The African American Voice in U.S. Foreign Policy Since World War II

Following World War II, America was witness to two great struggles. The first was onthe international front and involved the fight for freedom around the globe, as millionsof people in Asia and Africa rose up to throw off their European colonial masters. Inthe decades following 1945 dozens of new nations joined the ranks of independentcountries. Following the Civil War, the African-American voice in U.S. foreign affairscontinued to grow. In the late nineteenth century, a few African-Americans — such asFrederick Douglass — even served as U.S. diplomats to the "black republics" of Liberiaand Haiti. When America began its overseas thrust during the 1890s, African-Americanopinion was divided.