The Foreign Service Journal, September 2020

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | SEPTEMBER 2020 35 Two fellowship programs are heralded for bringing people of color into the Foreign Service, but the new employees’ advancement is inhibited by institutional barriers. BY ANA ESCROG I MA , L I A M I L L ER AND CHR I ST I NA T I LGHMAN FOCUS ON ADDRESSING RACE, DIVERSITY & INCLUSION Harlem What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun? Or fester like a sore— And then run? Does it stink like rotten meat? Or crust and sugar over— like a syrupy sweet? Maybe it just sags like a heavy load. Or does it explode? —Langston Hughes I n the aftermath of nationwide protests following the death of George Floyd, the story of discrimina- tion against one of our colleagues—Tianna Spears —horrified us all. Ms. Spears’ account of her treat- ment at the U.S.-Mexico border, and how she coped for two years, has led many at the State Department to ask how this could be so. By laying bare the lived realities of institutionalized racism and bias at the department that far too many officers experience, but do not discuss outside certain circles, Tianna’s story broke a cultural taboo, sparking an outpouring of concern for officers who have undergone similar experiences. We should all be concerned about a State Department living in two worlds: with one set of officers who must cope with such experiences while navigating their careers, and another set who are unaware of or indifferent to such hardships. Our hope is that this moment in American history will inspire an honest con- versation about what it means—and what it will take—to truly value and support diversity in our organization. The national reckoning has catapulted one of State’s newest employee affinity groups, the Pickering and Rangel Fellows Association, to the forefront of advocacy on this issue. Founded in 2010, PRFA encompasses the more than 770 alumni who have joined the Foreign Service through the Thomas R. Pickering Diversity at State A DreamDeferred and a Collective Responsibility