by Caetano in his trip. Proposing greater financial and administrative autonomy for the "overseas provin- ces," he called upon the guerrillas to give up their fight and join with Portugal to build new societies. Stressing "peace" rather than resistance, he nevertheless affirmed that his government was determined to hold on to its African territories . . . The type of autonomy offered is of interest primarily to white settler interests. The attempt at cooptation of Africans by limited reforms (such as increased education) without any chance of real transfer of power is no more likely to stop the revolution in Mozambique than similar action has in Vietnam. Holding on to the territories as "integral parts" of Portugal, encouraging new Portuguese and even South African settlement, and increasing the activities of the secret police is not consistent with "winning the hearts and minds of the people."

From Vol. 16, No. 3 (June-July 1969) pp. 1-4

The Nature of the Threat to Press Freedom in East Africa

By Hilary B. Ng'weno

In discussing press freedom so far I have avoided any statement as to whether press freedom is a good thing for new nations. Obviously, like all other freedoms, the freedom that newspapers should enjoy in their treatment of newsworthy events and comments should be subject to limitations dictated by the national interest. The trouble is that in most new countries governments tend to treat themselves as the sole judges of what constitutes the national interest. On a great many issues which pertain to the public, governments in Africa and elsewhere have proved time and again that this view of themselves is completely unwarranted. It would seem self-evident that a free and responsible press in Africa can help governments in their difficult task of serving the national interest.

Vol. 26 (1979) No. 1 41



From Vol. 17, No. 1 (January-February 1970) pp. 4-5 African Culture and Liberation

Dennis Brutus Let Africa be distinguished by the freedom it gives for the artist to reach his full creativity, whether as poet, as dramatist or as editor - in a freedom truthfully and honestly defined which is not debased by sensationalism or commercial exploitation . . . Not less important is the need for freedom from alien cultures or, more precisely, the imposition of their standards of value. The ideal for an African is NOT to be a black Frenchman, or a black Englishman, nor anything else but to be, at the greatest height of his powers, an African. Those who teach otherwise, whether they are foreigners or Africans, if they accept these alien standards, are not the friends of Africa or of Africans . . . This is true in a much more serious way in the area of politics and economics - areas which we know as Africans cannot be artificially separated from other aspects of culture, just as we know the artist must not be artificially segregated in his society . . . there is a clear role for culture in the liberation struggle and . . . there can be no true culture where there is no freedom . . . It is for this reason that I must reiterate - and I have been a political prisoner of both the oppressive regimes of Portugal in Mozambique and of South Africa, and have known the denial of all freedoms - that the freedom of Africa is imperilled by the growth of the monster of Apartheid oppression, bloated and swollen by support from outside Africa to which I have already referred. The threat to Africa which is developing in Southern Africa can only be neglected at our peril. It needs the grave and urgent attention of us all.

From Vol. 17, No. 6 (November-December 1970) pp. 14-16

The Olympic Movement and Racism: An Analysis in Historical Perspective

By Richard E. Lapchick The curtain was drawn by an I.O.C. vote of 35-28 to expel South Africa from the Olympic Movement . . . To most observers, it seemed that the anti-apartheid forces, led by the Supreme Council [for sport in Africa], had won a great victory. But it took Abraham Ordia, the Nigerian President of the Supreme Council, to place the victory in perspective: "It is nothing to be happy about. They are Africans: they are my brothers. I want to compete with them . . . But for God's sake, let them change. If this were the medicine that will let them live, then this will not be in vain." . . . Realistically, it would seem naively optimistic to believe that Mr. Ordia's "medicine" may help internally in South Africa. There can be little doubt that it was necessary to remove the cancerous sore from the Olympic Movement. It can only be hoped that the action will have the desired effect in South Africa itself. Only time can tell. (p. 16)

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From Vol. 18. No. 3 (July 1971)pp. 1-11

China and Africa: A Prospective on the 1970's Bruce D. Larkin

If present trends continue, China by 1980 will be a factor in the world situation as she is not today. African leaders will find the world altered to that extent. Africa itself is not insulated: the fifty African national ex- periments in governance and social change may feel the impact of China's experiment . . In economic matters, China is a prospective trading partner, source of aid, ally in international trade revision, and model for economic development. Her growing domestic economy will prompt greater trade, and increased capability to grant aid. If China assumes a broad role in international diplomacy, she will not omit to participate in the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, where she would have a fitting forum to insist on "mutual benefit." On the other hand, the mainspring of China's economic policy today, foreign and domestic, is the principle of self-reliance. There is no reason to believe that self-reliance will be less stressed in the next decade. In practical terms, self-reliance implies temporary and limited interdependence, and encouragement of industrial and agricultural growth following China's own small-scale pattern which exploits local resources to the utmost and relies on ingenuity and invention to create suitable, effective technology . . . But stress on self-reliance does coincide with China's readiness to grant some aid. For the most part, China has conducted African aid projects with care to impart lessons of self-reliance. Even the Tan-Zam Railway, dependent on Chinese rails and rolling stock, will demonstrate that the resources of an advanced, industrialized state are not required to effect the basic construction of a major project. (pp. 1, 3, 4)

