Rice Laments Lack of Black Diplomats

Condoleezza Rice may be the second African American to become secretary of state, but she remains unimpressed by the number of blacks in the foreign service. "I can go into a whole day of meetings at the Department of State and actually rarely see somebody who looks like me. And that is just not acceptable," said the nation's top diplomat.

Rice was speaking at a conference of leaders of historically black colleges, and she praised federal initiatives to get students at those universities to undertake language training and study-abroad opportunities. "I want to see a foreign service that looks as if black Americans are part of this great country," Rice concluded.
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