Alma Johnson Powell

Alma Vivian Johnson Powell was born on October 27, 1937, in Birmingham, Alabama, to Mildred Eliza Bell and Robert Charles Johnson. The eldest of two daughters, her father, nicknamed Big Red, was the revered and feared principal of one of the city's two black high schools. Her mother ran a daycare, founded the first Girl Scout troop for black girls in Alabama, and was the first African American to be elected assistant moderator of the United Church of Christ.

Education was a priority in the family. As a precocious five-year-old with no kindergarten available, young Alma was sent an hour across town every morning to attend the elementary school where her aunt was teaching, Pratt City Negro School. She skipped two grades at Pratt, entering Parker High School, her father’s high school, at just 12 years old. At 16 she matriculated to Fisk University where she studied speech and drama. After graduation, she returned to Birmingham and a job at radio station WJLD. Her afternoon show, “Luncheon with Alma” featured music, ‘women’s news’ and helpful household hints.

Alma Powell longed to see the world beyond the Jim Crow south and soon headed to Emerson College in Boston to pursue a graduate degree in speech pathology and audiology. While working at the Boston Guild for the Hard of Hearing she traveled the city giving hearing tests, fitting veterans with hearing aids and teaching the deaf to read lips.

In Boston, she was part of a close-knit black community. Her memories of the time included a conversation in a bar with Duke Ellington, dates with a Boston Red Sox player, and a Nigerian prince. She claimed Ellington said to her “Excuse me if I stare, I love beautiful things…” She was also part of a group of students who hosted a young Johnny Mathis as he passed through the segregated city.

It was on a blind date in Boston that she met Lieutenant Colin Powell. The young Army officer had merely agreed to play wing-man for a friend and she’d only reluctantly agreed to go out with a soldier, but the two hit it off immediately, were married within eight months and would remain so for nearly 60 years.

Mrs. Powell left school when she married and returned home to Birmingham while her husband was deployed for his first tour in Vietnam. It was 1963 and the epicenter of the civil rights movement. She had her first child there amidst the tumultuous events of that year, including the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church.

In the years that followed, she lived the life of a proud military spouse with all the challenges that that life entails. She and her husband lived in over 20 different houses together and raised their three children in Virginia, North Carolina, Kansas, Kentucky, Colorado, Georgia and Germany. Often parenting on her own, she had an incredible ability to make each new house feel like home within days of moving in.

No matter where she was stationed, Mrs. Powell was an active volunteer, often working to support military families. For a time, she was an “Arlington Lady”, one of the many volunteers who attend funeral services at Arlington National Cemetery to ensure that no service member is buried alone. She worked at an office in the Pentagon that served families preparing for a move by providing information about various military locations. She served as the Army liaison to the National Red Cross as part of a team of volunteer consultants from the military services and later was the Advisor to the Red Cross of the Military District of Washington.

LT Powell rose to become General Powell, the National Security Advisor, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and eventually the US Secretary of State. She served the country at his side as hostess, supporter, and confidante. She traveled the world representing the country, mixing with presidents and prime ministers, kings and queens. She developed lifelong friendships with her traveling partners.

Her inherited passion for education and the welfare of children came into play as she and General Powell transitioned from military to civilian life. They were instrumental in the founding of the America’s Promise Alliance, an organization focused on empowering youth. She served as its board chair for years and authored two children’s books in support of the organization.

President Bill Clinton appointed her to the Board of Trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and for a time she served as its Vice Chair. She was a member of President Barack Obama’s Board of Advisors on Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Over the years she received countless awards and honors including an honorary degree from Emerson College three decades after she cut her studies short to get married.

Alma Powell was well-loved for her humor, her grace, and her no-nonsense attitude. She was a voracious reader. She read multiple newspapers daily and especially enjoyed mystery novels. She loved to sew, work with miniatures, and do the New York Times crossword puzzle. Her four grandchildren and one great-grandchild brightened her up like nothing else could.

She is survived by her three children, Michael, Linda, and Annemarie and their families, her niece and two nephews and countless beloved extended family members and friends.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in Alma Johnson Powell's honor to the America's Promise Alliance: https://americaspromise.org/donate-in-memory-of-alma-powell/

A celebration of her remarkable life will take place in the near future.