Ralph Johnson Bunche, American political scientist, scholar,
Nobel Prize winner, and diplomat.
Bunche was born on August 7, 1904 in Detroit, Michigan. His father Fred was a barber who owned a racially segregated barber shop that catered solely to white customers. His mother, Olive Agnes Johnson, was an amateur musician. Young Ralph spent his early years in Michigan. However, due to the relatively poor health of his mother, the family moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico when he was ten years old. The family believed the dry climate of the region would be more conducive to his mother's’ health. Upon his mother's death, Ralph and his two sisters were resettled in Los Angeles, California where they joined their grandmother who raised them in a South Central neighborhood that was then predominantly white.
It was during his teenage years in Los Angeles where Bunche proved to be a brilliant student. He excelled in all of his high school courses and graduated valedictorian of his high school class at Jefferson High School. He then attended the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) where he graduated summa cum laude in 1927. Bunche continued his graduate studies at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts where in 1934 he became the first African American to earn a doctorate degree in Political Science from an American university. While he was earning his doctorate degree, Bunche became a professor in the political science department at Howard University in Washington, D.C.
In 1942 Bunche began work as a senior social analyst in the Office of Strategic Services, which was the forerunner of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). In 1943 he joined the U.S. State Department. Toward the end of World War II he participated in the initial planning for the United Nations which was established in 1945. He was also a key figure in the creation and adoption of the UN Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. By that time Bunche was also establishing a record as a mediator in the already-violent Arab-Israeli conflict. It was that work which led to his being awarded the 1950 Nobel Peace Prize in Olso, Norway. Bunche was the first African American to be awarded the Prize. Bunche’s passion for social and racial justice also made him a strong supporter of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s.
Throughout his groundbreaking career, Bunche remained on the Howard University faculty. He eventually chaired the department of Political Science at Howard for more than two decades. Afterwards, he taught at Harvard University from 1950 to 1952 and served on its Board of Overseers from 1960 to 1965. He also served as a trustee of Oberlin College, Lincoln University, and the New Lincoln School in New York City, New York. By the late 1960’s, Bunche’s health began to decline and he eventually resigned from his post at the United Nations.
Ralph Johnson Bunche died on December 9, 1971.
Bunche was born on August 7, 1904 in Detroit, Michigan. His father Fred was a barber who owned a racially segregated barber shop that catered solely to white customers. His mother, Olive Agnes Johnson, was an amateur musician. Young Ralph spent his early years in Michigan. However, due to the relatively poor health of his mother, the family moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico when he was ten years old. The family believed the dry climate of the region would be more conducive to his mother's’ health. Upon his mother's death, Ralph and his two sisters were resettled in Los Angeles, California where they joined their grandmother who raised them in a South Central neighborhood that was then predominantly white.
It was during his teenage years in Los Angeles where Bunche proved to be a brilliant student. He excelled in all of his high school courses and graduated valedictorian of his high school class at Jefferson High School. He then attended the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) where he graduated summa cum laude in 1927. Bunche continued his graduate studies at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts where in 1934 he became the first African American to earn a doctorate degree in Political Science from an American university. While he was earning his doctorate degree, Bunche became a professor in the political science department at Howard University in Washington, D.C.
In 1942 Bunche began work as a senior social analyst in the Office of Strategic Services, which was the forerunner of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). In 1943 he joined the U.S. State Department. Toward the end of World War II he participated in the initial planning for the United Nations which was established in 1945. He was also a key figure in the creation and adoption of the UN Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. By that time Bunche was also establishing a record as a mediator in the already-violent Arab-Israeli conflict. It was that work which led to his being awarded the 1950 Nobel Peace Prize in Olso, Norway. Bunche was the first African American to be awarded the Prize. Bunche’s passion for social and racial justice also made him a strong supporter of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s.
Throughout his groundbreaking career, Bunche remained on the Howard University faculty. He eventually chaired the department of Political Science at Howard for more than two decades. Afterwards, he taught at Harvard University from 1950 to 1952 and served on its Board of Overseers from 1960 to 1965. He also served as a trustee of Oberlin College, Lincoln University, and the New Lincoln School in New York City, New York. By the late 1960’s, Bunche’s health began to decline and he eventually resigned from his post at the United Nations.
Ralph Johnson Bunche died on December 9, 1971.
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