A long life may not be good enough, but a good life is long enough.--Unknown By Norm R. Allen Jr.

Humanist trailblazer Paul Kurtz, founder of the Institute for Science and Human Values (ISHV), died on October 20, 2012 at his home in Amherst, New York at the age of 86. However, he was fortunate to have lived a good, long and incredibly productive life.

Since his death, many have suggested that Kurtz was second in greatness as a humanist only to his hero, U.S. philosopher John Dewey. However, complimentary though it may be, I am puzzled by this view. Many rightly consider Dewey to be perhaps the greatest philosopher in U.S. history.

However, Kurtz was in a league of his own. Indeed, Kurtz was to organized humanism and organized skepticism what Bruce Lee was to martial arts films, what Cassius Clay/Muhammad Ali was to boxing, what NFL Hall-of-Fame inductee Jerry Rice was to wide receivers, what Jimi Hendrix was to rock guitarists, what the Beatles were to rock bands, what James Brown was to funk, and what Martin Luther King was to civil rights leaders. That is to say, Paul Kurtz was simply the greatest at what he did.

Kurtz was much more than just a philosopher and author. He was an activist and organizer. He was a leader, visionary, publisher, fundraiser and businessperson. Most importantly, he was an institution builder. He successfully wedded theory to practice. In these ways, he went way beyond Dewey. Sometimes the student surpasses the teacher, as Louis Armstrong went on to surpass King Oliver (much to the chagrin and discomfort of Armstrong). There is no shame in that. On the contrary, it testifies to the greatness of the teacher. Simply put, in the annals of organized humanism and organized skepticism, there is Paul Kurtz; and then there is everyone else.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Kurtz’s name was practically synonymous with humanism among organized humanists in Africa. Indeed, his conception of humanism seems to have been the only one known to most organized humanists in Africa. Organized humanists in Africa displayedFree Inquiry, one of the many journals Kurtz founded, at airports to identify themselves to other African humanists.

Under Kurtz’s able leadership, his former organization, the Center for Inquiry, built one of the most impressive buildings one will ever find in the humanist movement. Moreover, Kurtz established the Center for Inquiry Libraries, which many believe contain the largest collection of materials on humanism, naturalism, freethought, atheism, etc. in the world.

Kurtz was one of the first major humanist leaders to recognize the importance of reaching out to students on college and university campuses. He gave his support to the Campus Freethought Alliance (CFA) under the Center for Inquiry. (It has since become the Center for Inquiry on Campus.)

Kurtz was responsible for many firsts. He supported the first skeptics conference in Africa (Senegal). He was also involved in the first humanist conferences in Latin America, and the first skeptics conferences in Latin America (Argentina and Peru). After the conference in Peru, Kurtz and I helped organize a Latin American alliance of skeptics and humanist groups.

No one could bring together Nobel laureates, major civil rights leaders, scientists and scholars as could Paul Kurtz. He authored important statements such as A Secular Humanist Declaration, Humanist Manifesto 2000, and a Neo-Humanist Statement of Secular Principles: Personal. Progressive, and Planetary. Each time, he was able to gather the support of highly influential people from all over the planet, with apparent ease.

No predominantly Black humanist organization has had anywhere near the level of international outreach as had African Americans for Humanism (AAH) when Kurtz and I were with the Center for Inquiry. Kurtz and I traveled to Africa at different times. We invited African humanists to the U.S., and we hosted them at various times. Furthermore, no one has given more books to humanists throughout the world than has Paul Kurtz through the publishing company he founded, Prometheus Books. As a result, there are Paul Kurtz libraries in Uganda, Gambia and other nations.

Under Kurtz’s advice, I founded AAH. He also advised me to edit my first two groundbreaking books, African-American Humanism: An Anthology, and The Black Humanist Experience: An Alternative to Religion. He advised me to establish and edit the AAH Examiner, the only journal of its kind. Moreover, he advised me to write the book I am now writing, Secular, Successful and Black: 25 Profiles.

One of Kurtz’s favorite sayings during his final days was, “A movement is the lengthening shadow of a man.” (Thankfully, some of us were able to convince him to change “man” to “person.”) His shadow looms large among organized humanists and organized skeptics; and, sadly, it seems highly unlikely that his kind will ever come our way again.