Alma Vivian Powell ( Johnson; October 27, 1937 – July 28, 2024) was an American

audiologist Audiology (from Latin 'to hear'; and from Greek branch of learning , ''-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 ...

and the wife of military and political figure

Colin Powell Colin Luther Powell ( ; – ) was an Americans, American diplomat, and army officer who was the 65th United States secretary of state from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African-American to hold the office. He was the 15th National Security ...

, to whom she was married from August 25, 1962 until his death in 2021.

Biography

Born on October 27, 1937, in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. The population was 200,733 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List ...

, Alma Powell graduated from

Fisk University Fisk University is a Private university, private Historically black colleges and universities, historically black Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Nashville, Tennessee. It was founded in 1866 and its campus i ...

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

, and went on to study speech pathology and audiology at

Emerson College Emerson College is a private college in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It also maintains campuses in Los Angeles and Well, Limburg, Netherlands (Kasteel Well). Founded in 1880 by Charles Wesley Emerson as a "school of Public Speaking, o ...

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

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

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 Powell and Pressburger, The Archers, they together wrote, produced ...

. She also had 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, Natio ...

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

Condoleezza Rice Condoleezza "Condi" Rice ( ; born November 14, 1954) is an American diplomat and political scientist serving since 2020 as the 8th director of Stanford University's Hoover Institution. A member of the Republican Party, she previously served ...

's father worked in her uncle's school as a guidance counselor. Powell was the chair of America's Promise, the nation's largest partnership dedicated to improving the lives of children and youth. She 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. Powell died in

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in Northern Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Washington, D.C., D.C. The city's population of 159,467 at the 2020 ...

, on July 28, 2024, at the age of 86.

References

External links

The History Makers
* 1937 births 2024 deaths 20th-century African-American women 20th-century American women scientists 21st-century African-American women 21st-century American women scientists African-American women scientists Audiologists

Alma Alma or ALMA may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Alma'' (film), a 2009 Spanish short animated film * ''Alma'', an upcoming film by Sally Potter * ''Alma'' (Oswald de Andrade novel), 1922 * ''Alma'' (Le Clézio novel), 2017 * ''Alma'' ( ...

Emerson College alumni Fisk University alumni People from Birmingham, Alabama Spouses of American politicians {{US-poli-bio-stub