Colin Powell - Learning to Lead

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The late General Powell and the Harlem college he co-founded - the poor man's Harvard.

The late Colin Powell, once tipped as the first Afro-American president, poured his energy into education and specifically a Harlem college he co-founded - the poor man's Harvard.

The Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership, in Harlem, New York City is an exceptional college that prides itself on welcoming first generation scholars.  Nicknamed the poor person's Harvard, the school is part of City College, where General Powell himself graduated sixty years ago.

Colin Powell was the son of British Jamaican immigrants who moved to New York and worked in the garment industry. Here, in 2018, he tells the story of his own journey through education and his passion to connect a new generation of students from less fortunate backgrounds to the best opportunities.

We hear how Powell made networking and internships a priority - he and his circle and the college staff worked to place students in Washington and Wall Street, working in not-for-profits, in law, and organisations such as the United Nations. 

We also hear from a collection of students - African Americans, young people from El Salvador and Bangladesh, from China, Peru and the Virgin Islands. As General Powell said, there is no college in the USA that can boast such diversity. It's a diversity he celebrated, in defiance of prevailing government thinking. America, after all, he pointed out, was built on immigrant talent and labour - just like his own.

Produced by Susan Marling
A Just Radio production for BBC Radio 4

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