Naomi Brown

Calvin Stanley Cannon

Calvin Stanley Cannon was born April 10, 1935 in the middle of the Great Depression — the eighth child of Eugene Charles Cannon (September 1, 1900 -June ?, 1992) and Lillie Victoria St Cyr Cannon (August 4, 1905 - July 1, 1935). Eugene was born in what was then called Daisy, Louisiana, now Port Sulphur. He was a letter carrier, an excellent job for a black man. Later he also was an ordained Baptist minister. Lillie worked at James Lewis Elementary School before she was married. At that time, married women could not teach school. Eugene and Lillie were married in June 1925.

Lillie died July 1, 1935 from complications from Calvin’s birth. After Lillie’s death, Eugene’s mother Patsy Payne Cannon and Eugene’s sister, Rose Cannon, moved into the family home, at 3741 Willow Street, to help care for Calvin and his seven older siblings: Yvonne, Doris, Eugene Jr., Naomi, Esther, Beverly, and Walter.

As a child, Calvin had a very serious speech impediment. Until he was eight or nine years old, his speech was unintelligible, sounding like gibberish. It was almost impossible to understand him, and the neighborhood children told him to get the piece of fat from under his tongue. Frustrated, he mostly refused to speak. His brother Walter, who was eighteen months older, became his translator. When Calvin was four, his father registered him at Thomy Lafon Elementary School, but in less than a week he was sent home because the teacher said he was unable to converse with her or any of his classmates. The problem was solved when his father arranged to have his brother, Walter, put in class with him. Even then Calvin was a brilliant student, able to read and write and complete any math problems, but he still refused to speak in class. He somehow cured himself, and began to speak as distinctly as everyone else. His extensive vocabulary surprised his elders.

His brother Walter was protective of Calvin beyond his speech. On one occasion, Calvin grabbed some forbidden cookies, and his grandmother was going to spank him. But Walter, not yet four, grabbed his grandmother’s arm, and said,“You can’t spank him. He’s just a little boy, and he doesn’t even have a mother.” Calvin did not receive a spanking on that day. In June 1941, Eugene married Theresa Elvira Boyd (born February 23, 1911) who, like Calvin’s mother, was a school teacher. Eugene’s mother and sister insisted that Lillie had instructed the two of them to keep Walter and Calvin, no matter what. Eugene and Theresa relented, and so Calvin and Walter remained with their grandmother. Calvin got five more siblings from that union – Robert, Edward, Evelyn, Harold Lloyd and Patsy.

One summer Calvin and some neighborhood boys got in an old skift and went to The New Basin. Canal. Unknown to them the boat had a leak and began to sink. Somehow, they got to land, but on the other side of the canal , with no sense of how to get home. A police officer gave them a ride home.

Calvin’s brother, Eugene, paid for him to attend Gilbert Academy — the premier preparatory school for African American high school students in New Orleans, Louisiana. After it closed in 1949, Calvin went to McDonogh 35 which was the public college preparatory high school for African Americans.

After serving a stint in the Air Force, Calvin, (or Steve) opted to sign up with the Army so he could serve as a paratrooper. He resided in London , England for a few years, and then returned to New Orleans. Although he enjoyed the food and the music scene in the city, he felt stifled. He wanted to be a writer and decided New Orleans was not the place for him to work. While he was in the armed forces, some folks began to call him Steve, after the Steve Canyon cartoon. Calvin began to introduce himself as Steve, but decided to not legally change his name.

Before he left New Orleans, Steve bought his first and only car. On a trip driving back from Baton Rouge with his beautiful young cousin, he drove into a large pole — completely destroying the car. Although Steve had only minor injuries, his young cousin was badly injured and left with a large scar on one side of her face. Steve was very upset with himself and determined to never to drive a car again.

He eventually moved to New York City.