Page 149 - Leadership Lessons of the White House Fellows

THE LESSONS

assigned Quincy to be the diplomatic escort officer for Dr. Martin Luther
King’s widow, Coretta Scott King, during her mission to South Africa.
“The secretary briefed Mrs. King in his office prior to departure on how
very difficult the political landscape was there in South Africa. He informed
her that a number of high-level missions to South Africa had not suc-
ceeded,” Quincy explained. “But Mrs. King was determined to meet with
a cross-section of South African leaders to discuss the political and eco-
nomic situation there. It was imperative for high-level U.S. leaders to have
dialogue with South African leaders. It was particularly important for some-
one of Mrs. King’s stature to do so because she was universally respected
for her own work in human rights.”
Despite extensive advance work by the American Embassy staff in
South Africa, high-level State Department officials, and National Security
Council staff, the delegation was met with incredible challenges on the
ground. Mrs. King was scheduled to meet with black South African lead-
ers at Winnie Mandela’s home in Soweto, an African township just outside
Johannesburg known for its violence. South African President P. W. Botha
sent word to the American delegation that his government would not be
responsible for Mrs. King’s safety and notified them that he had pulled all
his security forces from inside the township. Only the township’s entrances
and exits had security personnel, and Botha had ordered them not to enter
Soweto under any circumstances. Consequently, the U.S. ambassador to
South Africa ordered the State Department security force officers accom-
panying Quincy and Mrs. King not to go into Soweto either and ordered
all U.S. personnel to leave Soweto immediately. Mrs. King’s mission was
on the brink of being a complete failure.
“Mrs. King summoned me to her hotel suite. She was in tears, and she
told me that she could not leave the country without meeting with Winnie
Mandela and the other black antiapartheid leaders, many of whom were
under house arrest. She said, ‘Look, I’ve gone through an awful lot, and my
husband could not have led the civil rights movement if he was in fear. He
led without fear for his life and he led without fear for his reputation.’ So
she felt that if she was going to be a leader in the mirror of her husband,
she had to be courageous and not worry about her safety—to be conscious
of it, but not to worry about her safety—and not to be concerned about
preserving her reputation. She was willing to take that risk,” Quincy said.
“So I told her that I would figure out a way to get her into Soweto.”

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