Colin Powell Was 'Classic New York City Story,' De Blasio Says

NEW YORK CITY — Colin Powell, a native New Yorker who rose to the heights of American public service, died from COVID-19 complications.

Powell, 84, died at Walter Reed National Medical Center. He was fully vaccinated, his family said on social media.

Mayor Bill de Blasio said Monday that Powell — the son of Jamaican immigrants who was born in Harlem — showed the world how New York City offers anyone and everyone opportunities in life.

"He was an example of the greatness of New York City — an absolutely classic New York City story," he said.

Eric Adams, the Democratic nominee for mayor, called Powell's life a "testament to the enduring power of the American dream."

"As a Black man who has spent my career fighting for a more just and equitable society, I am in awe of Mr. Powell's considerable accomplishments, and his ability to overcome the bigotry he faced in order to reach the highest levels of the military, and later our federal government," Adams said in a statement. "May he rest in power.”

Powell himself traced his journey from a hardscrabble childhood in the Bronx, up through the ranks of the U.S. military and finally to become the nation’s chief diplomat.

“Mine is the story of a black kid of no early promise from an immigrant family of limited means who was raised in the South Bronx,” he wrote in his 1995 autobiography “My American Journey.”

At City College, Powell discovered the ROTC. When he put on his first uniform, “I liked what I saw,” he wrote.

Powell served in Vietnam and became the first Black national security adviser toward the end of President Ronald Reagan's presidency.

It was the beginning of many firsts in Powell's career — in 1989, he became the first Black chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and its youngest. He oversaw the U.S. invasion of Kuwait to oust the Iraqi army in 1991.

Former President George W. Bush selected Powell as his secretary of state, making him the highest-ranking Black public official in the country, CNN reported.

Powell's reputation became tied to Bush's push to invade Iraq in 2003. He made a prominent presentation before the U.N. Security Council later found to be riddled with faulty information about Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction programs.

Dave Chokshi, the city's health commissioner, said he didn't know Powell's medical status and how it could have impacted his fight against COVID-19, especially as someone who was fully vaccinated. But he noted comorbidities can lower immune response.

CNN's Jake Tapper reported Powell had multiple myeloma, a cancer of blood cells that can compromise immune systems.

Also worth repeating that one of the many reasons for folks to get vaccinated and to wear masks as of now is to protect people who are in vulnerable populations — such as those with compromised immune systems.
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) October 18, 2021

Patch writer Beth Dalbey and the Associated Press contributed to this report.