Percy Julian

We call it the “Boob Tube” for a reason. Far too much of the fare streamed via electrons directly to our eyeballs is simply mush (at best). Every now and then, though, there comes a program that makes our (OK, OK, MY) synapses snap to attention. And so it was when I came to watch a PBS Nova presentation entitled “Forgotten Genius”.

I had NO idea. In 1972, I spent the year studying organic chemistry.
I had NO idea that a man considered by many to be the world’s greatest chemist lived and worked mere miles from my basement apartment/hovel. That man was Percy Julian.

Doctor Percy Julian.

If only had I known. If only this student of science had known (a biologist who actually minored in chemistry), that one of the most incredible chemists that humanity had EVER produced, was living and working just a few miles away...I would have made a pilgrimage to his door. Fallen to my knees. Kissed the hand that held so many beakers that changed the world, made life better for countless humans and alleviated the suffering of millions.

I had NO idea. In 1972, as I struggled to fathom the intricacies of organic chemistry, Percy Julian had already fathomed a great many. He was the grandson of slaves. His story is of the indefatigable human spirit. His story is of the mind’s genius, the heart’s fallibility and greatness, the grandeur of vision, the challenge of entrepreneurship and the destructive power of blatant bigotry.

He died of cancer in 1975.

DOCTOR Percy Julian. I had NO idea. He changed the world for the better in countless ways. He was a genius denied early opportunity to flourish here in America. He had to move to Vienna, Austria to pursue knowledge and erudition. An academic pursuit denied here, for the most part, to folks of "color".

Dr. Percy Julian, a boy-child who witnessed lynchings, a brilliant student denied a higher education (here in the US of A), a man who overcame far too many obstacles for any man to plausibly overcome...obstacles that destroyed far too many worthy souls.

I wish I had known. I wish that my professors, in 1972, had told me of Dr. Percy Julian’s achievements. My professors were silent. Meanwhile, Dr. Julian’s home in Oak Park, Illinois had been fire-bombed twice. He had been denied countless times in countless ways simply on the basis of the pigmentation of his skin.

Despite that, despite ALL that, Dr. Julian Percy endured, prevailed, achieved.

He was admitted to the National Academy of Science a year after I had earned my Bachelors. He was the first African-American to be so honored. It’s safe to say (absolutely guaranteed) that I will never be the recipient of such accolades. That’s OK by me. I’m no Percy Julian.

I’m not one to advocate that you, the Dear Reader, spent two hours watching a TV program that I found compelling. This is a first, for me. But...trust me on this...I truly hope you will take the time to watch this particular program. Take from it what you will. There’s a great deal of fertile ground. Are you longing for a hero? You’ll find one. Are you a science nerd? You’ll be satisfied. Are you an entrepreneur? You’ll find succor. Do you care to learn about Jim Crow? You’ll learn enough to weep. Do you believe in the majesty of the human spirit? You will find reassurance.

Dr. Percy Julian. I wish I could have shaken your hand or, better yet, hugged you.

Tear stream down my cheeks as my finger moves to strike the “Publish Post” tab. Yes, I was THAT moved by what I learned.

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