Carl Rowan

Carl Rowan
Rowan speaking at a National Security meeting on Vietnam in the Cabinet Room of the White House, July 1965.
Born	Carl Thomas Rowan August 11, 1925 Ravenscroft, Tennessee, United States
Died	September 23, 2000(2000-09-23) (aged 75) Washington, D.C., United States
Occupation	Government official, journalist, author

External video

Booknotes interview with Rowan on Breaking Barriers February 3, 1991, C-SPAN

Carl Thomas Rowan (August 11, 1925 – September 23, 2000) was an American government official, journalist and author.

Carl Rowan was born in Ravenscroft, Tennessee, the son of Johnnie, a cook and cleaner, and Thomas Rowan, who stacked lumber. He was raised in McMinnville, in that state. Rowan was determined to get a good education. He graduated from Bernard High School in 1942 as class president and valedictorian. He studied at Tennessee State University (1942–43) and Washburn University (1943–44). He was one of the first African Americans to serve as a commissioned officer in the United States Navy. Rowan was also a member of Omega Psi Phi fraternity. He was graduated from Oberlin College (1947) and was awarded a master's degree in journalism from the University of Minnesota (1948). He began his career in journalism writing for the African-American newspapers Minneapolis Spokesman and St. Paul Recorder (now the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder). He went on to be a copywriter for The Minneapolis Tribune (1948–50), and later became a staff writer (1950–61), reporting extensively on the Civil Rights Movement.

In an 1964 interview with Robert Penn Warren for the book Who Speaks for the Negro?, Rowan reflected on his reporting of the civil rights movement, as well as his opinions on the distinctions between the North and the South, prejudices and persecution, and African Americans' political power.

In 1961, Rowan was appointed Deputy Assistant Secretary of State by President John F. Kennedy. The following year, he served as a delegate to the United Nations during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Rowan became the U.S. Ambassador to Finland in 1963. In 1964, Rowan was appointed director of the United States Information Agency (USIA) by President Lyndon B. Johnson. In serving as director of the USIA, Rowan became the first African American to hold a seat on the National Security Council and the highest level African American in the United States government.