Joseph Monroe Segars (November 6, 1938
Hartsville, South Carolina
Hartsville is the largest city in Darlington County, South Carolina, United States. It was chartered on December 11, 1891. The population was 7,764 at the 2010 census. Hartsville was chosen as an All-America City in 1996 and again in 2016. Har ...
– July 20, 2014
Lakewood Ranch, Florida
Lakewood Ranch is a planned community and census-designated place in southeastern Manatee County and northeastern Sarasota County, Florida, United States, consisting of approximately . It is part of the North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, Florida M ...
) was an American Career Foreign Service Officer who served as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to
Cape Verde
, national_anthem = ()
, official_languages = Portuguese
, national_languages = Cape Verdean Creole
, capital = Praia
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, demonym ...
from 1992 until 1996.
When Segars’ parents moved to Philadelphia in search of better jobs, he was raised by his maternal aunt and uncle Walter and Francis Hines. After graduating from Butler High School in 1956, he joined his family in Philadelphia to work before starting College.
Segars graduated in 1961 from
Cheyney University of Pennsylvania
Cheyney University of Pennsylvania is a public historically black university in Cheyney, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1837, it is the oldest university out of all historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the United States. It is a m ...
with a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Education. After graduating, he taught sixth grade in
Gary, Indiana
Gary is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The city has been historically dominated by major industrial activity and is home to U.S. Steel's Gary Works, the largest steel mill complex in North America. Gary is located along the ...
’s public school system until 1967. At that time, he returned to Philadelphia and began teaching sixth grade in their public school system. Segars joined the U.S. Foreign Service in 1970 and became the first African American to be assigned to the U.S. Embassy in
Vienna, Austria
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
. Segars remained in this position until 1973.
He served as Consul General several times. In 1976, he began in that capacity in
Johannesburg, South Africa
Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...
. One of the first African Americans to be assigned to South Africa, his arrival in Johannesburg coincided with the Soweto Uprising which was a student protest against the Afrikaans Medium Decree of 1974. He was Consul General in
Kingston, Jamaica
Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley Inter ...
from 1978 to 1980 and in 1983, Segars was appointed Consul General, this time in
Lagos, Nigeria
Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national capital of Nigeria until December 1991 fo ...
where he served until 1986.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Segars, Joseph
1938 births
2014 deaths
Ambassadors of the United States to Cape Verde
People from Hartsville, South Carolina
Cheyney University of Pennsylvania alumni
African-American diplomats
20th-century American diplomats
United States Foreign Service personnel
American consuls
African-American schoolteachers
20th-century African-American people
21st-century African-American people