Ralph Bunche

Ralph Johnson Bunche (August 7, 1904 - December 9, 1971) was an American political scientist and diplomat who received the 1950 Nobel Peace Prize for his mediation in Palestine in the late 1940s that led to an armistice agreement between the Jews and Arabs in the region.

Early life

Bunche was born in Detroit, Michigan to an African-American family; his father was a barber, his mother an amateur musician. They moved to Los Angeles when he was a child to improve his parents' health. His parents died soon after, and he was raised by his grandmother, who looked "white" but was an active member of the black community.

Related Topics:
Detroit, Michigan - African-American - Los Angeles

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Bunche was a brilliant student, a top debater, and the valedictorian of his graduating class at Jefferson High School. He attended the University of California, Los Angeles and graduated summa cum laude in 1927 -- again as the valedictorian of his class. Using the money his community raised for his studies, and a scholarship from the University, he studied for a master's and a doctorate in political science at Harvard. He taught at Howard University while obtaining his PhD.

Related Topics:
University of California, Los Angeles - 1927 - Harvard - Howard University

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In 1936 Bunche authored a pamphlet entitled A World View of Race. In it Bunche wrote: "And so class will some day supplant race in world affairs. Race war will then be merely a side-show to the gigantic class war which will be waged in the big tent we call the world."

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