George Crady

From Foreigner to Mystical Man

George Crady approaches the rocking chair set up in front of the camera. “I am ascending the throne!” he declares. As I finish setting up the camera, Crady strums his ukulele, trying to find the right chords to sing “Happy Birthday” to his wife. He quickly finds the right notes and breaks out into song. His voice is sweet and gentle. He sings with a smile on his face. When he finishes singing, he tells me a joke. He chuckles at his own punch line. When he finishes the joke he tells me a childhood anecdote. His eyes are glimmering.

George Crady is in his element. In just a few minutes, he transformed from a man, to a singer, to a comedian, to a storyteller.

Crady was born to Syrian immigrants. Crady’s parents were both born in Syria and fled to the United States as children in the 1920s. The two met in Detroit as adults and started a family. When they came to the United States, they “came clean” as Crady recalls. They shed their Syrian culture and adopted an American identity.

But Crady felt confused about his personal racial identity. When people looked at him, they did not know what he was. He was not white. And he was not black. He was something in between.

Crady’s feelings of racial ambiguity were not unique. Arabic populations have migrated to the United States for over one hundred years. Over that time, Arabs have had to constantly reevaluate and adjust their racial identity in relationship to the American fixation on race and the twisted landscape of changing immigration policies. Arab-Americans fell on a spectrum of race, somewhere between black and white. Syrians, in particular, were often labeled “white but not quite.” American society accepted Syrians as closer to whiteness because of their Christian affiliation.

Crady reconciled feeling displaced in American society when he was in high school. He attended a boarding school where all of the students worked together on a mandatory workforce. He felt accepted and equal among his peers. He forgot all about being displaced in society and being seen as a foreigner.

As a small business owner and member of the Young Democrats, Crady soon realized the power and position of state politics. He became interested in holding public office. In 1972, Crady ran for the Florida State House of Representatives. During his fist campaign, Crady felt those feelings of ambiguity and displacement rush back to him for the first time since he was a child.

As a rookie politician, Crady’s name was not well known and he had five counties of constituents to win over. Crady went door to door to talking to people about his campaign and asking for their vote. Some constituents judged Crady before he even spoke a word.

Crady lost his first election by less than fifty votes. His narrow loss inspired him to run a second time in 1974. This time, Crady faced an incumbent and underestimated the solidity of that position. He lost this time by a much larger deficit.

Crady was determined this would be his last election, but another chance at the seat came in 1977. The incumbent he lost against in 1974 stepped down for office. “What the heck?” Crady thought, “I’ll try it again.” Crady took one more shot at the game of politics. This time he was determined for people to see him for more than just his appearance.

Crady got their attention using some creative tactics. Crady told jokes, read his own poetry, and told his soon to be famous story about how to get peanut butter off the roof of your mouth. At some events he marched out his five young daughters and performed close order drill. He won people over. People saw him as a performer, an artist, a comedian. People took notice.

Crady won his third election. After his victory he continued to use his charm and tricks to win over his fellow congressmen. But Crady is not all shine and no substance. Crady became a distinguished politician. He became known first and foremost as the “rules man”. Fellow congressmen came to him for advice and counsel.

Crady won every election he ran from 1977 to 2000. He only left office when term limits were imposed and had to leave. He left office with a distinguished political record and as a beloved member of the northern Jacksonville community. But his political career had the biggest effect on Crady’s personal identity.

Crady entered politics as a foreigner. He left the office as a mystical man.

He was no longer George Crady, the child standing between two drinking fountains. He was no longer George Crady, a foreigner. He became George Crady, a man of many talents, a mystical man, a jack of all trades, a comedian, a poet, an artist. He became more than his race to himself and others. He became a nuanced person.

In the post-September 11 world, the position of Arab Americans in politics has severely changed. The entire Arab population became associated with Islam and with terrorism, even though only 36% of Arab Americans are Muslim. It has been fourteen years since the September 11 attacks, and the position of Arab Americans has only continued to decline. A new poll in 2014 found that favorability toward Arab-Americans was down to 36% down from 43% in 2010.

Muslim Americans are the second least trusted population in American politics. In a 2012 poll, 40% of Americans said they would not consider voting for a Muslim candidate. A similar poll found that 36% of respondents doubt that Arab-Americans would be able to perform in a government post without their ethnicity influencing their decisions in office. Arab-Americans struggle to distance themselves from being seen solely for their race, just like George Crady in his early political days.

The stigma against Arab Americans in politics saddens Crady. When asked about the position of Arab Americans in politics today, Crady felt heavy-hearted about their potential for success.

I asked Crady if picking up a ukulele or telling a few jokes would help fledgling Arab-American politicians. He chuckled. He told me everyone needs to find their way to transform themselves from a foreigner to a person.

George Crady found a way to let his personality shine. And it continues to shine today.