Celebrating Black History Month: Remembering Dr. George Dows Cannon

Did You Know MAPC Had a Black Civil Rights Leader Serving on Session in the 1970s?

About three weeks ago I received a message from Dr. François Charbonneau from the University of Ottawa who is writing a book on Dr. George Dows Cannon who was an elder at MAPC. I had never heard of Dr. Cannon, who died in 1986 at the age of 83.

Of course, my first email to try and find out more was to our member Nickie Christin who is the best MAPC historian and researcher I know!

Nickie found a newsletter from the mid-70s that listed Dr. Cannon as a member of Session, along with a handful of other members who are still active and remember him well. Nickie also found an article about Dr. Cannon in “African American Lives”, edited by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham, that provides basic biographical information. I learned more in a subsequent Zoom call with Dr. Charbonneau.

Dr. Cannon was a physician and civil rights activist who overcame both physical ailments, surviving TB and the loss of a lung, and many racist roadblocks to become a pioneering 20th century civil rights leader and prominent NYC physician.

As Dr. Charbonneau said, Dr. Cannon was the first Black person in many ventures and saw his role as one of opening the door for other African Americans. He was known as “Cannonball George” in pushing others to be involved in organizations like the NAACP where he chaired the life-long membership campaign and served as secretary of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund for 22 years.

Dr. Cannon is remembered for his civil rights leadership, his work in improving medical care in Harlem and working to eliminate discrimination against Black physicians. MAPC members remember Dr. Cannon as an active, lively member, a “charming, jolly guy” , and “a remarkable man. ”

Dr. Cannon and his wife, Lillian (who was not a member), were in attendance weekly at MAPC. Dr. Cannon was a close friend of former MAPC pastor, David Read. One long-time member remembers Dr. Cannon serving communion at her wedding, and another remembers him showing up at their new apartment with a house-warming gift of Knicks tickets. We look forward to getting a copy of Dr. Charbonneau’s book for the Hood Library when it is published, and we celebrate the work, faith, and leadership of Dr. George Dows Cannon.

-Beverly Bartlett, on behalf of The Racial Justice Task Force