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| Ralph Bunche | The United Nations and the international community officially launched the centenary commemoration of the birth of Ralph Johnson Bunche with a ceremony at UN Headquarters in New York. Ralph Bunche, who rose from humble beginnings to international fame in the service of the United Nations and as a leader in the United States civil rights movement, for two decades as UN Under-Secretary-General played a leading role in the conception and implementation of United Nations peacekeeping efforts. When he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1950, it also marked the first instance in which the Nobel Committee recognized the United Nations as an official body. Ralph Bunche, a leading advocate of decolonization who was present at the creation of the United Nations and one of the co-authors of its Charter, was a patient and meticulous negotiator, inspired by urgency and idealism about the many problems facing humanity, especially the marginalized and oppressed. The UN Chronicle will commemorate the legacy of Ralph Bunche with a special feature in its next issue, including excerpts of one of his speeches on the United Nations, as well as personal recollections by his son Ralph Bunche, Jr. and Sir Brian Urquhart, former UN Under-Secretary-General for Special Political Affairs, among others.
The official launch of the Ralph J. Bunche Centenary Commemoration was held in the Trusteeship Council Chamber at UN Headquarters on 7 August 2003, the actual anniversary of his birth, with a First Day of Issue Ceremony sponsored by the United Nations Postal Administration, which issued a set of three stamps commemorating the 100th anniversary of his birth. The stamps, in the denominations (United States dollars, Swiss francs and Euros) of the three UN main offices, in New York, Geneva and Vienna, are based on charcoal portraits by Leo Cherne and adapted by Rorie Katz. Chaired by Centenary Committee co-chair George F. Saddler, president of the Federation of Associations of Former International Civil Servants, the ceremony featured remarks by Secretary-General Kofi Annan, United States Congressman Charles B. Rangel, the Deputy Permanent Representative of the United States, Ambassador James B. Cunningham, and Sir Brian Urquhart. It was also attended by many others who had known Ralph Bunche, including former New York City Mayor David Dinkins and close relatives of Mr. Bunche and the three UN Secretaries-General under which he served—Trygve Lie of Norway, Dag Hammarskjöld of Sweden and U Thant of Myanmar. At the launch, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, represented by his NYC Commissioner to the United Nations, Marjorie Tiven, formally issued an official proclamation designating 7 August 2003 as Ralph Bunche Day in the City of New York.
In his opening remarks, Mr. Annan called on the United Nations to rededicate itself to Bunche's definition of its mission, not only to preserve peace, but to make even radical change possible without violent upheaval. "Every United Nations staff member, no matter where he or she toils, and whether or not he or she realizes it, is working in the shadow of Ralph Bunche, who believed passionately in the need for an independent, international civil service", the Secretary-General said, adding that "we should all strive to recapture that spirit today". "Such daily devotion to peace, coexistence and mutual respect would be the best way to celebrate the force of life, the champion of peace, the inspiration that was Ralph Bunche", he concluded. Congressman Charles Rangel recalled his experience marching with Bunche and Dr. Martin Luther King during the civil rights movement, and said that Bunche remained a role model in the United States for the long struggle for social justice. Sir Brian Urquhart, who succeeded Bunche as Under-Secretary-General for Special Political Affairs in 1972, until his retirement in 1986, recalled that because his passionate determination to get results did not extend to seeking credit for them, Bunche's work is better remembered than he is. But of all his many accomplishments, including drafting two chapters of the United Nations Charter and mediating the Middle East ceasefire, ending the first Arab-Israeli war, "Bunche had been proudest of developing what came to be known as peacekeeping", Sir Brian said. Joan H. Bunche, responding in the name of the family, said she was grateful for the recognition of her father's life and work.
In his closing remarks at the ceremony, Professor Thomas G. Weiss, Director of the Ralph Bunche Institute for International Studies at The Graduate Center of the City University of New York, pointed to a number of other significant festivities commemorating the legacy of Ralph Bunche. An exhibition and public programme series about the life, achievements, vision and intellect of Ralph Bunche opened the same day at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem, New York City. In Detroit, Michigan—his birthplace—churches, mosques, synagogues and other places of worship held memorial events to mark the centenary, while in Los Angeles, his alma maters—Jefferson High School and the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA)—along with other community groups hosted the graduation exercises of the Dr. Ralph J. Bunche Youth Leadership Academy. In Washington, DC, the induction of the Ralph Bunche Scholars from the District of Columbia Public School Summer Institute took place at the National Press Club, and Mayor Anthony Williams proclaimed 7 August 2003 Ralph Bunche Day. Resolutions marking the centenary have been adopted in the New York State Assembly and the Hawaii State Legislature, and are pending in the Congress of the United States, the Boston City Council and in other public bodies.
Among other activities planned to mark the centenary are the Ralph Bunche United Nations Lecture Series—three special seminars honouring the legacy of Ralph Bunche—to be held on 4 September, 20 November and 5 February 2004 at UN Headquarters. The United Nations and the Queens Museum of Art (QMA) will be mounting major exhibition about Ralph Bunche. The UN exhibition is slated to open on 8 October 2003, while the QMA exhibition will open on 28 March 2004. Further information about plans to mark the centenary is available from the Centenary Commemoration Secretariat, located at the Ralph Bunche Institute for International Studies, The Graduate Center, CUNY (212-817-2100).
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