4. Editorial Note
On July 1, 1977, Secretary of State Vance gave a speech before the annual convention of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in St. Louis, Missouri, in which he defined the Carter administration’s Africa policy. On Cold War competition, he emphasized that “a negative reactive American policy that seeks only to oppose Soviet or Cuban involvement in Africa would be both dangerous and futile.” He advocated encouraging African nationalism, using developmental aid to build a “prosperous and strong Africa that is at peace with itself,” and ensuring that U.S. Africa policy reflected national values and a respect for human rights. In more specific terms, Vance explained that “this Administration has decided to pursue actively solutions to all three southern African problems—Rhodesia, Namibia, and the situation within South Africa itself.” The full text of the speech is in the Department of State Bulletin, August 8, 1977, pages 165–170. It is also printed in full in Foreign Relations, 1977–1980, volume I, Foundations of Foreign Policy, Document 50.