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Biography: Life of Ralph Bunche
Born 1903, Died 1971
Ralph J. Bunche, noted black scholar, diplomat and government official, was born on August 7, 1903 in Detroit, Michigan. Bunche later moved to Los Angeles. Intellectually brilliant, Ralph Bunche graduated as valedictorian both at Jefferson High School and at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), where he received a B.A. degree in political science in 1927. A scholarship enabled Bunche to obtain a M.A. degree from Harvard University in 1928.
Ralph Bunche spent the next six years alternating between teaching at Howard University in Washington, D.C., where he established a political science department, and working towards his doctorate at Harvard. Ralph Bunche became the first African-American to receive a Ph.D. in political science in the United States.
After receiving his Ph.D., Bunche returned to Howard University where he chaired the Department of Political Science from 1928 until 1950. Bunche’s career as a civil rights activist began to Howard University. Ralph Bunche was part of a group known as the “Young Turks” who believed that working on issues of class, not race, would solve the problems of African-Americans. Bunche was at odds with W.E.B. Dubois and others because of this position.
In 1941 Ralph Bunche joined the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) and held a senior post at the State Department during World War II. At the State Department he played an active roll in the conferences which formed the United Nations.
Ralph Bunche joined the United Nations Secretariat in 1946 and was appointed director of the Trusteeship Department in 1947. In this position Bunche successfully mediated the Armistice Agreements in 1949 between Israel and Arabs in Palestine. In 1950 Ralph Bunche won the Nobel Peace Prize for his mediation of the conflict, the first African-American to be so honored.
Because of his involvement with the National Negro Congress, Ralph Bunche was investigated by the House Committee on Un-American Activities in its search for Communist sympathizers. Bunche was cleared of all charges.
In 1955 Ralph Bunche was appointed Undersecretary General of the United Nations. In this position he played major peacekeeping and mediation roles in international conflicts. In 1963 Ralph Bunche was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Ralph Bunche tried to resign from the United Nations in 1967 but under overwhelming pressure was persuaded to remain on the job. Bunche remained Undersecretary General of the United Nations until 1971. He died on December 7, 1971 in New York City.
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