An ongoing illustrative history study
This piece originally posted 8/21/2020
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"Peace is more than simply the absence of war; it is the absence of conditions that give rise to war."
While Ron V. Dellums will be remembered for many accomplishments in his lifetime (among them 13 terms in the House, a founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus, and as Mayor of Oakland, CA), history will likely record his greatest feat as being the principal architect of the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986. In a decisive rebuke to apartheid, the bill consisted of six wide-ranging measures --they banned virtually all trade and investment in South Africa, set strict conditions for assistance, and even went as far as to ban direct airline flights. The bill was vetoed by President Reagan but that veto was ultimately overridden by a 2/3 majority of both houses of Congress --the first such override in the 20th century. While it would be several more years before South Africa took any substantive steps to dismantle and then abolish apartheid, the legislation was significant.
Dellums brought a similar consistency to his other legislative initiatives --from his first days in Congress in 1971 (the first-ever elected black representative from that district), he reliably opposed the Vietnam war and other forms of military expansion, plus he convened his own hearings on Vietnam war crimes and instances of institutionalized racism in the U.S. armed forces, at a time when Congress itself lacked the political will to do so. Dellums never shied away from his progressive roots (while ostensibly a Democrat, he regarded himself as a socialist), and predictably landed prominently on Nixon's famous Enemies List, something he would boast about to his constituency. He was also among the first Congressmen to formally call for statehood for the District of Columbia. Unusually for such an antiwar politician (who had himself served in the Marine Corps), Dellums also aggressively sought out --and gained-- a seat on the Armed Services Committee. He also opposed American intervention in Grenada and the first Persian Gulf War in 1991, and pushed for integration of gays and lesbians in the U.S. armed forces --though to his own personal disappointment he ended up voting in favor of the 1994 Defense Authorization Act, out of compromise; the language specifically excluded any mention of gay and lesbian integration, but did cut many programs he saw as wasteful and unnecessary. Dellums did receive a Presidential nomination from the National Black Political Assembly in 1976, but refused. He did receive 20 Vice Presidential delegate votes that year, at the Democratic National Convention.
After retiring from Congress in 1998, Dellums worked as a lobbyist but ultimately returned to politics when he was elected mayor of Oakland in 2006. His tenure in the post was marked by considerable grassroots participation, and favoring more "non-sworn" personnel in law enforcement leadership and administrative roles --a policy which earned him the enmity of many of the city's police, particularly its powerful union. Unfortunately this and other difficulties (including a failed recall election) plagued his final months as Mayor and he opted not to seek another term.
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