Chairman Colin Luther Powell, photograph from the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff
A Black History Month Special
Colin Powell
Born in Harlem, New York, the son of Jamaican immigrants, Colin Luther Powell grew up in the South Bronx, where he graduated high school as a C student. Colin would find his true calling after joining the Army ROTC at City College of New York moving on to become a world-renowned master military tactician known for his belief that political, diplomatic, and economic measures must always be exhausted prior to the U.S. going to war.
Colin Powell had an extensive military career with thirty-five years in the army during which time he served two tours in Vietnam before rising through the ranks from second lieutenant to four-star general. He was appointed the role of Deputy National Security Advisor by Ronald Reagan and would go on to be assigned as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff by George H.W. Bush making him the youngest and first African American man to hold this position. In 2000, under the presidency of George W. Bush, Colin Luther Powell became the first African American man to be appointed as Secretary of State, the highest government position ever held by an African American in U.S. history.
In 2021, after a lifetime of notable achievements, and a profound career in both the military and U.S. government, the world bid farewell to General Colin Luther Powell at the age of 84.
