Video Transcript

Herwald H. Morton—Taking the State Department Foreign Service Exam in the 1950s:

In 1959, while I was still at Roosevelt, I had taken the Foreign Service examination for the State Department Junior Officer class.

(Question: In 1959?)

Yes, 1959.  What I didn’t realize in 1959 – I passed the written exam – what I didn’t realize in 1959 was that the State Department was not taking black officers in off of the written examination.  I went for the oral exam and they were somewhat surprised to see me there, because I had a fairly decent score on the written exam. But I could tell when I went into the examination room almost immediately that even if I died on Friday and rose from the dead on Sunday, I was not going to pass the oral.  I mean you can sense it sometimes.  They were very pleasant people, but you could sense it in the room.  And I spent about half an hour in there with them and I think I answered all their questions satisfactorily.  And in those days they would have you to wait outside while they conferred, and they’d come out and tell you whether you were in or out. 

One of the panelists was from USIA.  I had never heard of USIA, didn’t know that it even existed.  While I was sitting out there waiting while they were conferring, he came out to go to the men’s room, and he walked by me and he said, “Walk down the hall with me.” And we walked down the hall toward the water fountain.  He said, “You know, you know you are not going to pass this?”  I said, “Yes, I knew that right away.”  He says, “I could tell.  I could tell that you knew you weren’t going to pass it, but you did a great job in there.”  And he gave me his card, and he says, “We could use you in USIA.”  And I said, “Well, I don’t know anything about USIA and I would like to have a job, but I’ve got a fellowship.  I am going to graduate school, so maybe at the end of that time I will think about it.”  And he said, “Well, keep us in mind.”