Best of - General Colin Powell: My American Journey

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Academy of Achievement

Film, Politics, Arts, Self-help, Sports, Society & Culture, Success, Literature, Humanitarian, Military, Social Justice, Technology, Podcast, Achievement, Music, Science

4.6 • 943 Ratings

🗓️ 25 October 2021

⏱️ 58 minutes

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Summary

Colin Powell, who died on October 18, 2021, wore many hats during his distinguished career in public service, among them: Secretary of State, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and National Security Advisor. And he was the first African-American to hold each of those positions. When he joined the Army in the 1950's, though, his only ambition was to be a good soldier. It was beyond the realm of possibility for the son of working class Jamaican immigrants to aspire much higher. In this episode, which originally posted in September of 2017, you'll hear Powell's stories about his journey from the South Bronx, to the jungles of Vietnam, to the Jim Crow South, to the highest reaches of government, and about the decades of American history he helped shape. (c ) American Academy of Achievement 2017-2021

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi, it's Alice. When we heard last week that Cole and Powell had died from complications of COVID,
0:06.6	we knew we had to replay you our episode from September 2017.
0:12.5	It features an extensive and an insightful interview with the former general and statesman.
0:18.6	A man once considered the most popular public figure in America, but a man whose legacy ultimately was a complicated
0:27.6	one.
0:28.8	He talked about that too in this episode.
0:31.8	Thanks for listening to it.
0:35.0	I get asked the question all the time, do you know?
0:37.0	Gee, when you were a young kid growing up in the South Bronx section of New York,
0:41.0	did you realize that you were going to grow up to be the Secretary of
0:45.9	of the United States of America and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff? I just kind
0:50.1	of smile and said yeah.
1:01.7	Yeah I was. I believe I was about 10 years old I was standing on the corner of 163rd of Kelly.
1:04.6	And I said to myself, self, you're going to grow up and be Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
1:09.9	This son of the South Bronx is of course Colin Powell. His story is almost beyond belief, but at the same time it is the all-American tale, a tale about how a child of working-class immigrants, a pretty meh student,
1:26.0	found his calling in public service
1:29.0	and rose to the very, very top.
1:32.0	Colin Powell is the subject of this episode of what it takes, a
1:35.5	podcast about passion, vision, and perseverance from the Academy of Achievement.
1:41.3	I'm Alice Winkler.
1:44.0	Had a maid, this child is gifted, and I heard that enough that I started to believe it.
1:50.0	If you have the opportunity, not a perfect opportunity, and you don't take it, you may never have another job.
	...

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