Rowan (Carl Thomas), 1925-2000

Carl Thomas Rowan (born August 11, 1925, Ravenscroft, Tennessee – September 23, 2000, Washington, D.C.) was a syndicated columnist, commentator, diplomat, and author received his B.A. degree from Oberlin College in 1947, and his M.A. from the University of Minnesota in 1948. During the 1950s he rose to prominence as a reporter for the Minneapolis Tribune, becoming one of the first African-Americans to report for a major daily newspaper. He won national honors for his reports which ranged from race relations in the American South to the political turmoil in Asia. In 1961 he was appointed by President John F. Kennedy to the State Department, and was a member of the U.S. delegation to the United Nations. Two years later Rowan was named Ambassador to Finland. In 1964 President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed him as Director of the United States Information Agency (U.S.I.A.), subsequently making him the first African-American to sit on the National Security Council. Rowan left public service in 1965 to return to journalism, beginning a career as a syndicated columnist for the Chicago Sun Times. He is a frequent panelist on the television program "Inside Washington," and for over twenty years he has done radio commentary for the syndicated "Rowan Report". He is the author of seven books, including his highly acclaimed memoir, Breaking Barriers.