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Generative Leadership and the Life of Aurelia Erskine Brazeal, a Trailblazing African American Female Foreign Service Officer Atim Eneida George ORCID Scholar ID # 0000-0002-6175-395X A Dissertation Submitted to the PhD in Leadership and Change Program of Antioch University in partial fulfillment for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy November 2019 This dissertation has been approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of PhD in Leadership and Change, Graduate School of Leadership and Change, Antioch University. Dissertation Committee • Jon F. Wergin, PhD, Committee Chair • Laurien Alexandre, PhD, Committee Member • Richard J. McGuigan, PhD, Committee Member Copyright 2019 Atim Eneida George All rights reserved Acknowledgements As is her custom, Ambassador Aurelia Erskine Brazeal welcomed me into her home on numerous occasions with a warm embrace and a cup of piping hot tea rich with the aromatherapeutic properties of lavender. As I inhaled the soothing aroma and sipped the delicious blend, I invariably feasted on the refreshments she and her daughter, Joan, placed before me. Rea, as she is known to friends and colleagues, did so much more. She opened up her life, papers—family correspondence, speeches, photos and Foreign Service evaluation reports, among other things—to me. In a quintessentially generative manner, she devoted her precious time to this undertaking to share the fascinating details of her trailblazing story with the wider world. I am profoundly grateful for Rea Brazeal’s unwavering commitment and support. Above all, in the process of conducting this research, I came to appreciate that Rea Brazeal constitutes a precious part of the enduring legacy of her parents, Brailsford and Ernestine Brazeal—educational trailblazers in their own right. I recognize the unfailing support and guidance of my Chair, Dr. Jon F. Wergin, the Wise One, and my Committee Members, Dr. Laurien Alexandre, the Visionary One, and Dr. Richard J. McGuigan, the Precocious One. They challenged me to stretch, develop my scholarly voice and use this work to offer something unique and original to the extant body of leadership literature. Dr. Philomena Essed played a key role in my scholarly development at Antioch University; I thank her for going the proverbial “extra mile” with me. The learning community of the Graduate School in Leadership and Change at Antioch University, writ large—my Cohort 14 members; Dr. Stephen Shaw, our Graduate Research Librarian; Dr. Elaine Gayle, our Writing Coach; Dr. Lisa Kreeger, IRB Chair; Ms. Wendy McGrath, our Ed Tech Strategist; Ms. Margaret Morgan, our former Associate Director for Academic and Student Services; Ms. Jackie Dailey, i our Student Accounts Specialist; as well as Kathryn Van Gundy, Vanessa Helgerson, and Cathy Boswell, the incredible professionals who staff We Deliver—all constitute an incredibly supportive academic ecosystem deliberately designed to support our success. I must tender sincere thanks to my editor, the erudite Dr. Norman Dale, also a graduate of Antioch University’s Graduate School in Leadership and Change. I extend my heartfelt gratitude to Anthony Fernandes, Brian Goldbeck, Thomas N. Hull, Joan Ingati, Larry L. Palmer, Robert Reis, Linda Thomas-Greenfield and Heather Joy Thompson, the eight research respondents who brought Rea Brazeal’s leadership philosophy and praxis to life by sharing their experiences, observations and insights with me. In contributing their lived experiences, they provided a valuable set of examples chronicling Rea’s leadership philosophy and praxis. Profound thanks are also tendered to Cynthia Farrell Johnson, retired diplomat and artist, who graciously participated in the pilot study that prepared the ground for this work. I am also indebted to Foreign Service colleague Daniel Whitman and the Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training (ADST) for the comprehensive oral history they published on Ambassador Aurelia Erskine Brazeal. The State Department’s Office of the Historian, Ralph J. Bunche Library and the Employee Service Center provided support during this research. In addition, the American Foreign Service Association (AFSA), the exclusive bargaining representative for 16,800 members, retired and active duty of the U.S. Foreign Service, rendered assistance. I am profoundly thankful for the loving support of my family—my beloved husband, Dr. Levi ”Zee” Zangai, my two multitalented daughters, Michelle Ayodotun and Roberta Olutoyin, and my grandchildren, Savannah, Michael, Harmony, Jeremiah, and those yet unborn. Finally, I acknowledge, with profound gratitude, my ancestors. I ii thank them for entrusting to me the seeds of curiosity and perseverance, two invaluable tools I continue to use on my journey. iii Abstract There is a gap in the literature on generativity and the leadership philosophy and praxis of African American Female Foreign Service Officers (AAFFSOs). I addressed this deficit, in part, by engaging an individual of exceptional merit and distinction—Aurelia Erskine Brazeal—as an exemplar of AAFFSOs. Using qualitative research methods of portraiture and oral history, supplemented by collage, mind mapping and word clouds, this study examined Brazeal’s formative years in the segregated South and the extraordinary steps her parents took to protect her from the toxic effects of racism and legal segregation. In addition, I explored the development of Brazeal’s interest in international affairs and her trailblazing diplomatic career. In an effort to understand her leadership philosophy and praxis, the study engaged eight additional research respondents, ranging from protégés and colleagues to Brazeal’s fictive daughter, Joan Ingati. Drawing from the Iroquois Great Law of Peace, this study employed the concept of generativity—concern for the welfare and well-being of future generations—as a focal lens. The research concluded that in order to be effective in the 21st century, leaders would do well to emulate Brazeal’s example as a generative leader. This dissertation is accompanied by 11 audio files. This dissertation is available in open access at AURA: Antioch University Repository and Archive, http://aura.antioch.edu/ and OhioLINK ETD Center, https://etd.ohiolink.edu. Keywords: African American Women, Ancestral Archive, Foreign Service, Diplomatic Practice, Generativity, Intersectionality, Leadership, Social Justice, Portraiture, Oral History, Polyvocal Narrative, Prosocial Behavior, Arts-Based Research, Legacy iv Table of Contents Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................................... i Abstract ......................................................................................................................................... iv Table of Contents ......................................................................................................................... v List of Tables ............................................................................................................................. viii List of Figures .............................................................................................................................. ix List of Supplemental Files ........................................................................................................... x Chapter I: Introduction ............................................................................................................... 1 The Genesis ............................................................................................................................... 1 The Purpose of the Dissertation ............................................................................................. 2 My Positionality ....................................................................................................................... 4 Research Issues ....................................................................................................................... 10 A Word About Generativity ................................................................................................. 12 Study Limitations ................................................................................................................... 15 Dissertation Chapters Overview ......................................................................................... 18 Chapter II: Literature Review ................................................................................................... 21 Erikson’s Theory of Psychosocial Lifespan Development ............................................... 21 Counterpoint to Erikson’s Lifespan Development Theory .............................................. 22 Generativity and Life Narrative Research .......................................................................... 26 The State Department and the Foreign Service ................................................................. 37 A Brief History of the State Department and Its Foreign Service ................................... 38 Pioneering Women in the Foreign Service ......................................................................... 44 Pioneering African Americans in the Foreign Service ...................................................... 45 The Foreign Service Act of 1980 ........................................................................................... 47 Promoting Diversity .............................................................................................................
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