Black icon Dr. Howard D. McCurdy delivers powerful memoir
Book Review of Black Activist, Scientist, Icon. The Autobiography of Dr. Howard D. McCurdy
By Joy Samuel
Black Activist, Scientist, Icon is not your typical autobiography, mainly because Dr. Howard Douglas McCurdy (1932 – 2018) was not a typical man. To describe him as talented, brilliant or accomplished seems to even undervalue his significance. Yet, like many other Canadians, particularly Black leaders, his achievements and influence appear to have gone unrecognized by the general population. The autobiography skilfully paints a picture of this scientific and political pioneer in a witty yet thoughtful way that will captivate any reader. Dr. George Elliot Clarke has done a brilliant job in editing the memoir to conclusion after McCurdy’s death in 2018. As his constituency communications liaison from 1987 to 1991, Clarke was well versed in McCurdy’s style. “He approved 90 per cent of the letters I wrote on his behalf, so I’m going to say he would approve at least 90 per cent of this book.”
While he had to intervene in the text at times to ensure readability for a general audience, as McCurdy’s mentee and someone he held a high level of trust for in all his communications, Clarke has truly brought this autobiography to life.
Dr. McCurdy was the first Black Canadian to become a tenured professor, a globally recognized microbiologist and authority on myxobacteria. Additionally, he founded the National Black Coalition of Canada, named the New Democratic Party, and became the second Black Canadian Member of Parliament, among many other accolades. And, as Clarke states in the introduction, “the man can write,” and you will be drawn in from the first paragraph with a literal bang.
Starting off as a coming-of-age anthology, the book transforms into a historical piece where you join McCurdy as he experiences events such as the impact of World War II, conversations with Martin Luther King in the heart of the Civil Rights Movement, involvement in anti-apartheid activism in South Africa, and meeting with Nelson Mandela following his release from prison. From activism roles, such as the president of a Michigan chapter of the National Association of the Advancement of Coloured People, to his political career where his impact was so great that three different Canadian prime ministers and one Ontario premier spoke at his funeral in 2018.
When asked how he would describe the book and its intended audience, Clarke explains: “The challenge with Howard McCurdy’s story is it is so multifaceted. In one sense his life story should appeal to almost everyone.”
You glean from the book that Dr. Howard McCurdy was someone who stood out. In a room, you could pick him out as the dapper suit-wearing persona that perpetually had a cigarette in hand and commanded your presence when he spoke circles of logic around any challenger. Yet, behind this is a man who was conscious not to express too much emotion or come off vulnerable.
“The man was Black excellence. I mean the excellence that came through personal struggle. One thing I came to understand in reading the memoir, even better than when I worked for him, is that he is not someone who shows his feelings very much. He was jocular, playful, he could be angry, and sometimes he could show his outrage when inside he really wasn’t that angry. It was hard for him to be just a friend to anybody. And I think it has to do with the fact that when he was a young man, people, especially those who are white, turned against him when they were older teens. And one of them even ended up using the N-word towards him, and this guy was his best friend. So, I think, throughout his childhood, he always had that fear that if he got too close to somebody, especially somebody white, they would end up hurting him.”
In reading about Dr. McCurdy, it is difficult to think of him purely as “Black” excellence. He was excellent overall, yet race was something he could never run away from. After all, he was the only Black student in his class from the age of 11 all the way through university, which meant name calling, the use of the N-word, being accused of cheating, and many other racist slights coloured his life story. As an adult, even as an MP, he still found himself being pulled over without reason. What is the result? Despite a life of accomplishments, his “final chapter” ends with a description of “the most atrocious incident of racial profiling” that he ever experienced, with him being thrown to the pavement at the age of 75.
What is it about Dr. McCurdy that made him so remarkable, and how do we honour that? George Elliott Clarke explains, “In the epilogue, he gives his closing comments to the reader. And those comments are his personal belief that racism would become less and less a thing, less important. That his children grew up having friends from all backgrounds and having degrees of success and that his grandchildren, he feels, will grow up in a world that is even less racially objectifying than he or even his children experienced. And so in that sense, I think he is able to separate himself as a human being and a person from the sole identification of being Black.
“What he wanted was to see Black people achieving, quietly if possible, loudly if necessary, but achieving.”
For any reader, regardless of whether or not you are a history major, a young activist, a cabinet aide or a high school student interested in biology, I urge you to read this memoir. You may quickly find yourself, like me, eagerly talking about the themes of race, family, socialism, history and more that pop up in the book. As Clarke says, “the man can write.”
Clarke said a good autobiography can show other people a path to follow. “And I think that is what Howard’s life and his achievements represent for me. Use your talent to the max of your ability. You may never be the world’s greatest golfer, but you still parlay your skill in golf to be able to speak to issues of athleticism, sport, diet, government fitness programs, or the need for better recreational facilities. Your talent is your power. Your talent makes you unlimited.”
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