ABSTRACT
In June 1961, Carl Rowan gave a talk to the Catholic Interracial Council of Washington, D.C. entitled "New Frontiers in Race Relations". One of the overlooked consequences of the racist attacks was the harm such incidents did to the nation's foreign policy. The editorial excitedly concluded that, truly new and expanding frontiers in the diplomatic service hitherto closed are soon to be opened for hundreds of our alert and imaginative young people ready to be of service. It also urged that African-Americans become more involved in the process, as recruiters from the Foreign Service, examiners for the Foreign Service oral examinations, and educators preparing their students for careers in diplomacy. Even with a great deal of effort, the "new frontiers in race relations" seemed unable to penetrate the old frontiers of discrimination and disinterest lodged securely in the nation's foreign policy bureaucracy.
