[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1998, Book I)]
[March 27, 1998]
[Pages 474-476]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]
Interview in Cape Town, South Africa, With Bryna Bates
of Ebony/Jet and April Ryan of American Urban Radio Networks
March 27, 1998
Apology for Slavery
Ms. Ryan. Mr. President, you've made it emphatically clear that you
will not apologize for slavery. But do you understand why there's such
controversy around the issue, and are you prepared for Goree Island?
The President. Oh, yes. I think--it was interesting, because after I
spoke in Ghana and then in Uganda, and when I spoke in Uganda about how
wrong we were to be involved in the slave trade, some people in America
said, ``Well, why did you do this in Africa,'' and ``Why haven't you
done the same thing in America?'' But most of my African-American
friends and advisers don't believe that we should get into what was
essentially a press story about whether there should be an apology for
slavery in America. They think that that's what the 13th, 14th, and 15th
amendment was; they think that's what the civil rights legislation was;
and they think we need to be looking toward the future.
But when an American President comes to Africa for the first time
and makes a serious trip and a serious commitment to the future, I think
recognizing the fact that we did a bad thing in being part of the slave
trade, I think, is important here. So I think we've drawn the right
balance, and I feel good about it.
Africa-U.S. Trade
Ms. Bates. Mr. President, does the United States see African-
American businesses as a part of the national strategy for participation
and partnering with South Africa?
The President. Absolutely. Because, in part, I think African-
American businesses are more likely to see the opportunities. There are
going to be a lot more other kinds of businesses, all kinds of American
businesses here, I predict to you, in the next few years, both selling
here, buying from here to sell in the American market, and investing
here.
But this is really an incredible opportunity for the African-
American business community to get on the ground floor of what I believe
will be an explosion of economic activity in the years ahead.
One of the things we're doing here is dedicating the Ron Brown
Commercial Center in Johannesburg, and Ron told me years ago, shortly
after he became Commerce Secretary, that there was a new Africa emerging
and that we needed to be a part of it; we needed to be in on the ground
floor. So that's what we're trying to do.
Ron Brown
Ms. Ryan. Do you miss him especially now?
The President. Especially now. I just--I'd give anything if he could
have made this trip.
Africa-U.S. Trade
Ms. Ryan. Well, Mr. President, speaking of the Africa package, a
different version of that, fast track--are you planning on reproposing
that again or introducing that before Chile?
The President. Well, I don't think we can pass it before Chile, so
it's not important. We know we have the votes to pass it in the Senate,
and we know we don't yet have the votes to
[[Page 475]]
pass it in the House. So I'm just going to keep working on it until I
think we've got the votes to pass it in the House. It should pass.
But I don't think that that should deter us from passing the Africa
trade and investment bill. It's passed in the House now. We certainly
have the votes in the Senate to pass it, so it's really a question of
getting it up on the Senate calendar. They're not meeting many days this
year, and they seem to be, for reasons I don't quite understand,
bringing up a lot of issues that are highly contentious and don't have a
big impact on the future. So I'm hoping I can cut through the Senate
agenda and get--persuade Senator Lott and others
to bring it up, because I think the Africa trade bill should pass this
year, and I think it will if we can just bring it up.
Ms. Bates. Mr. President, will there be any consideration by your
administration similar to the Gray amendment concept, in an effort to
mobilize the entire American business community? And are there any
concrete plans that we can begin to talk about?
The President. Well, we've announced here that we would be involved
in financing support--or supporting, if you will, the financing of
American business deals here in Africa through the Overseas Private
Investment Corporation. And we've already helped to finance the two
significant ones here in South Africa in transportation and
telecommunications. So we will have way over half a billion dollars
worth of support for financing new business investment in Africa. And I
think that will get a lot of people involved quickly. I hope it will.
President's Initiative on Race
Ms. Ryan. Mr. President, there is word that the race initiative will
end in September, formally. Now, the conclusion--is that because of the
fact that the momentum is not there, that you thought it could be? And
there was word from some White House staffers that the initiative could
last as long as the end of your term.
