Notable Brooklander: Ralph Bunche

Dr. Ralph Bunche called Brookland home from 1941 to 1947.  His home was designed for him by Hilyard R. Robinson, a noted Washington architect, in the International Style. Dr. Bunche chaired the Department of Political Science at Howard University from 1928 until 1950. He worked with the United Nations for a quarter of a century, championing equal rights not only for Americans, but for people worldwide. Dr. Bunche became the UN's chief mediator in the Arab-Israeli conflict. For achieving the 1949 Armistice Agreements, Dr. Bunche received the Peace Prize in 1950. He was the first Black Nobel Peace Prize winner. An active and vocal supporter of the civil rights movement, Dr. Bunche participated in the 1963 March on Washington, where Martin Luther King gave his "I Have a Dream" speech.

Dr. Bunche passed away in 1971. Among his many lasting honors, Howard University named the Ralph J. Bunche International Affairs Center in his honor in 1993.