[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 38 (Tuesday, February 28, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S524-S525]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          BLACK HISTORY MONTH

  Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, I rise today as Black History Month 
comes to a close to pay tribute to Black Americans who have played 
pivotal roles in shaping American foreign policy and advancing national 
security abroad. As leaders and change-makers who have served the 
American people around the world, translating their own experiences 
fighting for justice and freedom in the United States into their 
passion for advancing democracy, human rights, and the rule of law 
overseas.
  From the first Black diplomat Ebenezer Bassett, who served as 
Ambassador to Haiti from 1869 to 1877, to Ambassador Linda Thomas-
Greenfield, who today serves as U.S. Representative to the United 
Nations, Black Americans have been at the forefront of advancing U.S. 
foreign policy.
  Black Americans like Nobel Laureate Dr. Ralph Bunche, who mediated 
the 1949 Armistice Agreement and assisted in the creation of the United 
Nation's Universal Declaration for Human Rights; Ambassador Edward 
Perkins, who was instrumental in the 1992 creation of the Thomas R. 
Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellowship; and Peace Corps Director Aaron 
Williams, who advanced the 2009 reopening of programs in Colombia, 
Sierra Leone, and Indonesia, have broken down barriers and made our 
world a better place.
  And yet, while we have made great strides in increasing 
representation throughout our diplomatic and development corps' ranks, 
our work is clearly far from over. According to the U.S. Office of 
Personnel Management's first-ever government-wide diversity, equity, 
inclusion, and accessibility--DEIA--report, released earlier this 
month, Black Americans comprise just 12 percent of the Senior Executive 
Service--SES--workforce. And these

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findings are not limited to our domestic agencies. As I said at the 
Senate Foreign Relations Committee's first-ever DEIA hearing convened 
last year, between 2002 and 2021, the overall proportion of Black 
employees at the State Department decreased from 17 percent to 15 
percent. At the time of our hearing, there were only four career Black 
Ambassadors serving abroad.
  This failure to harness America's diverse talent pool is not only a 
grave error, but it also places us at a significant disadvantage when 
we seek to engage our allies and counter our adversaries on the world 
stage.
  That is why, as the highest ranking Latino in the U.S. Congress and 
the first chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee of Latino 
descent, one of my top priorities has been to promote and expand 
diversity in our domestic and international affairs agencies, including 
in our most senior levels.
  That is why I introduced diversity, equity, inclusion, and 
accessibility--DEIA--provisions as part of last year's State Department 
authorization bill, which passed as part of the National Defense 
Authorization Act for FY2023. And, why it is so important to support 
paid internship programs and fellowships in Congress, the State 
Department, USAID, Peace Corps, and all of our international affairs 
agencies. Because without these opportunities, many students of color 
would be unable to afford to come work in Washington, DC.
  Our diversity continues to be our Nation's greatest source of 
strength, and we must act on this moral and strategic imperative to 
cultivate a representative workforce, because, in every single world 
crisis that the United States faces, a more diverse and more 
representative U.S. diplomatic corps would be a valuable asset.
  A few years ago, when I was traveling in China, the diplomat in 
charge of democracy and human rights programs at our Embassy had 
participated in the civil rights struggle. His personal history, his 
personal eyewitness accounts of trying to change the course of events 
in our country as an African American man, were a powerful example to 
those fighting for democracy and human rights in China. I can recount 
easily dozens of moments in different parts of the world where 
Americans from diverse backgrounds have made a powerful case for our 
country. These life experiences cannot be replicated, they cannot be 
purchased, and they cannot be bought.
  So, as Black History Month comes to a close, let us not only remember 
the critical contributions of African-Americans in the formulation and 
execution of U.S. foreign policy, let us also recommit to doing our 
part to prepare the leaders who will strengthen and secure our national 
security in the future.

                          ____________________