Jim Patterson at the resting place of Nobel Peace Prize-winning diplomat Dr. Ralph J. Bunche, The Bronx, New York.
"The world and its peoples being as they are, there is no easy or quick or infallible approach to a secure peace. It is only by patient, persistent, undismayed effort, by trial and error, that peace can be won." -- Ralph Bunche
Jim Patterson, Diplomat: August 7 is the birthday of Dr. Ralph J. Bunche, Ph. D. Dr. Bucnhe served at the U.S. Department of State and he was the first African American to win the Nobel Peace Prize. His wife, Ruth, was from Montgomery, Alabama.
I first learned of Dr. Bunche after reading about him in the press. He came to Alabama to march with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in the historic Selma to Montgomery march in 1965. He worked at the United Nations at the time and he was the highest-ranking U.S. government official to participate in the march.
My father served with Alabama's National Guard from 1962 to 1967, for the integration of the University of Alabama, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the KKK bombing of Birmingham's 16th Baptist Church, and the Selma to Montgomery march.
Due to my family connection to the Selma March, I have a role as a reporter in 2015's Academy and Golden Globe award-winning film "Selma." My scenes with actor Tim Roth as Alabama Gov. George C. Wallace were filmed in Atlanta June 2014. I had photos of my dad and Dr. Bunche in my coat pocket.
