On December 17, 1971, Congressman Charles C. Diggs Jr. of Michigan resigned from his position as a delegate to the United Nations. This action was taken in protest of what he described as the “stifling hypocrisy” of the Nixon Administration’s policies toward Africa.

Diggs, who was the first African American elected to Congress from Michigan, was a prominent advocate for African affairs and civil rights. He chaired the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa for a decade, emphasizing the importance of increased American aid to newly independent African nations and opposing colonial and apartheid regimes.

His resignation from the U.N. delegation underscored his commitment to aligning U.S. foreign policy with the principles of self-determination and justice for African countries.