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GU I D E to Y E L L OW S P R I NG S | 2O22 – 2O23 67 who were divorced, attend the meeting with the prime minister the next day. The meeting took place at the Blair House, the president’s guesthouse on Pennsylvania Avenue, and Prime Minister Lumumba did, in fact, offer Seon a posi - tion. Lumumba explained to Seon that he was headed to Canada momentarily, but would look for Seon on the plane that left New York on Tuesday. “Lumumba said, ‘So, that’s that,’ as he looked around at me and my family. This was a Saturday,” Seon said, chuck - ling. She was 22. She arrived several months later in Congo, and lived there for two years during a period of political upheaval and civil war. “I felt as though I was safe,” Seon said, having a promise of protection from the Congolese government. She was able to develop friendships with people from multiple nations and she even managed to have a social life, attending church and enjoying picnics on occasion. Seon came to serve as the secretary to the High Com- mission on the Inga Dam, “an exciting project” that, in con - ception, is one of the largest hydro-electric power projects in the world. It was also the highest office a non-national could hold. “The purpose of the dam was to create power, and it was strong enough to take high tension lines 1,000 miles away to Katanga Province which had been in rebellion,” Seon said. “This was a very important link” for stability in the region. In 1963, the year President John F. Kennedy was assas- sinated, Seon returned to the U.S. At this time, the Ameri - can civil rights movement was in full force and there were riots in the streets. “I felt like I had entered another civil war,” she said. Seon sought work in the states comparable to that of her work as a chief adminis - trative officer in Congo. Her position often translated to that of the position of secre - tary, which meant Seon, then a 27-year-old African Ameri- can woman, had to advocate for her ability to handle the position of a high level admin - istrative officer. “When you say you were the secretary for a govern- ment agency, they translated that as being a secretary in a government agency,” she said. Seon came to hold one of the first positions as a foreign affairs officer in the Office of International Conferences, specializing in the delegation of the Food and Agricultural Organization and commodi - ties, fisheries and forestry meetings. Near the second anni- versary of her employment in this position, Seon was asked to be the secretary of delegation, the chief administrative officer, for the Fourteenth General Assembly of UNESCO, which took place in Paris. “This was 50 years ago,” she said, laughing. “I was the youngest person ever selected for that role. I was the first African American selected for that role. And I was the second woman ever to be selected for that role on a major United States delega - tion.” At the time, Seon said she was so caught up in handling the administrative tasks as secretary of the delega- tion that the significance of her position was not readily apparent at the time. “My youth was as much of an anomaly to the people that I worked with as was the fact that I was an African Ameri - can woman,” she said. After six weeks in Paris, Find us on FACEBooK: Village-Automotive-service 1455 XeniA Avenue • 937-767-2088 • MondAy – FridAy • 7:30 A.M. – 6 p.M. k All service, Maintenance & Repair on Foreign & Domestic k Oil, Lube & Filter Service k Tire Sales/Service & 4-Wheel Alignment k Trailer Hitches/Bike Carriers k Auto Glass Repair and Replacement k Preventative Maintenance k Battery & Brake Service k Check Engine Light Diagnositcs & Repair k We work on boats, golf carts, campers, lawn mowers & so much more! V illage Automotive S E R V I C E E V O L V E D . villageautomotiveservice.net