The Absolutely Indispensable Man: Ralph Bunche, the United Nations, and the Fight to End Empire

Abstract

Ralph Bunche is an iconic but sadly forgotten figure in American life. A former Under Secretary-General of the United Nations, and the first Black person to win a Nobel Prize, Bunche was a celebrated figure in mid-century America—once so famous he handed out the Best Picture award at the 1951 Oscars. This preface to the forthcoming Oxford University Press biography lays out the essentials of Bunche’s fascinating life and work, and makes the case for Bunche as someone who, in his quest to both understand and ultimately end colonialism, engaged in a project of global racial justice that married diplomacy, politics, and morality. Along the way, Bunche pioneered some of the key practices of the postwar United Nations, leaving current generations better equipped to tackle conflict and build peace.

Keywords: United Nations, Peacekeeping, Mediation, Cold War, Colonialism, Empire, Decolonization