November 1, 2009 Condoleeza Rice---A Woman With Wisdom

Today’s Information On African American History

It’s not too often we hear of African Americans involved in worldwide peace, unless it is Dr. Condoleezza Rice, whom many African Americans seemingly know little about, and even respect her even less. However, the majority of the world acknowledges that Ms. Rice is a key player for world peace. Born during the Civil Right's Struggle in Alabama, one of her best friends was killed by white supremacists in a church bombing.

Dr. Rice has been National Security Advisor, and is the former Secretary of State, following behind Colin Powell, the first African American to become America’s Secretary of State. Colin Powell was known and made his mark on the world through his military background. Dr. Rice is becoming known through her powers of negotiations with foreign governments all over the world.

Whether liked by African Americans or not, Ms. Rice knows her stuff. She has degrees from the University of Denver, University of Notre Dame, “received her Ph.D. in Political Science from the Graduate School of International Studies at Denver, "speaks fluent Russian, and, with varying degrees of fluency, German, French, and Spanish.” She has also received honorary doctorate degrees from Morehouse College, the University of Alabama, the University of Notre Dame, the Mississippi College School of Law, the University of Louisville, Michigan State University, and Boston College Law School, and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Plus, she has been listed by Forbes as one of the world’s most powerful women; written up in Time Magazine; interviewed on some of the top radio and television shows; was a top executive at Stanford University; hailed as an author and co-author; and has served (or is serving) on the corporate boards of some of America’s most prestigious corporations.

Dr. Ralph Bunche, was an African American Nobel Peace Prize recipient in 1950 for “the most effective work in the interest of international peace.” At the time, the world was astounded by this black man who finished at Harvard, “set up the Department of Political Science” at Howard University, traveled around the world for peace, and had a major achievement as the “U.N. mediator in the Palestine crisis…which brought about a cease-fire between Egypt and Israel” and became “the highest ranking Black American in the United Nations when he was appointed Undersecretary for Special Political Affairs in 1955."

However, neither Dr. Bunche or any other African American has traveled to as many foreign countries as Dr. Rice, visiting “nearly seventy countries and [traveling]more miles in her first year as Secretary [of State] than her predecessor, Colin Powell, did in his five-year career. She has also set the record for most miles flown by a Secretary of State on a single trip and most continuous miles in a single flight…[traveling] 240,261 miles, visited 49 countries, and spent over 500 hours in flight.”

Dr. Rice has been to Europe, Nova Scotia, and to some of the hot spots of the Cold, including “the Middle East…Germany…the United Kingdom…Poland… Turkey… Israel…[Lebanon]…the Palestinian Territories…Italy…France…Belgium…and Luxembourg.” Not afraid of a fight, Dr. Rice has been in major talks concerning Iraq, Iran, North Korea, Russia, Cuba, and Venezuela. No other African American, past or present, has ever been so involved in world peace as this uniquely qualified woman.

As a woman and as an African American, Dr. Rice has been severely criticized by women and African Americans. It could be because she refuses to play by the rules set up by those who cannot think beyond their own pet ideologies or beyond their feminine or racial stock. Not unlike Colin Powell, Dr. Rice does not like a box to be drawn around her because of her sex or her race. Dr. Rice thinks like an individual genuinely concerned with the problems of the day and expects to be accepted as an individual; not as a woman and not as an African American. Perhaps Dr. Rice will expand this type of thinking which was also exhibited by Colin Powell---don’t expect me to react based on my gender or based on my race. Maybe this type of thinking will become an invisible thread that will permeate the future thinking of African Americans in future generations!

Credits:
David C. Cook “Black America: Yesterday and Today”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Condoleezza_Rice#Academic_career


Next time: Rethinking Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. What can we learn from his teachings that will help us in the 21 century?