PUBLISHED BY THE AMERICAN FOREIGN SERVICE ASSOCIATION SEPTEMBER 2020 FACING RACISM PLUS: UNITED NATIONS AT 75 FOREIGN SERVICE September 2020 Volume 97, No. 7 Focus on Addressing Race, Diversity & Inclusion 24 33 40 Inclusion Helps Living Up to the The Making of a Drive Diversity American Idea Real American Diplomat State’s new initiatives create space Besides the moral imperative, A senior member of the Foreign for difficult conversations and there are compelling reasons to have Service who immigrated to the incorporate accountability. a Foreign Service that looks like United States as a child reflects By Mirembe Nantongo America. Here are some suggestions on her journey. for how to get there. By Julie Chung 30 By Peter F. Romero Creating a Culture of 44 Inclusion at State 35 It’s Not Just About To establish diversity at State, Diversity at State: Intake: A New Approach it is essential to make inclusion A Dream Deferred and a to Advancing Diversity count—in every promotion, job Collective Responsibility After 30 years, another round prospect and assignment. Two fellowship programs are heralded of the same measures will not do. By Gina Abercrombie- for bringing people of color into It’s time to define the problems Winstanley the Foreign Service, but the new and seek new solutions. employees’ advancement is inhibited By Patrice Johnson by institutional barriers. By Ana Escrogima, Lia Miller and Christina Tilghman 48 From the FSJ Archive: Diversity in the Foreign Service Feature Cover Story: The U.N. at 75 62 51 Bringing Order Out U.N. Relevance Depends of Crisis: Behind the on U.S. Leadership Scenes of a Task Force By Jeffrey Feltman By Chris Meade, Holly Adamson, Merlyn Schultz 57 and Fany Colon de Hayes Ralph J. Bunche, U.N. Architect By James Dandridge THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | SEPTEMBER 2020 5 FOREIGN SERVICE Perspectives Departments 10 Letters 7 92 14 Talking Points President’s Views Reflections Change Has Come, History of a Handshake: 80 In Memory More is Coming Ground-Level PD in Belarus By Eric Rubin By George Krol 85 Books 9 94 Letter from the Editor Local Lens It’s Time Annecy, France By Shawn Dorman By Brian Aggeler Marketplace 21 88 Real Estate Speaking Out 89 Index to Advertisers Why “27 Years and Out” Should Be Retired 90 Classifieds By Ted Craig AFSA NEWS THE OFFICIAL RECORD OF THE AMERICAN FOREIGN SERVICE ASSOCIATION 67 AFSA Hosts Town Hall Series 74 This Is Not Your Father’s DACOR on COVID-19, Diversity 76 AFSA Lauds Supreme Court Decision 74 68 State VP Voice—Diversity and on Workplace Discrimination Inclusion: The Time to Act Is Now 76 AFSA Welcomes New Members 69 USAID VP Voice—The (GAO) Report of the U.S. Foreign Service Is In on Diversity at USAID 77 Seminar: How the SECURE and 70 FCS VP Voice—You Can’t Really CARES Acts Affect Retirement Ever Go Back, Only Forward … 77 AFSA Governing Board Meeting 71 AFSA Congratulates Kennan Resolutions Award Winners 78 FSI Releases New Guided 72 FSJ Wins Two TRENDY Awards Journal for FS Children for Publishing Excellence 79 Tomoko Morinaga Joins 72 How LWOP Affects Your AFSA as Membership AFSA Membership Operations Coordinator 73 AFSA Seeks Your Help with Outreach Efforts On the Cover—Cover art by Alexandra Bowman, inspired by the concept “Diversity is being invited to the party, inclusion is being asked to dance.” That evocative phrase is introduced by Deputy Assistant Secretary Mirembe Nantongo in her lead article, and originally comes from diversity advocate Verna Myers. Find more of Bowman’s work on Instagram @alexbowman. 6 SEPTEMBER 2020 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL PRESIDENT’S VIEWS Change Has Come, More Is Coming BY ERIC RUBIN his is a time of seismic change We are still not the Service we are supposed to be. for the world, our country, our profession and our institutions. TThe global wildfire-like spread of to be, one that looks like the country we The separation of families due to post the novel coronavirus and the economic represent. We’re more diverse than we departures related to the pandemic, and and social shocks that it brought have led were decades ago, to be sure, but progress the fact that many are still stuck in place to unprecedented challenges. There is no has slowed dramatically, and in some due to travel restrictions, has brought doubt our country could have responded respects we have gone backward. a slew of difficult decisions. Overseas better to the crisis. And while it was Second, because we have not lived up schools, which are so important to widely understood that our society had to our rhetoric. The numbers speak for making accompanied tours possible for failed to address fundamental issues of themselves, and the recent GAO reports families with children, are in some cases racial and economic fairness, the wave of are particularly revealing. AFSA recently facing challenges to their survival. Issues protest that followed the killing of George