John Foster Dulles or Satchmo?

This Mischa Richter cartoon from the New Yorker depicts a Washington office where apparent foreign policy elites debate. The caption reads, "This is a diplomatic mission of utmost delicacy. The question is, who's the best man for it - John Foster Dulles or Satchmo?" In the 1950's, the State Department began sending African American entertainers, such as Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, and Dizzy Gillespie, on goodwill tours through Asia and Africa. Such attempts at cultural exchange were meant to create a positive image of US race relations to contrast with the negative press coming from the Communist press. This cartoon is evidence of both the tours' success, and the degree to which the line between foreign relations and race relations was perforated by the Cold War. (Image source: Library of Congress. Description.)