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The Regents of the University of California
 

Photo by Reed Hutchinson UCLA Photographic Services

15 seconds

MARK ALLEYNE

Associate Director, Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies

Alleyne was born on the island of Barbados and received master’s and Ph.D. degrees in international relations from Oxford University. “My mother said that if I did not do well in school, I would ‘pick pond grass’ as a profession, so I tried to please her by being valedictorian of my high school, a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford and then a university professor,” he said. “You have more personal autonomy when you work with your mind.”

Which living person do you most admire?
Nelson Mandela, because he never compromised or abandoned the armed struggle to free his people.

What is your favorite type of music?
Cuban son (sometimes referred to as Afro-Cuban music).

If you hadn’t chosen your current occupation, what would you have chosen?
I would have liked to be a professional tennis player for 10 years, then settle down to a life of writing books about Caribbean and Latin American cultures and people.