The Association of Black American Ambassadors (ABAA) joins the nation and people of conscience around the world, in mourning the brutal deaths of George Floyd, Ahmed Arbery, Breonna Taylor and other unarmed Black Americans.
The ABAA condemns the actions that led to the death of George Floyd, which once again bring attention to the longstanding systemic and systematic discrimination against Black people.
Equally, the ABAA censures and renounces the mindset and actions borne of racism, sexism and anti-immigrant attitudes that risk making it acceptable to take innocent lives which is antithetical to American and international human rights law.
As the organization representing the country's most seasoned Black American diplomats, we believe strongly that equal rights and complete pursuit of justice is but the first step needed to rebuild our own citizens' confidence in our democratic system and values.
Below is a list of ABAA members who have signed the letter, along with their previous post(s) of Edward J. Perkins
President, ABAA
Cynthia H. Akuetteh: Gabon and Sao Tome and Principe
Bernadette Allen: Niger
C. Pat Alsup: The Gambia
Shirley E. Barnes: Republic of Madagascar
Joyce Barr: US Ambassador retired
Clyde Bishop: Republic of the Marshall Islands
Carol Moseley Braun: New Zealand
Aurelia E. Brazeal: Micronesia, Kenya, Ethiopia
Pamela E. Bridgewater: The Republic of Benin and The Republic of Ghana
Reuben E. Brigety: The African Union
Sue K. Brown: Montenegro
Johnnie Carson: Assistant Secretary of State for Africa Affairs
Cook, Suzan Johnson: Ambassador- at- Large For International Religious Freedom
Ruth A. Davis: The Republic of Benin and Director General of the Foreign Service
Horace D. Dawson: Botswana
Harriet L. Elam-Thomas: Senegal
Jendayi Frazer: The Republic of South Africa, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs
James Gadsden: Iceland
Irvin Hicks Sr.: Ethiopia
Bonnie Jenkins: Coordinator for Threat Reduction Programs
Howard F. Jeter: Nigeria
Mosina Jordan: Central African Republic
Kenton W. Keith: Qatar
Delano E. Lewis: The Republic of South Africa
Dennise Mathieu: Niger and Namibia
C. Steven McGann: Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, The Kingdom of Tonga an Tuvalu
James McGee: Swaziland, Madagascar and the Comoros
Donald McHenry: United Nations
Elizabeth McKune: Qatar
George Moose: Career Ambassador and Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs
Bismarck Myrick: Kingdom of Lesotho
Wanda Nesbitt: adagascar, Cote d'Ivorie and Namibia
Nichols, Brian: Zimbabwe (presently serving)
Adrienne O'Neal: Republic of Cape Verde
Susan D. Page: Republic of South Sudan
Larry Palmer: Republic of Honduras and Barbados and Eastern Caribbean
Maurice Parker: Kingdom of Lesotho and Republic of Liberia
Edward J. Perkins: Republic of Liberia, United Nations, The Republic of South Africa and the Director General of the Foreign Service
June Carter Perry: Lesotho and Sierra Leone
Robert C. Perry: Central African Republic
Charles Ray: Cambodia and Zimbabwe
Helen Patricia Reed-Rowe: Republic of Palau
Reed, Frankie: Fiji,
