Ebenezer D. Bassett: The World's First African American Diplomat
Event Type(s):
Speaker Program
Description:
America’s first African American diplomat, Ebenezer D. Bassett, is not the most common name in history class. Christopher Teal has created a documentary about this heroic, extraordinary figure to help change that. For this special program during African American History Month, a shortened version of the documentary will be shown and Mr. Teal will give remarks about Bassett and the making of the film.
Bassett’s life as a pioneer in race relations began early. In 1853, he became the first black student at the Connecticut Normal School, known today as Central Connecticut State University. After teaching for 14 years, Bassett was appointed Minister Resident to Haiti from 1869 -1877. When he arrived, the country was in the midst of a civil war. He chose to take refugees into his compound and withstood a resulting siege of his house for five months. Back in the U.S. he served as the American Consul General for Haiti in New York City for 10 years. His lifetime was one of courageous service to his nation as an educator, abolitionist, civil rights activist and diplomat.
Christopher Teal has been a career diplomat with the U.S. State Department since 1999. He is currently a faculty advisor at the Inter-American Defense College in Fort McNair. Prior assignments include posts in Mexico, Sri Lanka, Peru and the Dominican Republic. Stateside, he served in the Foreign Press Center and in the European Bureau of the State Department. Before joining the Foreign Service, Mr. Teal worked with award-winning journalist, Juan Williams, on their biography of the former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall: American Revolutionary. He is the author of Hero of Hispanola, which tells the story of Bassett.
Event Date:
2/7/2019
Event Time:
6:30 PM - 9:30 PM Eastern
Location:
DACOR Bacon House 1801 F Street, NW Washington, DC 20006 UNITED STATES
