American Society and the African American Foreign Policy Lobby Constraints and Opportunities

Abstract

African American efforts to internationalize their ethnicity and influence U.S. governmental behavior toward the global Black diaspora have historical roots. This quest received an impetus during the 1960s and 1970s as Black racial consciousness grew and as efforts to create an organizational mechanism for its expression on the international stage picked up momentum. In 1977, TransAfrica, the first legally mandated African American foreign policy lobby devoted exclusively to Black diaspora issues outside of the United States, was formed (personal interview with W. Johnson, professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, March 1986). TransAfrica's political fortunes would fluctuate in subsequent years as its successful advocacy of comprehensive South African sanctions in 1986 was not emulated on most congressional issues. The history of TransAfrica's congressional initiatives has received attention, but little has been written about the societal factors that may have contributed to its influence on foreign policy issues. This study examines organizational and ethnic factors that have inhibited or enhanced TransAfrica's influence. Its purpose is to demonstrate that lobby and ethnic group variables play a role in the influence of the African American lobby on foreign policy issues. A section on methodology is followed by a history of TransAfrica including a delineation of how legislation it endorsed fared in