From Vol. 19, No. 2 (Spring 1972) pp. 59- 72

Frantz Fanon and Sub-Saharan Africa: Notes on the Contemporary Significance of his Thought

Paul A. Beckett Viewed in these terms it becomes clear that what I have called "Fanon's most positive revolutionary message to the Third World" can find no real basis of class appeal among the currently "important" elites in the African countries. This message insists that "the last shall be first," the poorest regions favored and, most basically, that the national life be by and for the rural masses, rather than simply based on them. Given scarce resources, this message cannot be reconciled with developing proto-class interests in the urban sectors. Would-be elites may be expected to use Fanon's arguments as temporary accoutrements in their effort to break into the Vol. 26 (1979) No. 1 43



developing establishment, but one can expect such reference to be ephemeral. If one accepts the main line of the Marxist argument, one is left with the certainty that the state-based establishment will neither generate nor adopt an ideology which puts peasanlts and rural areas at the center of a value system . . . This in turn seems to mean that one can not expect the most essential Fanonian message to coincide with conscious class interest and to result in significant social action in the African countries until and if peasant-rural consciousness of deprivation and shared interest develops far beyond its present level. (pp. 71, 72)

From Vol. 20, No. 1 (Winter 1973) pp. 7-13

A Report To Our Friends by Amilcar Cabral

(From a taped conversation on his last visit to New York.) In Guine' also the political position is stronger. We achieved one of the most important realizations in the framework of our struggle - the first general elections in our country, the creation of our regional councils, and of the first national popular assembly for our country . . . It was not the result of the dream of Cabral. It was a need coming from the results of the struggle, a need also to impose on us in the party (PAIGC) some limits to our own action, some possibilities of control on us. Because, if in the framework of the development of the liberation struggle, you don't create simultaneously something to help you always do good things, maybe you are creating the conditions for your own defeat. And the best way to stop yourself is to create conditions for the people to stop you . . . We want our people to take, step by step, in their own hands the authority for their own lives. For that, the party is not enough. It is too dangerous, the fact that in our historical condition we have to have only one party. It is necessary to create some organ, some instrument in order to give to the people this real consciousness that they are the master of their own destiny. (pp. 8, 9)

From Vol. 20, No. 2 (Spring 1973) pp. 11-31

Uganda under Military Rule by A Special Correspondent

What then is Uganda's future? Black militants who have not scratched below the surface may paint a bright picture, but the reality is both depressing and dismal. Daily things change, but for the worse. People exist, trying to carry out business as usual, as they did in Hitler's Germany, and hoping for some salvation. But they have no idea where it will come from . . . Amin himself has pointed to one possible future when he has said that Uganda is a nation of farmers, and that if necessary everyone can 44 AFRICA TODAY



fall back on a subsistence existence (everyone but the Army). Meanwhile Uganda is being plundered by its own Army, as War Lords used to ravage China. As the fratricide in Nigeria during the civil war and in Burundi over the past year is a disgrace to Africa, so is Uganda's regression to a military state where the soldier rules with his gun and no one has any rights. This has been stage two and three of the "economic war" - and there are meant to be seven more stages: who knows where they will take Uganda, once the Pearl of Africa? (pp. 30, 31)

From Vol. 20, No. 3 (Summer 1973) pp. 19-28

Dynamics of Identification: A Basis for National Integration in the Sudan

Francis Mading Deng

The history of the Sudan shows that where the strains of power struggle and the threats of assimilation are removed and the freedom of social intercourse is guaranteed, symbols of identification may be accepted or rejected on the basis of their own appeal or new strength. The issue for the Sudan, it would seem, is finding out and formulating those symbols which would tend to unite rather than divide. With these symbols to guide development, with autonomy to ensure the security of those whose support is vital, with free interaction between the various parts of the country, and with calculated action at all levels to maximize the net out- come, there is. reason to -believe that there could emerge .a genuine consciousness of the wider Sudan as a basis for a common national identification and integration. Positive steps have already been taken, but here is more to be done. (p. 28)

From Vol. 21, No. 3 (Summer 1974) pp. 3-8

From Uhuru to Ujamaa Julius K. Nyerere

Socialists who come to Tanzania expecting to find the living example of their creed are liable to depart bitter and disillusioned. For they will not find a socialist society in existence. They will even find many things being done which are inconsistent with socialist attitudes towards one's fellow men. For every day there can be seen examples of arrogance, of a failure to help and to serve, and of the kind of personal abuse of power which causes suffering to other human beings . . . These things have to be said. They are the truth. That they are used by our enemies to undermine both our attempts to build socialism, and the philosophy of socialism itself, does not make them any less true . . . But they are not the whole truth. We in Tanzania are working to build socialism. And we can already demonstrate

