NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- Before becoming the first Black Secretary of State in the United States and a decorated military general, Colin Powell was a typical New York City kid. The son of immigrant parents who was brought up in Harlem and the South Bronx, Powell’s family instilled in him powerful lessons of nobility and pride.
LISTEN: FROM THE 1010 WINS ARCHIVES, COLIN POWELL SPEAKS TO WINS FOR BLACK HISTORY MONTH 2012:
“They taught us especially to have a sense of shame," Harlem-botn Powell, who died last fall, said in a 2012 interview with 1010 WINS. "Don't do anything that ever shames this family. They gave us that kind of start in life. And then it was up to you to do the best you could and whatever you decided to pursue as a professional, or as a trade.”
The problem was Powell wasn’t really sure what he wanted to do in his early years. As an adolescent, he worked in a baby furniture store in the Bronx, spending his summers and Christmas vacations building cribs and dressers all the while learning about the discipline of maintaining a job— showing up on time and following instructions.
Along with giving Powell the foundation of a work ethic, the furniture store, more importantly, kept him off of the street as a teenager until he figured out what he wanted to do for a permanent career.
“I bounced around a bit because I didn't know what I wanted to do. And then I found ROTC,” Powell recalled to 1010 WINS. “ROTC was kind of like a new family for me. I was growing up and I was leaving my real family and ROTC became a new family. It was something I did well.”
The Reserve Officers Training Force, or ROTC, is a pipeline to the United States Military which trains college students for a future career within the Army. Though participants aren’t required to sign up for the military after school, many do.
“It's giving youngsters a sense of patriotism, what this country is about. You put them in a uniform, you make them stand at attention. You teach them responsibility and accountability for their actions,” Powell said of the program. “They may never go into the military but they've learned something about themselves and about responsibility that will transfer over into whatever field they go into.”
Powell, who graduated from the City College of New York, took a lot of pride in his ROTC role. The program allowed him a stipend when he was a senior of $28 a month, quite a sum of money back in the 1950s when Powell was a part of it.
The product of New York City’s public education system, Powell graduated in 1958 from City College with a bachelors in geology and received a commission as an Army second lieutenant.
Powell joined the Army during the height of the Civil Rights era following college. At the time, the Army was newly desegregated and Powell was sent to train in Georgia where he said he was denied service in bars and restaurants because he was Black.
So began Powell’s long and groundbreaking military career, rising through the ranks despite the color of his skin. He served in the Vietnam War as a South Vietnamese Army Advisor from 1962 to 1963, later returning as a major in 1968 as assistant chief of staff of operations for the 23rd Infantry Division. It was there that Powell received the Soldier’s Medal for bravery after survivng a helicopter crash where Powell rescued three others, too.
Powell continued his education after returning from his second tour in Vietnam. He attended Washington D.C. 's George Washington University where he obtained a Master’s of Business Administration and then went on to a prestigious fellowship at the White House under President Richard Nixon.
In the midst of becoming a rising military star, Powell married his wife Alma. The pair had three children—Michael, Linda and Annemarie. The two were married for nearly 60 years and even though Powell had become quite prominent, he said his family just saw him as dad.
“Somebody once asked my youngest child, my daughter Annemarie, 'Oh, gee, what was it like growing up with Colin Powell as your father?’ And her simple answer was ‘He wasn't Colin Powell, he's just daddy.’ As far as they're concerned, I'm still daddy," Powell said. “I get no reverence. They're very proud of me. And they're happy with my achievements, but that has nothing to do with the family. Family is the family.”
After years of working in the government as an advisor and later a military aid for both the Carter and Regan administrations, Powell became national security adviser in 1987. Two years later, he was appointed Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the highest military position in the US Department of Defense, by the Bush administration.
At the time, not only was 52-year-old Powell the youngest person to ever serve in the position, but he was also the first African American to do so.
No matter the accomplishment, Powell attributed much of his success back to family. He keenly remembered his parents as his greatest mentors because of their deep commitment to their kin.
“They worked hard for us. And they expected things of us therefore, the way they live their life the way I saw them live their life was perhaps the greatest beginning lessons I received in life,” Powell said. “It's not what they said to me, what they lectured me about, but just the way they lived. Children are watching you. They're sometimes listening to you. They're sometimes paying attention to you, but they're always watching you. And if what they see, if they're impressed and inspired by what they see then that's the way they will become that's who they will be. That's the most important thing in their lives.”
Powell’s rich military background significantly shaped his views on war but he adhered to a stance of striving to not let war happen in the first place, a strategy eventually dubbed “The Powell Doctrine.”
“I believe in advocating diplomacy and advocating peace. I believe we should try to avoid wars. The terrible thing is people on both sides get killed,” Powell said.
If diplomacy failed, Powell stood on the grounds that the maximum force necessary should be deployed.
“I'll do it fast and I'll try to get it over with as quickly as possible so we can get back to peace,” Powell said.
His beliefs were put into action on multiple occasions, including the 1990 Gulf War where operations like Desert Storm and Desert Shield were successful, leading to Powell’s name becoming internationally known.
After a brief stint with a possible presidential campaign in the mid-1990s, Powell was appointed secretary of state by President Bush in 2001. He again made history as the first Black person to serve in the position.
The same year Powell became secretary of state, the United States was shook by the attacks of 9/11 which thrust Powell into the throes of what would become known as the “war on terror.” Powell made the case in front of the U.N. Security Council that Sadam Hussein posed a major regional and global threat in 2003 in the lead-up to the Iraq War.
Eighteen months later, Powell admitted that the intelligence which suggested that Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction was most likely not accurate, later classifying the speech as a stain on his career. Powell resigned as secretary of state shortly after.
With allies on both sides of the political spectrum, Powell was well-known for his diplomatic skills. Even after leaving public service for the private sector, Powell continued to remain vocal about politics for the rest of his life.
Through all of his success, Powell also stayed connected to his New York City beginnings. He frequented his old neighborhood in the Bronx where an apartment building bears his name. Powell said he takes pride in his home city, especially for the potential it holds.
“I'm proud to go back to the Bronx and see how things have turned around and are getting better,” Powell said.
On Oct. 18, 2021, Powell, who was being treated for multiple myeloma, died from COVID-19 complications at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center at the age of 84.
“I hope people might say the guy served his country well. He believes in his country. He believes in himself and he raised a good family,” Powell told WINS of how he’d like to be remembered. “Do you think we're here for anything more than that? I don't think so. Serve others, raise the next generation and hopefully leave behind some good work.”
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