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Judith Mudd-Krijgelmans: Motivating Memoir

Judith Mudd-Krijgelmans was one of the first Black women in the US Foreign Service. A child of educators, she grew up in public housing during Jim Crow. Despite the odds, she persisted in getting a good education at a catholic girls’ high school; her debating skills gained her a scholarship to an HBCU. From there, she graduated in the tumult of 1968. She went on a Fulbright to India and, on return to the US, served at HUD (housing department). After earning an MA, she embarked on her international profession. She is the author of two books: Flowers for Brother Mudd: One Woman’s Path from Jim Crow to Career Diplomat and Chocolates for Mary Julia: Black Woman Blazes Trails as a Career Diplomat.

On leaving the foreign service, Judith Mudd-Krijgelmans was now lauded for her outstanding achievement in promoting US interests.

Since then, she has led memoir courses while talking about her African American triumph story. She has written two memoirs, the first about growing up during Jim Crow and the second about her career in the ranks of the foreign service. Goal-oriented, she finds value in her life’s bitter and sweet stories, incorporating them into lessons for a full, rich existence. Surprisingly, she sees America as still in its development and remains hopeful that it will live up to its ideals of liberty and justice for all.