Alma Vivian Powell ( Johnson; born October 27, 1937) is an American

audiologist Audiology (from Latin , "to hear"; and from Greek , ''-logia'') is a branch of science that studies hearing, balance, and related disorders. Audiologists treat those with hearing loss and proactively prevent related damage. By employing various ...

and the widow of military and political figure

Colin Powell Colin Luther Powell ( ; April 5, 1937 – October 18, 2021) was an American politician, statesman, diplomat, and United States Army officer who served as the 65th United States Secretary of State from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African ...

, whom she married on August 25, 1962.

Biography

She graduated from

Fisk University Fisk University is a private historically black liberal arts college in Nashville, Tennessee. It was founded in 1866 and its campus is a historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1930, Fisk was the first Africa ...

in Nashville, Tennessee, and went on to study speech pathology and audiology at

Emerson College Emerson College is a private college with its main campus in Boston, Massachusetts. It also maintains campuses in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California and Well, Limburg, Netherlands ( Kasteel Well). Founded in 1880 by Charles Wesley Emerson as a ...

in Boston. She is the mother of former chairman of the

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdiction ...

Michael Powell Michael Latham Powell (30 September 1905 – 19 February 1990) was an English filmmaker, celebrated for his partnership with Emeric Pressburger. Through their production company The Archers, they together wrote, produced and directed a serie ...

. She also has two daughters,

Linda Powell Linda Margaret Powell (born April 16, 1965) is an American actress. Early life Linda Margaret Powell was born in Fort Benning, Georgia, on April 16, 1965 the daughter of Alma and Colin Powell, the former United States Secretary of State, Nation ...

, an actress, and Annemarie Powell. Her father and uncle were principals of two high schools in Birmingham;

Condoleezza Rice Condoleezza Rice ( ; born November 14, 1954) is an American diplomat and political scientist who is the current director of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. A member of the Republican Party, she previously served as the 66th Uni ...

's father worked in her uncle's school as a guidance counselor. Alma Powell is the chair of

America's Promise America's Promise Alliance is the nation’s largest cross-sector alliance of nonprofit, community organizations, businesses, and government organization dedicated to improving the lives of young people. The organization was founded on the idea ...

, the nation's largest partnership dedicated to improving the lives of children and youth. She has also authored two children's books, ''America's Promise'' and ''My Little Red Wagon''. In 2011 she was named the NASBE's ''National Education Policy Leader of the Year'' along with her husband.

References

External links

The History Makers
* 1937 births African-American people Audiologists Fisk University alumni Living people People from Birmingham, Alabama Colin L. Powell family {{US-poli-bio-stub