Merle is pictured (left) with his brother Foster, dressed in uniform. Standing to the right is Myron and Bruce Thomas Cowan is knelling.

While recovering from tuberculosis at a sanitarium, Merle roomed with Myron C. Hoff, who was also afflicted with the same condition. The two became fast friends and dreamed of ways that they could help each other in their future careers. Myron would later attend law school at (Case) Western Reserve University in Cleveland and began his law career in 1943 after passing the Ohio Bar Exam.

Sources

McCurdy Rhodes, B. by Dana, R. (Personal Communication, March 22, 2015).

Supreme Court of Ohio. (n.d.). The Supreme Court of Ohio Attorney Directory. Retrieved from https://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/attorneysearch/#/search

Merle operating an electric streetcar bound for downtown Cleveland’s Public Square. Streetcars during the 1940s and 1950s in Cleveland, like many other major cities of its time, would be eventually replaced by trackless trollies and buses as the primary means of public transportation.

Ironically, George D. McCurdy, Merle’s grandfather, passed away on October 26, 1919 of an apparent heart on a streetcar in Cleveland’s Public Square.

Sources

Cooley, P. (2016, July 14). A Visual History of Streetcars and Trolleys in Cleveland. Cleveland.com. Retrieved from http://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2016/07/a_visual_history_of_streetcars.html

Cuyahoga County, Bureau of Vital Statistics. (1919, October 26). George D. McCurdy Death Record: File No. 57297-9004.

Written on the back of the photo: “Merle & Best Friend, Elmer Selman – Grad from Western Reserve.”

In 1947, Merle graduates from (Case) Western Reserve’s College of Law, and is admitted to the Ohio Bar on July 31^, 1947. He is still living at 2200 E 87^th Street in Cleveland, an integrated neighborhood comprised of wealthier African American and Jewish families during this time. Brenda McCurdy Rhoads, Merle’s daughter, recalled living next door to the Goldberg family who treated them “wonderfully”.

Sources

McCurdy Rhodes, B. by Dana, R. (Personal Communication, April 2015).

Supreme Court of Ohio. (n.d.). The Supreme Court of Ohio Attorney Directory. Retrieved from https://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/attorneysearch/#/search

Written on the back of the photograph from right to left “Merle, SI Minor, & Garrett Morgan.”

After graduating from the Western Reserve in 1947, Merle worked briefly for Myron Huff and then for five years as a partner for Norman Shelby Minor, a famous Cleveland criminal defense lawyer who served seventeen years as a Cuyahoga County Prosecutor.

During his career Minor participated in approximately 5,000 cases and mentored several prominent African American lawyers, who later in life would make a lasting impact on local and state politics and the law. In addition to Merle, Minor guided the renowned Stokes brothers. Carl Stokes became the first African American mayor of a major U.S. city (Cleveland) in 1967 and served three terms as the first African American Democrat for the Ohio House of Representatives. Louis Stokes was the first African American U.S. Congressman elected from the State of Ohio, and he and his brother Carl would also establish a successful law firm known for taking on high profile and civil rights cases.

Sources

Case Western Reserve University. (2018, May 11). Stokes, Carl B. Retrieved from https://case.edu/ech/articles/s/stokes-carl-b

Case Western Reserve University. (2018, May 11). Stokes, Louis. Retrieved from https://case.edu/ech/articles/s/stokes-louis

Kennedy, R. (1961, August 17). Letter to President John F. Kennedy on the Nomination of Merle McCurdy for the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.

Norman S. Minor, Noted Defense Lawyer, Is Dead at 67. (1968, May 16). The Plain Dealer, p. 21.

Merle’s brother, Foster “Doc” McCurdy returned to Cleveland after serving in the Army during World War II with renewed concerns about continuing labor issues and racism in the United States. On April 27, 1949, Foster was sentenced by Judge James C. Connell to ten days in jail and fined $500 for picketing the Judge’s home after lengthy jail terms where given for persons who picketed a company who refused to recognize a Union. Later that same year, Foster attempted to bring entertainer, Paul Robeson to perform and give a talk in Cleveland. Robeson was an outspoken critic of President Truman for failing to promote civil right issues of the day, such as integrating the armed forces and putting an end to lynching in the South. According to Robeson, during a meeting at the White house, “President Truman said it wasn’t politically expedient to do something about lynching at that time” (The Baltimore Sun,1948, p. 2).

Sources

Jail, Fines for Picketing of Judge’s Home in Strike. (1949, April 28). St. Louis Post-Dispatch, p. 14.

Terror Tactics Used, Paul Robeson Charges. (1948, May 3). The Baltimore Sun, p. 2.

Merle McCurdy shaking hands with Cuyahoga County Prosecutor, Frank T. Cullitan.

In 1952, Merle accepted an appointment as an Assistant Cuyahoga County Prosecutor. Louis Stokes, in his autobiography, “The Gentleman from Ohio,” explained that he and his brother, Carl, were hired to fill the void left upon Merle’s departure from Minor’s office. When McCurdy and Minor found themselves as adversaries, “the courtroom would fill to overflowing with lawyers and others eager to witness a battle of two courtroom masters” (2016, p. 40).

Source:

Stokes, L. (2016). The Gentleman from Ohio. Columbus, OH: Ohio State University Press