PBS spotlights Black diplomats abroad during a time of social upheaval at home

PBS spotlights¹ Black diplomats³ abroad during a time of social upheaval⁴ at home

Transcript⁵

A new documentary on PBS — The America Diplomat² — tells the stories of three black diplomats representing America at the height of the Cold War, as they fought racism⁶ within the State Department.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

The State Department recently renamed its cafeteria after pioneering Black diplomat Terence Todman. Now there's a new film about him and two other African American diplomats who represented the U.S. overseas at a time of social upheaval at home. "The American Diplomat" premiered last night on PBS. NPR's Michele Kelemen caught up with the filmmaker to talk about why their stories resonate today.

MICHELE KELEMEN, BYLINE⁷: In her documentary "The American Diplomat," Leola Calzolai-Stewart zeroes in on one turbulent period in world history.

LEOLA CALZOLAI-STEWART: The American civil rights movement was happening at home. It was the early Cold War period. Countries around the world were on the verge⁸ of independence. So it was just a really interesting time frame to be exploring, I think, from the lens of a Black diplomat during that time period.

KELEMEN: She dove into photo, video and audio archives to tell the stories of three men.

(SOUNDBITE OF DOCUMENTARY, "THE AMERICAN DIPLOMAT")

EDWARD DUDLEY: I became the first ambassador of color from the United States.

KELEMEN: Edward Dudley was a civil rights lawyer who represented the U.S. in Liberia, becoming ambassador in 1949. Realizing that Black diplomats only rotated through a few embassies in Africa or island nations, he led the fight for more equal treatment in assignments. The film, available on PBS's "American Experience," also tells the story of Carl Rowan, a prominent Black journalist-turned-diplomat who ran the U.S. Information Agency in the mid-1960s. Then there was Terence Todman, who was just recently honored by Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

ANTONY BLINKEN: He was an extraordinary diplomat. But because he was a Black diplomat, he was routinely forced to prove himself worthy⁹ to serve the country that he loved.

KELEMEN: Todman was a six-time ambassador. Early on in his career, when he was studying at the Foreign Service Institute, he wasn't able to eat at a nearby restaurant because of Virginia's segregation¹⁰ laws, a story told in the new documentary.

(SOUNDBITE OF DOCUMENTARY, "THE AMERICAN DIPLOMAT")

TERENCE TODMAN: So I went to the State Department and said, this can't go. State Department said, these are Virginia laws. A lot of people have come here and haven't said anything about it. And I said, well, I'm not other people, and you're doing something that's not right.

KELEMEN: Todman convinced the State Department to rent half the restaurant. And as the documentary points out, this was all happening while the U.S. and the Soviet¹¹ Union were in a battle of ideas. Director Calzolai-Stewart says that resonates today while the Biden administration talks about a struggle between democracies and autocracies¹², and Americans faced a racial reckoning at home.

CALZOLAI-STEWART: One of the lines in the film that I thought was very powerful was Ambassador Todman's wife, Doris Todman, who said, you know, we're showing what America could be, and that's important, too. And I think a lot of diplomats feel that way.

KELEMEN: Calzolai-Stewart is herself married to a U.S. diplomat and wants young people to learn the history and understand that the State Department has come a long way from the days when it was viewed as, quote, "pale, male and Yale."

CALZOLAI-STEWART: And to see that it's not a profession for a privileged few, but for all Americans, and that here are some people that helped pave the way for people like my husband, for other Black diplomats, for diplomats of color. They helped create space for us to have a voice in how our country is represented overseas.

KELEMEN: Leola Calzolai-Stewart hopes to start working soon on a follow-up documentary to focus on women in the foreign service.

Michele Kelemen, NPR News, the State Department.

(SOUNDBITE OF AUGUST WILHELMSSON'S "DEPARTURE")

1 spotlights   

n.聚光灯（的光）( spotlight的名词复数 )；公众注意的中心v.聚光照明( spotlight的第三人称单数 )；使公众注意，使突出醒目

参考例句：

• The room was lit by spotlights. 房间被聚光灯照亮。
• The dazzle of the spotlights made him ill at ease. 聚光灯的耀眼强光使他局促不安。 来自辞典例句

2 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

3 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 upheaval   

n.胀起，(地壳)的隆起；剧变，动乱

参考例句：

• It was faced with the greatest social upheaval since World War Ⅱ.它面临第二次世界大战以来最大的社会动乱。
• The country has been thrown into an upheaval.这个国家已经陷入动乱之中。

5 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

6 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。

7 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

8 verge   

n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• She was on the verge of bursting into tears.她快要哭出来了。

9 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

10 segregation   

n.隔离，种族隔离

参考例句：

• Many school boards found segregation a hot potato in the early 1960s.在60年代初，许多学校部门都觉得按水平分班是一个棘手的问题。
• They were tired to death of segregation and of being kicked around.他们十分厌恶种族隔离和总是被人踢来踢去。

11 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

12 autocracies   

n.独裁( autocracy的名词复数 )；独裁统治；独裁政体；独裁政府

参考例句：

• She did persuade herself that there were no autocracies save that of Prussia. 她自己深信，除了普鲁士以外，世界上哪儿都没有独裁政府了。 来自辞典例句
• Autocracies can function perfectly well without news, but democracies cannot. 独裁国家没有新闻业，可以依旧运转；民主国家却不行。 来自互联网