polled our membership on issues related related to COVID-19 testing, quarantine Floyd caught many Americans off guard. to racism and diversity. The responses and authorized departure continue to This is the first of two back-to-back underline how common it is for minor- demand creative solutions and the pro- issues of The Foreign Service Journal ity members of the Service to experience tection of our members and their families. dedicated to issues of diversity, inclusion blatant or subtle racism and discrimina- This brings us to the larger reality: The and discrimination in our Service. The tion, and how unrepresentative many of Foreign Service Act of 1980 is 40 years old passing of Representative John Lewis our overseas posts and domestic bureaus this year. It is our foundational legisla- (D-Ga.) reminds us—as he himself often are in terms of looking like America. tion, and I believe it is fundamentally did—that while we have come a long Of course, the effects of the coronavi- sound and should be largely preserved. way since the days of Jim Crow and legal rus crisis on our Service are real and dra- But the Foreign Service cannot be frozen segregation, we have a long way to go to matic. AFSA is working hard to support in amber. We are dealing with major become a truly fair and inclusive society. our members as they deal with the dis- changes in America’s role in the world, The ongoing debates over Confederate location that 2020 has brought. We have significant generational changes regard- flags and monuments also remind us that won important victories on issues that ing attitudes and expectations, and the we have not succeeded in achieving a are critical to our members in navigating need to rethink and improve how we common national understanding of the this crisis, and we are very glad that our recruit, hire and retain talent. We also Civil War and its causes, nor of the years agencies are bringing on new members of need a hard focus on workplace culture and decades that followed the Union the Service through online training and and its importance in fostering respect, victory. orientation. inclusion and morale. Why do we need The months ahead will bring more We want to hear your views on what to focus on diversity challenges and painful compromises. The needs to be done to improve and modern- in the Foreign Ser- loss of consular fees due to the impact ize our Service. Please share your thoughts vice today? First of of coronavirus will affect State’s ability with us at [email protected]. Thank you all, because we are to hire new officers. These fees pay the for your commitment and dedication to still not the Service salaries of many entry-level officers, who our country and to our shared mission at we are supposed serve in consular assignments first. this very challenging time. n Ambassador Eric Rubin is the president of the American Foreign Service Association. THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | SEPTEMBER 2020 7 FOREIGN SERVICE Editor-in-Chief, Director of Publications Shawn Dorman: [email protected] www.afsa.org Senior Editor Susan Brady Maitra: [email protected] Managing Editor CONTACTS Kathryn Owens: [email protected] AFSA Headquarters: ADVOCACY Associate Editor (202) 338-4045; Fax (202) 338-6820 Director of Advocacy Cameron Woodworth: [email protected] State Department AFSA Office: Kim Greenplate: [email protected] (202) 647-8160; Fax (202) 647-0265 Publications Coordinator USAID AFSA Office: FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION Dmitry Filipoff: [email protected] (202) 712-1941; Fax (202) 216-3710 Director of Finance and Facilities Business Development Manager— FCS AFSA Office: Femi Oshobukola: [email protected] Advertising and Circulation (202) 482-9088; Fax (202) 482-9087 Manager, HR and Operations Molly Long: [email protected] Cory Nishi: [email protected] GOVERNING BOARD Controller Art Director President Kalpna Srimal: [email protected] Caryn Suko Smith Hon. Eric S. Rubin: [email protected] Member Accounts Specialist Editorial Board Secretary Ana Lopez: [email protected] Alexis Ludwig, Chair Ken Kero-Mentz: [email protected] IT and Infrastructure Coordinator Hon. Robert M. Beecroft Treasurer Aleksandar “Pav” Pavlovich: Daniel Crocker Virginia L. Bennett: [email protected] [email protected] Joel Ehrendreich State Vice President Harry Kopp Thomas Yazdgerdi: [email protected] COMMUNICATIONS Jess McTigue USAID Vice President Christopher Teal Director of Communications Jason Singer: [email protected] Joe Tordella Ásgeir Sigfússon: [email protected] FCS Vice President Vivian Walker Manager of Outreach and Internal Hon. Laurence Wohlers Jay Carreiro: [email protected] Communications Dinah Zeltser-Winant FAS Vice President Allan Saunders: [email protected] Michael Riedel: [email protected] Online Communications Manager Retiree Vice President Jeff Lau: [email protected] THE MAGAZINE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS John K.