Given George Curry’s international impact on the world of journalism we can expect a long list of encomiums, all of them warranted and all needed in the attempt to capture the totality of his remarkable odyssey.
His sudden death Saturday from heart failure shocked the world of journalism and leaves a tremendous void among the shrinking legion of editors and reporters willing to speak truth to power.
From the moment I met him during my days working under him at Emerge magazine, I was impressed with his fearlessness, and we often joked about our Alabama backgrounds because he was born in Tuscaloosa and I was born in Birmingham.
He shepherded one of the first national awards I won and shared with Michael Eric Dyson on a profile of Dr. Leonard Jeffries in 1993. It was the beginning of a long and fruitful relationship as I followed him wherever he went—from his tenure at NNPA to his final editorial days at George Curry Media.
We chatted for a moment or two in Philadelphia at the recent Democratic National Convention. He told me how things were going in his efforts to revive Emerge. “I want you with me and, by the way, I want you to be my national correspondent for my media outlet,” he said as we parted. He laughed uproariously when I asked him about the pay.
One of the last pieces I did for him was last month on famed Tuskegee airman, Dr. Roscoe Brown. Again, our Alabama connection returned.
In 2009 he, along with Richard Muhammad of The Final Call, coordinated a workshop for aspiring journalists, and he made sure I was among the discussants. In fact, we shared a workshop, and as a senior member among the journalists, he was showered with respect.
Later, during a ride to the Mosque Maryam to hear Minister Louis Farrakhan address the “Crucifixion of Michael Jackson,” we challenged each other on African-American history and the new technology. He showed me how to operate the new iPhone he had, particularly how to access music and every iota about the song he summoned.
Curry was always on top of new developments, whether the latest gizmo or political developments in the Third World. His exposition on Africa, Asia and Europe, combined his intrepid travel with his vast research and extraordinary recall.
For all the moments we had together, we were always so consumed with politics that we never got around to talking about sports. We both were former quarterbacks—he in high school and me in the Army. Nor did we get many minutes in on books, although I constantly reminded him of such a pursuit. He did get a couple of his dreams into print.
But it’s Curry’s journalism, his no-nonsense attitude, his strong, unwavering conviction to render a thorough account of whatever the topic, that will keep him forever in our memories.
He was a peerless leader and I am glad to have had an opportunity to follow him.