Barbara M. Watson

Barbara Mae Watson (November 5, 1918 – February 18, 1983) was a United States diplomat who was the first black person and the first woman to serve as an Assistant Secretary of State.

Barbara M. Watson
Barbara M. Watson, receiving an award, from a 1975 publication of the U.S. State Department.
BornNovember 5, 1918
New York City
DiedFebruary 18, 1983
Washington, D.C.
NationalityAmerican
Alma materBarnard College
OccupationLawyer, diplomat
Parent(s)James S. Watson, Violet Lopez Watson
RelativesJames Lopez Watson (brother)
J. Bruce Llewellyn (cousin)
Colin Powell (cousin)

Early life and education

Watson was born in New York City, the daughter of James S. Watson and his wife, Violet Lopez Watson. Her parents were born in Jamaica; her father was the first black judge elected in New York State, and her mother was one of the founders of the National Council of Negro Women.[1] Barbara M. Watson was the sister of judge James Lopez Watson.[2] Her cousins included J. Bruce Llewellyn and of Colin Powell.[3]

Watson attended Barnard College, completing a bachelor's degree in 1943. While at Barnard, she was the first black woman to participate in the school's Greek Games.[4] She attended New York Law School and earned her law degree in 1962.[2][5]

Career

Early jobs

After college, Watson took a job as an interviewer for the United Seamen's Service. In 1946, she founded a modeling agency, Barbara Watson Models, serving as the agency's executive director until 1956.[6] From 1958 to 1959, she worked as Student Activities coordinator at Hampton Institute. She spent 1963-64 working as an assistant attorney in the New York City Law Department, then spent 1964-66 as executive director of the New York City Commission to the United Nations.[7]

State Department under Johnson and Nixon

Watson joined the United States Department of State in 1966,[8] as a special assistant to the Deputy Under Secretary of State for Administration. She then became Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Security and Consular Affairs and served as Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Security and Consular Affairs from 1966 to 1968. In July 1968, President Lyndon Johnson nominated Watson as Assistant Secretary of State for Security and Consular Affairs and, after Senate confirmation, she held this office from August 12, 1968 until December 31, 1974. She was the first black Assistant Secretary of State, and the first woman to serve as Assistant Secretary of State.[9] In 1974 she received the Luther I. Replogle Award for Management Improvement.[10] She also chaired a consular conference in Mexico City in 1974.[11]

Upon leaving government service in 1975, Watson took a job with Walter Annenberg's Triangle Publications as a legal consultant. She also lectured at several colleges and universities.[9]

Carter Administration

In January 1977, President Jimmy Carter asked Watson to return to the State Department as Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs; her second stint in this office lasted from April 13, 1977 until August 17, 1980. President Carter later appointed Watson United States Ambassador to Malaysia; she presented her credentials on September 25, 1980 and held this post until March 1, 1981. Watson was a Democrat.[9]

Personal life and legacy

Watson died at a hospital in Washington, D.C. on February 18, 1983, aged 64 years.[9][12] Her papers are in the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, at the New York Public Library.[7] In 1994, the Consular Officer of the Year Award was renamed the Barbara M. Watson Award for Consular Excellence, in her memory.[13]

References
  1. Trescott, Jacqueline (1977-12-18). "Prominent Sisters Remember Harlem Renaissance". Clarion-Ledger. p. 77. Retrieved 2020-06-02 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. Appropriations, United States Congress House (1968). Departments of State, Justice, Commerce, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations for 1969, Hearings . . .90th Congress, 2d Session.
  3. Gray, Joyceann (2015-01-23). "Barbara Mae Watson (1918-1983) •". BlackPast. Retrieved 2020-06-02.
  4. "Like the Ancient Greeks". Opportunity: 187. June 1937.
  5. New York Law School (2015-08-14). "Barbara M. Watson, Class of 1962, the First African-American and First Woman to Serve as Assistant Secretary of State". NYLS "Firsts".
  6. Entwistle, Joanne; Wissinger, Elizabeth (2013-08-01). Fashioning Models: Image, Text and Industry. A&C Black. ISBN 978-0-85785-311-0.
  7. Barbara Mae Watson papers, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, The New York Public Library
  8. Glaser, Vera (1966-10-12). "Negro Woman Lawyer Next for U. S. Hot Spot?". The Boston Globe. p. 12. Retrieved 2020-06-02 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. "Barbara M. Watson Is Dead; Former U.s. Diplomat Was 64". The New York Times. 1983-02-18. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-06-02.
  10. "Miss Watson Receives Luther I. Replogle Award for Management Improvement". Department of State News Letter: 4. January 1975.
  11. "Consular Officers Meet in Mexico City". U.S. Department of State News Letter: 8. February 1975.
  12. "Barbara M. Watson Dies at Age 64". The Washington Post. February 18, 1983.
  13. "June O'Connell Named Winner of Barbara M. Watson Award for Consular Excellence". U.S. Department of State, Office of the Spokesman. May 19, 1999. Retrieved 2020-06-02.
Government offices
Preceded by
Abba P. Schwartz		 Assistant Secretary of State for Security and Consular Affairs
August 12, 1968 – December 31, 1974		 Succeeded by
Leonard F. Walentynowicz
Preceded by
Leonard F. Walentynowicz		 Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs
April 13, 1977 – August 17, 1980		 Succeeded by
Diego C. Asencio
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by
Robert Hopkins Miller		 United States Ambassador to Malaysia
September 25, 1980 – March 1, 1981		 Succeeded by
Ronald D. Palmer
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