DIPLOMAT, UNDERSECRETARY-GENERAL OF THE UNITED NATIONS
Ralph Bunche (1904–1971) was an influential scholar, civil rights advocate, and statesman, becoming, in 1950, the first black person to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Bunche, Ralph, photograph by Carl Van Vechten. The Estate of Carl Van Vechten. Reproduced by permission.
Prominent Figure.
In 1950 Ralph Bunche became the first black person awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in fostering an armistice between warring Arabs and Israelis. The award brought to public attention a long record of public service. Bunche was a central figure among blacks, and although less well known during the 1940s than W. E. B. Du Bois or A. Philip Randolph, like them he prepared the way for the civil rights revolution of the 1950s and 1960s. An...
Source: American Decades: 1940-1949, ©1995 Gale Cengage. All Rights Reserved. Full copyright.
(The entire page is 988 words.)
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