Franklin H. Williams Award to Be Presented March 1
Celebrate Peace Corps Day by honoring the 2023 recipients of the Franklin H. Williams Award. By NPCA Staff The Franklin H. Williams Award is presented by the Peace Corps agency and honors ethnically diverse Returned Peace Corps Volunteers who have demonstrated a commitment to civic engagement, service, diversity, inclusion, world peace, and to the Peace Corps’ Third Goal — to strengthen Americans’ understanding of the world and its peoples. An advocate for civil rights and an early architect of the Peace Corps, Franklin Williams also served as ambassador to the U.N. and U.S. ambassador to Ghana. The award was established...
Learning History, Not Hate
Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders Leading in a Time of Adversity. A conversation convened as Part of Peace Corps Connect 2021. Image by Shutterstock Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) are currently the fastest-growing racial or ethnic group in the U.S., but the story of the U.S. AAPI population dates back decades — and is often overlooked. As the community faces an increase in anti-Asian hate crimes and the widening income gap between the wealthiest and poorest, their role in politics and social justice is increasingly important. The AAPI story is also complex — 22 million Asian Americans...
First Comes Belonging
Part of the discussion on “Building a Community of Black RPCVs: Recruitment Challenges and Opportunities” Photo courtesy Hermence Matsotsa-Cross By Hermence Matsotsa-Cross Peace Corps Volunteer in Togo 1999–2001 | Founder and CEO of Ubuntu Speaks Below are edited excerpts. Watch the full program here. My father was a Volunteer in Gabon in the early ’70s, where he met my mother, a Gabonese woman from one village he worked in. So I’m very much the product of Peace Corps. Growing up, I always heard Peace Corps stories; more important was the idea of volunteerism, how important that was, and working...
Put Together Skill, Knowledge, and Commitment with Opportunities and Support
Part of the discussion on “Building a Community of Black RPCVs: Recruitment Challenges and Opportunities” Photo courtesy Sia Barbara Kamara By Sia Barbara Kamara Peace Corps Volunteer Liberia 1963–65 | Educational Consultant I live in Washington, D.C. But I grew up in what would be considered public housing in North Carolina. I graduated from Johnson C. Smith University, a historically Black college. The Peace Corps recruiter came to campus just before graduation. I said, Yes, if I can go to Africa. I graduated with a degree in mathematics and physics, and a minor in economics. My goal...
Don’t Look for Representation, Look for a Systemic Problem Solver
Part of the discussion on “Building a Community of Black RPCVs: Recruitment Challenges and Opportunities” Photo courtesy Howard Dodson By Howard Dodson Peace Corps Volunteer in Ecuador 1964–67 | Director, Howard University Libraries I wanted to join the Peace Corps the day Kennedy announced it was going to happen. I was a junior in undergraduate school — first on both sides of my family on the verge of graduating from college. I took the idea home to my parents. My father’s response was: “Let me see if I understand this. You’re going to finish a college degree, go away overseas...
An Inclusive State Department Is a National Security Imperative
Our public service institutions, whether it’s Peace Corps or the Department of State, must do better. And your work is how we change that. Photo by Freddie Everett / State Department By Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer, U.S. Department of State I served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Oman nearly four decades ago, and Peace Corps is where I met my husband. Like many of you, Peace Corps changed the trajectory of my life. For me and many colleagues at the Department of State, Peace Corps also launched my career in diplomacy. When I...
Mirror the Face of Our Nation: Strategies for Increasing African American Inclusion in the Peace Corps and International Careers
The past: The program you may not know about that inspired JFK. The future: How we change what America looks like abroad. Photo: Rep. Karen Bass, who delivered welcoming remarks for the event, part of the Ronald H. Brown Series, on September 14, 2021. On September 14, 2021, the Constituency for Africa hosted, and National Peace Corps Association sponsored, a series of conversations on “Strategies for Increasing African American Inclusion in the Peace Corps and International Careers.” Part of the annual Ronald H. Brown Series, the event brought together leaders in government, policy, and education, as well as some key...
Diversity and Global Credibility
We need to have a diverse and talented corps of professionals in our foreign affairs agencies — and in the wider development community. That matters when it comes to leadership and credibility alike. By Aaron Williams Peace Corps Director 2009–12 The beauty and inherent value of the Peace Corps is that it provides a different approach to America’s overseas engagement. Volunteers live in local communities, speak the national and local languages, and have great respect for the culture of the host country. Working at the grassroots level for two or more years, Peace Corps Volunteers have a unique platform...
Three Pioneers
First Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer for the State Department. Chief Economist for U.S. Department of Labor. And Principal Deputy Spokesperson for the State Department. Photo: Janelle Jones “We are at a particular time in America, and the world is watching us,” Gina Abercrombie- Winstanley said after being appointed by Secretary of State Antony Blinken to her new role. That would be the first-ever chief diversity and inclusion officer for the State Department. In January at State, Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Jalina Porter also set precedent — when she became the first Black woman appointed as principal deputy spokesperson. Returned Volunteer...
Make It Cool, Make It Last
Take a community-based approach to service at home and around the world. And learn from Black Americans making their mark abroad. By Jerome Moore [as told to Jake Arce] My interest in community development started while I was growing up in Nashville, Tennessee. It began with a volunteering organization called The Contributor, which helps homeless neighbors establish their own microbusiness and work their way into housing through selling an award-winning street paper. The work really inspired me to continue volunteering in college and discover how I can better benefit my community — especially to make an impact working against systemic...