American racism and African diplomats: race and American Cold War policy in West Africa

Abstract

Two of the most significant influences on post-World War II American society were Cold War ideology and the struggle over civil rights. The Kennedy years provide a special opportunity to examine the relationship between these two facets of modern American society. The interconnectedness between Cold War ideology and civil rights increased during the 1960s. Cold War tensions escalated and the American government became increasingly concerned about the effect of racial strife on the country's image abroad. Many officials feared that America's racial problems placed her in a weaker position than the Soviet Union in the struggle to win the "hearts and minds" of Latin America, Asia, and Africa. This study will examine the political and social ramifications of the experiences of African diplomats in the United States during the Kennedy administration within both a national and international context. African encounters with American racism illustrate the interplay between foreign policy and domestic pressures and the globalization of the civil rights movement. The Kennedy administration, especially the State Department, took decisive action on the behalf of the African diplomats. However, racial problems confronting the African diplomats could not be resolved without resolving the racial problems confronting black Americans and other people of color in the United States. The main argument of this thesis is that the administration's efforts to solve this international image problem were significant steps towards the eventual end of de jure segregation in the long-term. This thesis includes an examination of relations between the United States and British West Africa, the African and Soviet response to American racism, the efforts of the State Department on behalf of the mistreated African diplomats, and the relationship between the civil rights movement and independence movements in Africa.