A guide for researching the topic of "Ralph Bunche,â the first African American to earn the Nobel Peace Prize, in the Chronicling America digital collection of historic newspapers.
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About Chronicling America
Chronicling America is a searchable digital collection of historic newspaper pages from 1770-1963 sponsored jointly by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Library of Congress.
Also, see the Directory of U.S. Newspapers in American Libraries, a searchable index to newspapers published in the United States since 1690, which helps researchers identify what titles exist for a specific place and time, and how to access them.
Ralph Bunche is the first African American to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. When he brokers the 1949 Israeli-Arab armistice, New York City throws him a ticker tape parade up Broadway. His diplomatic skills—sublime masterworks of applied psychology—are legendary at the United Nations. He goes on to direct peacekeeping efforts in the Suez in 1956, the Congo in 1960, and Cyprus in 1964! An early campaigner for civil rights, he publishes essays and gives talks throughout the U.S. Active in the NAACP, he marches alongside Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. from Selma to Montgomery in 1965. Read more about it!
The information in this guide focuses on primary source materials found in the digitized historic newspapers from the digital collection Chronicling America.
The timeline below highlights important dates related to this topic and a section of this guide provides some suggested search strategies for further research in the collection.
Timeline
December 20, 1947
Appointed to oversee the United Nations’ partition of then Palestine.
January 1949
Bunche facilitates a meeting between Egypt and newly-formed Israel, resulting in an armistice.
May 14, 1949
Bunche advocates for decolonization.
September 22, 1950
First African American to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
1960s
Leads UN peacekeeping mission in the Congo.
October 24, 1963
Speaks in Mississippi, remaining an advocate for civil rights and the aims of the United Nations.