The President. I don't think we've decided. I think, for one thing,
in some form or fashion the initiative will last until the end of my
term, regardless, because I want to--I think we have to continue to work
on this in a very conscious way, to close the opportunity gaps and also
to prepare for living in an increasingly multiracial society. I mean,
soon there will be no particular ethnic group that has a majority in
America. So it will continue in one form or fashion, regardless.
And insofar as how the Advisory Board should conclude its activities
and when, I haven't made a final decision on that. So there isn't--you
know, my staff may be of different views on it, but I haven't heard from
any of them, and we haven't made a final decision on it. We still have a
lot of work to do on the agenda that has already been laid out just for
this board. And we've got several things planned. When I get back, we're
going to do kind of a townhall meeting on ESPN with a lot of athletes,
which should be very interesting.
Ms. Ryan. Michael Jordan?
The President. I don't know if they've signed up yet. As bad as
he beat me when we played golf together, he
sort of owes me one, so maybe I can get him to do it. [Laughter]
And we are going to have a serious discussion on public television,
which I think will be very, very interesting--the PBS. We're going to
get some really bright people in and talk about where we're going on
that, with the race matters. And then we're going to have a week in
which we attempt to have a serious discussion of race on every college
campus in America. So those are our next big things coming up when I get
home.
Q. So April seems to be a real big month for your race----
The President. April is a big month. April will be a big month for
it, but we're still rolling out policies. We've got some significant
things that are in budget process which will have a huge impact on the
opportunity gap issues. We've got a provision in our budget to more than
double the number of empowerment zones. Secretary Cuomo has got some very impressive proposals to set up
development banks and other things to create jobs in inner cities and
other isolated areas where the unemployment rate is high still.
So we've got a lot to do this year, and we'll see along about
September where we are and in what form we should proceed. But I haven't
made a final decision.
President's Visit to Africa
Ms. Ryan. The minority community seems to be really in your favor at
all times, and especially now. In the African-American community, there
seems to be the biggest love for President Bill Clinton ever, especially
with this Africa trip.
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What is this Africa trip meant to send to the African-American
community, as well as the Latino community and the Asian community?
The President. Well, I think that the trip has special meaning for
African-Americans. But if I can first say, I think all Americans should
strongly support this trip. There are 700 million people living in sub-
Saharan Africa. Within 25 years, the population will nearly double. This
is a huge place. It's bigger than the United States and Canada put
together--considerably bigger. And the population has been kept down in
the past because of disease, primarily, and abject poverty. Now, better
health care, better investment, better education, and better economic
growth are going to increase the importance of Africa to every country
and all kinds of people. And America's ties to Africa need to be
strengthened and deepened. So I hope every American supports it.
But African-Americans in particular should take a lot of pride in
this. And I found it inconceivable when I took office that no American
President had ever taken a long, comprehensive trip to Africa. And when
I go to Poland, Polish-Americans identify with that. When I go to
Ireland and there's over 100,000 people in the streets in Dublin, the
Irish-Americans identify with that. And I think that it's high time that
African-Americans had this same opportunity that other Americans enjoy
to know that their ethnic heritage has a present meaning and a future
for the United States and African nations in partnership.
Ms. Ryan. Mr. President, it's been noted that you are very, very
tired. Why did you put so much on the front end of the trip? I mean,
we've watched you in some of the shots--I mean, you look like you are
about ready to just fall out.
The President. Well, I just have so--it's a long way from America,
and I have so little time, and I just am trying to make the most of it.
And we've had some--the days have been very long, and we arranged to
travel a lot late at night. And I try to sleep when I'm on the plane;
it's not always possible. But I'm feeling better now; I'm kind of
getting my sea legs, and I think I'm--I was less sleepy today during the
middle of the day than I have been on any day so far on the trip, so I'm
getting adjusted.
But I find that if you have a very hard-driving schedule, then you
get tired. But if you don't do very much, then when it's over, then you
say, gosh, there's 15 things I wished I'd done I didn't do. So I think,
on balance, the American people are better served by having me be a
little tired the first 2 and 3 days and keep driving through the
schedule and getting done as much as possible.
Ms. Ryan. Thank you.
The President. Thanks.
Note: The interview began at 5:34 p.m. on March 27 in the Cape Town
Hotel, and it was released by the Office of the Press Secretary on March
31. In his remarks, the President referred to NBA Chicago Bulls player
Michael Jordan.