The Black press lost one of its most celebrated warriors when George Curry, veteran journalist and former editor-in-chief of the NNPA News Wire, died on Aug. 20.
Curry, 69, died of a reported heart attack in suburban Maryland, just outside of Washington, D.C.
“On behalf of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), we are all saddened and heartbroken by the sudden passing of one our most admired, respected and gifted colleagues, George E. Curry,” said NNPA President Benjamin Chavis. “Black America, and in fact millions of African people all over the world, had come to know George Curry as a fearless scholar and writer who used his pen and wit to aggressively advance the cause of freedom, justice and equality for Black people and for the whole of humanity.”
Chavis continued: “George was our trusted comrade on the frontlines of the civil rights movement and on the front pages of the Black press of America. We will miss him.”
It’s hard to believe Curry, who led the NNPA as editor-in-chief of its news wire from 2003 to 2007 and again from 2012 to 2015, has died, said Washington Informer Publisher and NNPA Chair Denise Rolark Barnes, who called Curry a giant in the journalism profession.
“As publisher of The Washington Informer, I admired George’s leadership as editor-in-chief of Emerge, the preeminent monthly news magazine targeting issues impacting African-Americans,” Rolark Barnes said. “George’s uncompromising journalistic leadership delivered on Emerge’s promise to deliver edgy, hard-hitting, intellectual, well-written and thoroughly researched content that attracted national attention and left an indelible mark on the lives of many.
“As a member and now chair of the National Newspaper Publishers Association, I was honored to carry George’s weekly column in The Washington Informer and to work with him while he served as editor-in-chief of the NNPA News Wire. George provided so much of his time, energy, wisdom and incredible journalistic genius to the Black press,” she said.
“His work will stand as a lasting legacy of journalistic excellence and integrity of which all of us in the Black press and the journalism industry at large can feel extremely proud. My prayers and sympathy extend to his family and closest companions. He will be sorely missed.”
Freddie Allen, the managing editor of the NNPA News Wire, called Curry an icon in the Black press and said his legacy of mentoring young journalists will bear fruit for many years to come.
Recently, Allen and Curry were part of a Black media delegation that worked with the Black AIDS Institute to cover the 2016 International AIDS Conference in Durban, South Africa.
“George taught me what it meant to be a professional journalist and also about the importance of working in the Black press,” Allen said. “His writing and insight on critical issues affecting the Black community will be sorely missed. I’m thankful for the time we spent together in Durban.”
Curry was a consummate journalist with integrity as his mantra, said Dorothy R. Leavell, publisher of the Crusader newspapers in Chicago and Gary, Indiana.
“We shall miss this voice of reason and thought-provoking columns full of researched facts. It was just the week of Aug. 13 that George wrote a column titled ‘Even Funerals Are Not Family Reunions Anymore.’ He used his family as an example of the loss of closeness that he had enjoyed during his childhood and early adult life and bemoaned the fact that at his cousin Charlene’s funeral the week before that closeness was no longer there,” Leavell said.
“What was ironic is that he pledged that he would try to get his family back together by saying, ‘Neither Big Mama nor Aunt Julia Mae would be pleased that our once close-knit family is in shambles, but as long as I have breath in me, I am going to try to get my family back together. I know it’s a very long shot, but I owe that to Big Mama and Aunt Julia Mae to keep trying.’
“I’m sure George meant to keep that pledge and perhaps the closeness of his family will become a reality, but at a large cost,” said Leavell, adding that she hopes his family will reunite at his funeral. “We miss you already, George.”
The news of Curry’s death reverberated not only throughout Black media, but was also felt in the halls of government.
“The Congressional Black Caucus joins with members of the press from around the country to mourn the loss of George E. Curry, a pioneer in civil rights and journalism,” CBC Chairman G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C.), said in a statement. “Curry was a giant in journalism and he stood on the frontlines of the civil rights era and used his voice to tell our stories when others would not. The CBC offers our sympathies and condolences to his friends and family, his readers from around the country and to the countless number of individuals he mentored in the art of reporting and journalistic writing until his untimely death.”
Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton even took a moment from her campaign to express her thoughts about Curry, whom she called a friend.
“I am saddened by the loss of an outstanding journalist and supportive friend. George E. Curry was a pioneering journalist, a tireless crusader for justice and a true agent of change,” Clinton said in a statement. “With quality reporting, creativity and skillful persuasion, he influenced countless people, including me, to think beyond their narrow experience and expand their understanding. George may be gone, but he will not be forgotten.”
The Rev. Al Sharpton called Curry a “trailblazer” and said he was “saddened beyond words” at news of Curry’s death.
In 2003, Curry was named Journalist of the Year by the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ), and he’s also on NABJ’s list of the Most Influential Black Journalists of the 20th Century.
“We pledge to keep the journalistic genius and spirit of George Curry alive in all that we will do in the future to sustain the liberating and empowering voice of Black-owned newspapers and media companies,” Chavis said. “George and I were life-long friends and co-workers at the NNPA, NAACP, SCLC, ANC and just about every other national and international organization that is serious about demanding justice and equality.”
Chavis continued: “The legacy of freedom-fighter journalists like George Curry will never pass away, but will always be kept dear and present in our continued struggles to liberate all from injustice.”
