In the dark era of colonial and racist oppression, in the 1940s, a talented young Guyanese, James Barrington Parris, succeeded in enrolling at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania, where he attended an impromptu lecture on the theory of relativity by no less an eminence than the great Albert Einstein. There are photographs of Parris attending Einstein’s lecture at Lincoln, an erudite, well-appointed, well-dressed and dignified Parris. Meeting Einstein would change young Parris’s life.
Parris hailed from Georgetown and completed his primary education there. His father, George Parris, was a maritime engineer from Barbados, and his mother, Celestine Parris, a seamstress from Essequibo. After finishing high school in Georgetown, Parris enrolled at Lincoln University in 1945.
At Lincoln University, Einstein met Parris and recognized his brilliance. Einstein positively impacted on the trajectory of Parris’ scholastic life both during his days at Lincoln and beyond, at the University of Geneva School of Medicine, where Parris, one of four medical students in Einstein’s physics master class, qualified as a doctor. After leaving Geneva, Parris returned to the USA, where he practised medicine in New York, both as a general surgeon and as a private practitioner for the rest of his life.
In 1957, Parris married Ms Rosie Lee Sheard of Mound Bayou, Mississippi. Rosie, who passed away earlier this year, was a Nursing Supervisor; Instructor of Anatomy and Physiology and Health Director. James and Rosie had three children, Sandra Parris, a perfomer, James G. Parris, a filmmaker, and New York Attorney Fay Parris, whom this author met at a conference at the Nuremberg Academy in Germany. Fay provided many of the details of this article.
As a young boy, James Parris was an avid lover of knowledge and, while he had relatively limited financial resources, he was determined to educate himself about every conceivable subject. This self-taught young boy, who read books as a hobby, matured into an adult connoisseur of literature, philosophy, Latin, music, history and medicine.
When James applied to attend Medical School in the USA he received a reply from one institution: “Sorry, we do not educate Negroes at this institution.”. Yet James was destined to cultivate his great talent for science and ultimately became a surgeon who would contribute vastly to the medical profession and thrive as a humble and beloved servant of his community in New York. James’ positive academic experience, from Lincoln University forward, stemmed in part from the tenacity and compassion of Albert Einstein, one of the most brilliant and influential persons of the twentieth century.
Albert Einstein was well-known for standing up for the dignity and rights of Afro-Americans. In an essay against racial bias, published in 1946, Einstein wrote: “I believe that whoever tries to think things through honestly will soon recognize how unworthy and even fatal is the traditional bias against Negroes.”
Thus, it is no surprise that, while during the last twenty years of his life, Einstein accepted few speaking engagements at universities, in 1946 he acted upon the opportunity to visit Lincoln University and provocatively address an underserved population about racism in the United States and civil injustices of that era. Consequently, at Lincoln, Parris and other students, faculty and young children heard first-hand, Einstein’s then not well-known theory on racism which he called “a disease of white people.”
Einstein evidenced his belief in racial equality by actively engaging in the education of James. B. Parris and others. In turn, Parris lived a life exhibiting the virtues of kindness, diligence and a high reverence for all of humanity. Shortly after his death in 1983, Manhattan Psychiatric Centre dedicated a plaque in Dr Parris’ honour which read in part:
“ ‘God in love’ was J.B. Parris’ creed. And his life, in thought and deed, did show it. His healing hands reached out to those in need. And every person he touched did know it…God is Love, personified in J.B., a gentle man who served humanity.”
Dr James Barrington Parris’ life-story, and his interaction with Albert Einstein, are parts of the heritage of Guyana and Guyanese. It belongs to the pantheon of inspirational Guyanese.
