Black History

Colin Powell: ‘Not Allowed to Fail’

Via jobs as military assistant to high-level government officials and a stint as national security adviser to then-President Ronald Reagan, Powell rose quickly through the ranks. He became the youngest and first Black chairman of the Joint Chiefs. He was instrumental in the 1991 Persian Gulf War victory but struggled over the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003—at which time he was serving as secretary of state under then-President George W. Bush, Powell’s most difficult assignment.

Published

3 years ago

November 5, 2021

Oakland Post

Gen. Colin Powell Public domain photo.

By Tamara Shiloh

Gen. Colin Powell (1937–2021), born in Harlem to Jamaican immigrant parents Luther and Maud Powell, rose to the highest reaches of the U.S. military: four-star general. He would go on to become the country’s first Black Secretary of State. His successes weren’t without support and the foundation set early on.

Propelling Powell to exceed his own expectations were those of his parents: “We were not allowed to fail,” he said during a 2006 New York Daily News interview. Powell said those words “didn’t mean you had to be a general or a doctor or a lawyer. In fact, that was the furthest thing from my mind when I was a kid in New York City. But you had to stay in school, and you had to do well, and you had to meet (their) expectations: ‘We didn’t come to this country for the next generation to blow it.’”

Powell’s childhood was storied. Raised in a four-bedroom, third-floor apartment on Kelly Street in the South Bronx, Powell came from modest means. His father worked in Manhattan’s Garment District, and his mother was a seamstress. He often said that he loved his tenement neighborhood.

Surrounded by a large extended family as well as people of varied cultures, Powell described his childhood experiences in New York City as being exposed to “every type of person you could imagine,” and that it “meant so much to me as I grew up and learned the importance of diversity.”

Powell attended New York City’s public schools before enrolling at City College of New York and later earning an MBA from George Washington University. It was at City College that he found his calling: The Reserve Officer Training Corps program. He began to build relationships that later led him to the U.S. Army—a move that would eventually direct his future.

As the Pentagon’s top officer, Powell, who viewed himself as a problem-solver, called for “applying military might only with overwhelming and decisive troop strength, a clear objective, and popular support,” the Washington Post reported. Journalists later dubbed this method “the Powell Doctrine.”

Interestingly, throughout his career, Powell avoided racial activism. He believed “race factored much less in his professional success than his ability to work within institutions, where he competed with whites on their own terms,” according to the Washington Post. “My race is somebody’s else’s problem … It’s not my problem,” he had said.

After retiring from public service, spending time on the lecture circuit, and becoming founding chair of America’s Promise, Powell died Oct. 18, 2021. He was 84.

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Activism

S.F. Black Leaders Rally to Protest, Discuss ‘Epidemic’ of Racial Slurs Against Black Students in SF Public School System

Parents at the meeting spoke of their children as no longer feeling safe in school because of bullying and discrimination. Parents also said that reported incidents such as racial slurs and intimidation are not dealt with to their satisfaction and feel ignored.

Published

2 days ago

May 4, 2024

Oakland Post

Rev. Amos C. Brown, president of the San Francisco NAACP and pastor of Third Baptist Church. Photo courtesy Third Baptist Church.

By Carla Thomas

San Francisco’s Third Baptist Church hosted a rally and meeting Sunday to discuss hatred toward African American students of the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD).

Rev. Amos C. Brown, president of the San Francisco NAACP and pastor of Third Baptist Church, along with leadership from local civil rights groups, the city’s faith-based community and Black community leadership convened at the church.

“There has been an epidemic of racial slurs and mistreatment of Black children in our public schools in the city,” said Brown. “This will not be tolerated.”

According to civil rights advocate Mattie Scott, students from elementary to high school have reported an extraordinary amount of racial slurs directed at them.

“There is a surge of overt racism in the schools, and our children should not be subjected to this,” said Scott. “Students are in school to learn, develop, and grow, not be hated on,” said Scott. “The parents of the children feel they have not received the support necessary to protect their children.”

Attendees were briefed last Friday in a meeting with SFUSD Superintendent Dr. Matt Wayne.

SFUSD states that their policies protect children and they are not at liberty to publicly discuss the issues to protect the children’s privacy.

Some parents said they have removed their students from school while other parents and community leaders called on the removal of the SFUSD superintendent, the firing of certain school principals and the need for more supportive school board members.

Community advocates discussed boycotting the schools and creating Freedom Schools led by Black leaders and educators, reassuring parents that their child’s wellbeing and education are the highest priority and youth are not to be disrupted by racism or policies that don’t support them.

Virginia Marshall, chair of the San Francisco NAACP’s education committee, offered encouragement to the parents and students in attendance while also announcing an upcoming May 14 school board meeting to demand accountability over their mistreatment.

“I’m urging anyone that cares about our students to pack the May 14 school board meeting,” said Marshall.

This resource was supported in whole or in part by funding provided by the State of California, administered by the California State Library via California Black Media as part of the Stop the Hate Program. The program is supported by partnership with California Department of Social Services and the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs as part of the Stop the Hate program. To report a hate incident or hate crime and get support, go to CA vs Hate.