American Experience, The American Diplomat
PBS Western Reserve (WNEO 45.1 / WEAO 49.1):
Tuesday, Aug. 13, at 9 PM
Wednesday, AUg. 14, at 2 AM
This one-hour historical documentary examines the experience of African American diplomats serving during the Cold War. At the height of the civil rights movement in the United States, these men represented the best of American ideals abroad while facing discrimination at home.
Colloquially referred to as “male, pale and Yale,” the State Department fiercely maintained and cultivated the Foreign Service’s elite character and was one of the last federal agencies to truly desegregate.