John Wesley Rice

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For entries on other people named John Wesley, see John Wesley (disambiguation).

Reverend John Wesley Rice, Jr. (3 November 1923 – 24 December 2000), a college administrator, school guidance counsellor and high school teacher, was the father of United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Rice was a minister, teacher, and coach in Birmingham, Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Denver, Colorado, and Palo Alto, California.

Rice supported the civil rights movement, but kept his distance, since he did not believe children should be put in harm's way. He and his wife focused on helping their daughter become "twice as good", so that she could gain power. At the time, many black families focused on educating their daughters, believing racist white people would not view them as threats. In 1965, Rice became a college administrator, moving his family to Tuscaloosa and then Denver.

He helped found the Center for a New Generation in East Palo Alto, an after-school academic enrichment program.

He married Angelena Ray Rice in 1954. Widowed in 1985, Rice later married Clara Bailey Rice, a Palo Alto principal. He died in Palo Alto, California.

His children include daughter Condoleezza and stepson, Gregory Stuart Bailey.

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