[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.