By Stacy M. Brown
(NNPA) – Colin Powell has died from complications from Covid-19, his family members have confirmed.
The first Black US secretary of state was 84.
“General Colin L. Powell, former U.S. Secretary of State and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, passed away this morning due to complications from Covid 19,” the former General’s family wrote on Facebook.
“We have lost a remarkable and loving husband, father, grandfather and a great American,” the family wrote.
They reported that Powell had been fully vaccinated but suffered from a blood cancer known as multiple myeloma — precisely the kind of “immunocompromised” condition that experts have said from the start could lead to lower vaccine efficacy.
President Joseph R. Biden called Powell “a dear friend and a patriot.” He said Powell had teachers who told him “you can do anything.”
The president ordered the flag of the United States to be flown at half-staff at the White House and on all public buildings and grounds, at all military posts and naval stations, and on all naval vessels until sunset on Oct. 22, 2021.
Vice President Kamala Harris said Powell was “an extraordinary public servant, American patriot”. She shared that she last saw Powell in July at a dinner hosted by the white House.
“You know, what an incredible American,” said Harris. “He obviously served with dignity; he served with grace. He was the epitome of what it means to be strong but, at the same time, so modest in terms of everything that he did and said, in a way that it was never about him, it was about the country and it was about the people who served with him.”
Former President Barack Obama called Powell “an exemplary soldier and an exemplary patriot” and that he was “deeply appreciative that someone like General Powell, who had been associated with Republican administrations in the past, was willing to endorse me in 2008. But what impressed me even more was how he did it. At a time when conspiracy theories were swirling, with some questioning my faith, General Powell took the opportunity to get to the heart of the matter in a way only he could.
“’The correct answer is, he is not a Muslim; he’s a Christian,” General Powell said. “’But the really right answer is, ‘What if he is?’ Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer’s no, that’s not America. Is there something wrong with some seven-year-old Muslim-American kid believing that he or she could be president?’”
“That’s who Colin Powell was,” continued Obama. “He understood what was best in this country, and tried to bring his own life, career, and public statements in line with that ideal. It’s why, for all the battles he fought and problems he solved, Michelle and I will always look to General Powell as an example of what America – and Americans – can and should be if we wish to remain the last, best hope of earth.”
Powell became the first Black national security adviser during the end of Ronald Reagan’s presidency.
He also counted as the youngest and first African American chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under President George H.W. Bush.
Powell was thrust into the global spotlight after leading the United States to victory during the Gulf War, with many even considering him as a presidential candidate.
