The Foreign Service Journal, April 2007

Peters went on to become a pioneer- ing African-American career diplo- mat. After receiving a B.A. in English literature from Fisk University in 1952, his plan to attend Howard Uni- versity law school was aborted when he was drafted into the army during the Korean War, where he served from 1953 to 1954. Following military service, he returned to studies at Loyola University in Chicago, working summers on the Sante Fe railroad, and received a master’s degree in English literature in 1956. Mr. Peters then moved to Los Angeles, where he was a social worker and high school English teacher until 1961, when he received a Fulbright scholarship to teach English as a for- eign language and English literature in Italy. While in Rome, U.S. embassy officials suggested that he join the U.S. Information Agency. In 1964, Mr. Peters began a 30- year Foreign Service career during which he served in a variety of posi- tions at USIA and the State Depart- ment. His first assignment was to Lagos as a space science lecturer. He was transferred to Mogadishu a year later as a program assistant. In 1967 he was detailed to FSI to learn Vietnamese. Subsequent assignments included deputy head of public diplo- macy in Bonn, head of public diplo- macy at the U.S. consulate in Trieste, at the U.S. consulate in Da Nang dur- ing the Tet Offensive, at the U.S. con- sulate in Kaduna, and cultural affairs officer at Embassy Lagos, where he managed American involvement in the major international festival of cul- ture and arts of Africa and the African Diaspora. Mr. Peters spoke many lan- guages, including French, Italian and German. Mr. Peters’ Washington assign- ments included a tour as senior inspec- tor in the Office of the USIA Inspector General, where he evaluated the per- formance of USIA programs in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Africa. He was later deputy executive director of the Foreign Service Board of Examiners, evaluating candidates for the Foreign Service. In retirement, he managed pro- grams at Meridian House in Washing- ton, D.C., for international visitors to the U.S. A bon vivant and gourmand, A P R I L 2 0 0 7 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 77 I N M E M O R Y