Durham book review
Richard Durham’s life and work are illuminated in this inspiring biography by Sonja Williams. The title, “Word Warrior,” appropriately defines the obstacles that Durham confronted throughout his career as radio/TV scriptwriter and journalist. The written word was his most potent weapon. Freedom, equality, and justice were common themes that ran through his writing. While a radio scriptwriter in Chicago in the 1940s, he chose abolitionist icons like Frederic Douglas, Harriet Tubman, and Sojourner Truth as central characters in many episodes of the popular Destination Freedom program. The compelling drama in these stories often overcame the sometimes less than receptive radio station and network management that might have preferred more tepid stories without racial overtones. But Durham always held true to his convictions and even, in some cases, had to fight for equal pay for his work and the legal rights to his own intellectual property. Williams provides a complete radio log of Durham’s Destination Freedom shows from 1948 through 1950 in the Appendix of her book.
Durham’s writing talents also took him to the labor movement as the UPWA union program head in the 1950s and as the editorial voice of Muhammad Speaks for the Nation of Islam in the 1960s. Toward the end of the decade, he also produced Bird of the Iron Feather for television, perhaps his most ambitious work, with mixed reviews amidst severe production constraints.
But Durham may be best known for co-authoring the autobiography of Muhammad Ali, The Greatest: My Own Story, in 1975 where Durham bonded with the famous prizefighter. By the early 1980s Durham’s reputation as something of a political guru now preceded him as he was sought after to represent Harold Washington in his successful run for major of Chicago. Unfortunately, Durham’s fast-paced career finally caught up with him, as he did not live to complete several personal projects that had been on a back burner. But one could argue the Durham was most productive while deadlines dictated his work schedule.
An award winning radio producer in her own right, and professor of Media, Journalism, and Film, Sonja Williams is eminently qualified to write this faithful and thoroughly documented biography. The result is both educational and inspirational.
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