Colin Powell

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According to The New York Times, Colin Powell was "emblematic of the ability of minorities to use the military as a ladder of opportunity."

Born to Jamaican parent in Harlem, New York City, in 1937, Powell grew up in the South Bronx, an ethnically-diverse, working-class part of the city. He served in the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) at City College and was commissioned as a second lieutentant in the U.S. Army not long after it had been officially desegregated. At the same time, his training in the American South ocurred in the 1950s, during the height of Jim-Crow segregation. He was forced to use segregated washrooms in Fayetteville, North Carolina, and off-base nera Fort Benning, Georgia. 

Powell's first overseas deployment was as a platoon leader in West Germany during World War II. He went on to serve two combat tours in Vietnam during the 1960s. As a career officer, he rose through the ranks of the Army. He became a battalion commander in Korea in 1973 and a brigade comander for the 101st Airborne Division in 1976. In 1979, he received his first star as a general, the youngest Army general at the time. He was tapped to comand the 75,000 soldiers of V Corps in West Germany in 1986. 

During the Reagan administration he took on his first role as national security advisor, but he returned to the Army Forces Command in 1989 as the fourth Black four-star general in Army history. In October of that year, Powell became the charman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. 

In 1990, a new era in U.S. overseas warfare was initated with the onset of the Gulf War when President Georgie H.W. Bush ordered the military to drive Iraqi forces from Kuwait. As the oversear of the military buildup in the Saudi desert, Colin Powell became a promponent of what became known as the Powell Doctrone: If American force is to be used, it should be overpowering and decisive.

During the Clinton administration, Powell continued to serve as the chair of the Joint Chiefs. In that position, he opposed changes to military policy that would have allowed gay soldiers to serve openly, leading to the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. 

Powell retired for the first time in 1993. Between 1993 and 2000, he became active in Republican politics, ultimately leading to his being tapped for Secretary of State by President Georgie W. Bush in December 2000. Despite having previously advocated for maintaining Saddam Hussein's power in Iraq, Secretary Powell became known for making the case for a second war in Iraq to the United Nations a year and a half after 9/11, in February 2003. In the speech, he implied that Saddam Huseein's regime could fuel global terrorism, saying, "Leaving Saddam Hussein in possessio of weapons of mass destruction for a few more months or years is not an option, not in a post-September 11th world."

After the United States invaded Iraq, it became clear that intelligence of weapons of mass destruction had been false.

Powell retired for the second time in January 2005, turning his attention to his non-profit "America's Pormise" which helped at-risk youth. He continued to speak publicly about political issues. He donated to John McCain's political campaign in 2007 but then endorsed Barack Obama for president in both of his elections. He was a vocal critic of Donald Trump and officially switched party affiliations following the capital insurection of January 2021 after supporting Joe Biden's campaign for the presidency.

Colin Powell died in October 2021 of complications of COVID-19.