Colin Powell’s legacy is tricky, as the international crises he helped create have overshadowed the ones he helped solve. Powell, who died last year from COVID-19, had a long and storied career in the military and politics. He will, unfortunately, be remembered by many for the role he played in justifying the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq. As secretary of state, Powell helped make the case for the invasion on the national and world stage, most memorably by giving a highly watched presentation to the United Nations about Iraqi programs to build weapons of mass destruction, or WMDs, that could be used against Americans.

The WMD charge turned out to be completely false, adding to accusations that Powell and other members of the George W. Bush administration lied to the American public and the world to justify an invasion that ended up being extremely costly, not only in terms of money but in terms of the American and especially the Iraqi lives that were lost through years of violence and bloodshed. The 2003 invasion still has repercussions today. Many are pointing to that war to accuse the U.S. of hypocrisy in its current condemnation of Russia, and Russian propaganda has latched onto fake stories of Ukrainian bioweapons programs as a way of justifying the current war.

Powell himself later expressed deep regret at painting a narrative that he claims he believed at the time but later learned to be false. This “blot” on his record, as he called it, obscures many of the accomplishments he achieved during his term as secretary of state, which included gaining billions of dollars in U.S. funding to battle HIV/AIDS and poverty in Africa; labeling the then-ongoing conflict in Sudan’s Darfur region a “genocide” and helping to mediate the separate north-south civil war in Sudan, which led to the eventual independence of South Sudan.

Beyond his specific accomplishments, Powell’s legacy, as well as those of the other people on this list, has set the stage for a new generation of Black diplomats and political leaders like Harris and U.S. Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield. As they and others tackle major international crises like the current war in Ukraine, they can build upon the legacy of the Black leaders and peacemakers who came before them.

International-Crisis

Get relevant content delivered to you once a week