Educational Media Reviews Online

Ralph Bunche’s reputation as an international diplomat, peace negotiator and advocate for African self-determination continues undiminished more that three decades after his death. What is less clear is the complexity of this brilliant, enigmatic man, a man who faced controversy and conflict without flinching. Profoundly influenced by his grandmother, “Nana” who instilled the “race pride message” and demanded the very best from him, Bunche was a highly competitive, academic scholar and dedicated public servant. A Summa Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa graduate from UCLA, Bunche went to Harvard for a Masters degree and from there to a teaching position at Howard University in Washington, DC.

In the 1930s Howard, the most prestigious of the black universities, contained a remarkable concentration of African American scholars because career advancement in white universities was not an option. Bunche was “on the cutting edge of African-American intellectual achievement,” and yet kept his focus on domestic rights issues. He encouraged students to walk around the Congress with ropes around their necks to dramatize Congressional refusal to pass an anti-lynching law. He returned to Harvard with a fellowship to study for a PhD in political science. He had intended to study race relations in Brazil. Since this topic was too strong for the Rosenwald Foundation, underwriters of his grant, he chose instead in a momentous decision to study colonialism in Africa.

When World War II broke out, Bunche joined the OSS as a specialist on Africa. As the war drew to a close he was then co-opted by the State Department to plan the charter for the post war world. He played a leading role in the writing of the charter of the United Nations, and by all accounts he was brilliant in his work. Bunche was responsible for Chapter Eleven on ‘non-self governing territories [colonies].’ He managed to negotiate an armistice between the fledgling state of Israel and its hostile neighbors, Egypt, Transjordan, Syria and Lebanon, an accomplishment for which he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

He headed the UN’s division on trusteeship, served as second in command to Secretary General Dag Hammarskjold, and pioneered in setting up UN peacekeeping forces. His work for the end of colonial rule and national self-determination touched the lives of millions of Africans, well over half the world’s population, and at the same time, brought home to the Americans the terrible irony of our segregated society.

This richly interpretative, fact filled, swiftly paced documentary explores aspects of Bunche’s life that have been neglected, in particular his battle with McCarthyism and his struggle to bring about the end of European colonialism in Africa. Crafted with a mix of still photos, newsreels, and archival footage combined with interviews of those who knew and worked with Bunche and scholarly commentary, the film explores in depth the life of a man who profoundly shaped the political destiny of the 20th century.

Ralph Bunche: An American Odyssey is highly recommended for public and academic collections secondary and above and especially for International Studies, Political Science, History, and Multicultural Studies programs.

Gold Award, Documentary, WorldFest Houston, 2001
Sundance Film Festival, 2001
Gold Award, Documentary, Philadelphia International Film Festival, 2001