Vol. 26(1979) No. 1 45



much success. Indeed, our achievements so far have been such as to indicate that we can, and we shall, succeed in creating a society which is based on cooperation and which excludes the exploitation of man by man . . .The future for Tanzania will be one of continued endeavour. We have many difficulties to contend with -- many of them quite beyond our power to control. We shall probably continue to make mistakes in tactics, and in the executioni of our policies, thus exacerbating our problems. But we shall continue as we have begun - trying to create a society in which all citizens work together in freedom, dignity and equality, for their common good. (pp. 7, 8)

From Vol. 22, No. 2 (April-June 1975) pp. 57-61

The Sahelian Drought: No Victory for Anyone

Michael H. Glantz At the end of the current drought the Sahel will work again as an ecosystem in part because of the return of the rains and in part because the population, human and livestock, which has been over-taxing the land will have been brought back into- a better balance with the carrying capacity of the land. Unfortunately, this will have been done by drought-related deaths and droughit-related migrations: nature's means of control. Yet, the underlying causes for the destruction of land bordering desert regions will still remain. The activities of these inhabitants will again tend to reduce the resiliency of the land which in turn will subject future generations of inhabitants to further droughts, the impacts of which will be relatively more devastating . . . Resources available to nations are scarce and becoming more so. For political leaders, especially those in developing countries, it is an extremely difficult and often unpopular decision to share these already scarce resources with future generations with whom their finite resources will have to be shared. Each succeeding generation of political leaders will no longer be able to afford the luxury of assuming that their resources are infinite . . . As the rains return to "normal," the search for solutions for the problems faced by the Sahel must not be avoided. The responsibility rests not only with those in the Sahel but with the rest of the world. (pp. 60, 61)

From Vol. 22, No. 3 (July-September 1975) pp 11-14

Independence Comes To Mozambique Gail Gerhart

ILooked at from the angle of African perceptions, Mozambique's independence may well have a significanit impact on the rate of change all over southern Africa, particularly in South Africa. Frelimo's success was hard-won, after years of sacrifice and total dedication, but it seems to have

46 AFRICA TODAY



confirmed that time is on the side of the African, whatever the apparent strength or military might of the enemy. Mozambique's presence on the eastern border of South Africa thus cannot help but raise the level of African morale and political consciousness within South Africa, quite apart from the effects of any direct steps which Frelimo may now take to lend support to South Africa's black opposition forces . . . (p. 14)

From Vol. 23, No. 3 (July-September 1976) pp. 25-35

Apartheid and the Atom: The United States and South Africa's Military Potential

Ronald E. Walters One South African government reaction to the security threat posed by the internal black rebellions and revolutionary activity in Rhodesia and Namibia has been the decision (or the confirmation of a previous decision) to develop the ultimate means to protect the white areas from either ex- ternal or internal threat. Recent developments make it obvious that South Africa has taken the necessary preliminary steps toward a technological nuclear energy capacity at weapons level which will enable it to process, use and sell enriched uranium by 1984. Such capability in the hands of an insecure regime makes the logical further step to weapons development probable, to say the least . . . Unfortunately there exists a climate in international political economy which facilitates this development.

From Vol. 24, No. 3 (July-September 1977) pp. 25-41

Southern Africa: A Challenge to the OAU by Mohamed A. El-Khawas

Since 1963, the OAU has played an important role in southern Africa. Aside from giving legitimacy to the liberation struggle, the OAU has launched diplomatic offensives intended to isolate South Africa, Portugal (until 1974), and Rhodesia and to convince the NATO powers and other major industrialized nations that they should end their military and economic involvement with the white-ruled countries of Africa . . . (40)

If the OAU has achieved only modest results, fault must be attributed to those of its member states which have consistently been in arrears in their payments, despite repeated appeals to contribute regularly to the Liberation Fund. The future of OAU efforts in the liberation struggle will depend on several factors. The first is whether African governments will regularly deliver their pledges to the OAU which in 1977 were $13 million in arrears. The second is whether the OAU can survive the ideological rifts, and the border disputes that make cooperation among African nations increasingly difficult. The third is whether the OAU can prevent an Angola- Vol. 26(1979) No.1 47



type war in independent Zimbabwe by settling rivalries among the different nationalist groups in that country. The final factor is the OAU's ef- fectiveness in removing southern Africa's problems from the arena of competition between the big powers (41).

From Vol. 25, No. 1 (January-March 1978) pp. 29-55

United States Policy Toward Mozambique Since 1945: The Defense of Colonialism and Regional Stability

by Allen Isaacman and Jennifer Davis While United States policy toward Mozambique has avoided the open hostility exercised toward Angola it is highly unlikely that policy in the future will be determined by criteria appreciably different from those that have operated in the past. As long as Washington continues to perceive the struggles for majority rule in Southern Africa in terms of global power policy, as long as it feels its own interests dangerously threatened by the establishment of socialist forms of society and as long as it supports minority regimes, it forfeits the possibility of markedly improved relations with Mozambique and other progressive African nations. (55)

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