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The election of President-elect Joe Biden to be the US ambassador to the UN did not take what could be considered a typical path to international diplomacy.
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Linda Thomas-Greenfield grew up in segregated Louisiana, where the local Ku Klux Klan burned crosses in people’s yards. His father left school in the third grade to help support his family. His mother had an eighth grade education.
She described her early days at Louisiana State University in a recent TEDx talk: “I was bullied in my bedroom. A world-renowned historian used the N word regularly in a classroom. One of my professors gave me an F in a class. And when I asked him why he gave me the F, he said, ‘If you don’t know the answer to that question, you don’t need to be here.’ But what he didn’t understand was that failure was not an option for me. “
After excelling in the U.S. foreign service, Thomas-Greenfield spent 35 years there. She served as the United States Ambassador to Liberia and headed the Office of African Affairs.
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US Ambassador Johnnie Carson often crossed paths with Thomas-Greenfield in his work as Under Secretary of State for African Affairs, as well as as US Ambassador to Kenya, Zimbabwe, and Uganda. Carson is well aware of the adversity Thomas-Greenfield often faced as he climbed the ladder in his foreign service career.
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She spoke with Marco Werman of The World’s to share details about Thomas-Greenfield’s appointment and the qualities her colleague possesses that will likely help her re-establish ties with global allies.
Marco Werman: Why do you think President-elect Biden’s team selected Linda Thomas-Greenfield for this coveted position?
Emb. Johnnie Carson: She is capable, collegiate, and politically intelligent. She is deeply respected for her views on Hill, both among Democrats and Republicans. She will restore a level of dignity and respect to the leadership of the UN mission. And I believe that many of our partners will welcome your diplomatic skills and abilities.
Linda Thomas-Greenfield’s early years, as I mentioned, were filled with adversity. He was attending Louisiana State University when David Duke, who would become the great wizard of the KKK, was studying there at the time. How did those years affect your worldview?
Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield is not easily flustered and is very difficult to pressure. She maintains her values and principles and is willing to stand up and speak up when pushed incorrectly or in the face of adversity.
It was stationed in Rwanda, mostly in 1994, during the genocide there. And in her TEDx talk, she describes how she nearly got caught up in the murder there, after she was mistaken for a local Rwandan: “I was confronted by a glassy-eyed young man … who had been given instructions to kill a woman by the name of Agathe. And he thought I was Agathe. And strangely enough, I didn’t panic. I was scared. Don’t get me wrong. But I didn’t panic. And I looked that young man in the eye and asked him his name and I told him mine. I wanted him to know my name because if he killed me, I wanted him to know the name of the person he had killed. ” And, just a note to that: Agathe Uwilingiyimana, the woman he was mentioning, was finally killed.
The person that young man was trying to kill was in the adjacent house where Linda was staying. And she was, in fact, the prime minister of the country. She died. Then Linda faced death. And not many people come face to face with death abroad in the face of gunmen from a different army. His life could have been taken not only in that case, but also because he was in one of the main cars in a convoy leaving the country with American citizens and embassy employees.
If confirmed, Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield would have a lot of work to do to change his mind at the UN. The Trump administration has cut its contributions to the UN, pulled out of global treaties and agencies. What will your focus be, do you think?
I believe that he will endeavor to rebuild ties with our closest allies. She will not push an agenda just for America. He will work on behalf of an administration that believes America is and should be part of the responsible global community. I have no doubt that she will work hard to restore American dignity and commitment to the importance of the United Nations as an instrument to help promote world peace and security, but also to promote a better world for all.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
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