Ralph Bunche was an African American political scientist and diplomat who mediated between Israelis and Palestinians in the 1940s, leading to an armistice agreement and the Nobel Peace Prize. He excelled academically, founded the National Negro Congress, and worked for the US government during WWII. He died in 1971, leaving a legacy of peace and civil rights.
Ralph Bunche was an American political scientist and diplomat known for his mediation between Israelis and Palestinians in the 1940s. He was responsible for an armistice agreement between the two groups and consequently became the first African American to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. Ralph Bunche was also awarded the Medal of Freedom, one of the two highest civilian awards in the United States, by President Lyndon Johnson in 1971.
Ralph Bunche was born in Detroit, Michigan on August 7, 1904, the son of a barber and an amateur musician. At the age of ten, he moved his family to Albuquerque, New Mexico in hopes of improving his parents’ failing health. Sadly, both died within a few years, and orphaned Ralph Bunche moved to Los Angeles, California, where he lived with his grandmother, at the age of 13.
Ralph Bunche attended Jefferson High School in Los Angeles, where he excelled in academic study and debate. Bunche graduated as valedictorian, but was barred from fellowship at the Los Angeles Honor Society due to his race. He continued his academic career at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where he obtained a partial scholarship. He also worked throughout his college career to supplement his scholarship.
At UCLA, Ralph Bunche continued to excel in various fields. He was a model student who excelled in debating, student politics, and athletics, and graduated once again as valedictorian, with the highest Latin honor, summa cum laude. Ralph Bunche went on to earn a master’s degree in political science from Harvard University, paying tuition with a college scholarship and a gift from a black women’s organization in Los Angeles that established a scholarship fund in the name of he. While completing his doctorate at Harvard, Ralph Bunche served as a professor at the majority-black Howard University in Washington, DC, where he founded the Department of Political Science.
After finishing his PhD. in 1934, Ralph Bunche spoke out against racism and segregation, founding the National Negro Congress in 1936. He also continued his studies through field research in Africa and published pamphlets on political race relations in the United States and around the world in general.
Ralph Bunche began working for the US government during World War II, first in the Office of Strategic Services, the forerunner of the CIA, and then for the State Department. Ralph Bunche became one of the leaders of the Institute of Pacific Relations (IPR) along with Alger Hiss. In 1945, Ralph Bunche was involved in planning the United Nations and drafting its charter and creating the International Declaration of Human Rights.
Ralph Bunche’s work in Palestine began in 1947 and culminated in the signing of the Armistice Agreements in 1949. A year later, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his achievements in the area. Bunche continued to work for peace in unstable regions and in 1968 he became under-secretary-general of the United Nations.
Ralph Bunche died in 1971, but his legacy of peace and civil rights endures. Ralph Bunche gave his name to a school building at UCLA, the oldest federal government library in the United States, and a park in New York City.
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