Their job was to represent the best of American ideals abroad. Yet at home, they faced racial discrimination. The US State Department was slow to bring the elitist, “pale, male and Yale” Foreign Service into the modern, desegregated world. Refusing to let unjust and obstructive social attitudes stand in their way, the three men profiled in AMERICAN EXPERIENCE documentary THE AMERICAN DIPLOMAT (Wednesday 29th, 5.50pm) would achieve prominent appointments during the Truman, Eisenhower and Kennedy administrations, and each would leave a lasting imprint on the field of diplomacy.
Rare archival footage, in-depth histories and interviews with family members, colleagues and diplomats all contribute to this inspiring portrait of African-American ambassadors Edward R. Dudley, Terence Todman and Carl Rowan, and their extraordinary legacies.