Patricia Reynolds Harris

Paper Summary:

This paper takes a look at the accomplishments of Patricia Reynolds Harris, the first African-American woman to hold a cabinet post, the first to be an ambassador to a foreign country, and the first to be a director of a major American corporation - IBM. The paper discusses how she also earned a law degree, helped nominate a President, served on federal civil rights commissions and played an important role in Democratic Party politics.

From the Paper:

"In 1967 she returned to teaching at Howard University, and in 1969 she was appointed Law School Dean (Capital Outlook, p. 1). However, she only stayed one month. Shortly after she was appointed, a student protest occurred. She was opposed to the protest, an unpopular position not supported by the university's president (ESPER, p. 1), and she left the school. She then joined a Washington, D.C. law firm as a partner (Staff, p. 1). In 1971, she was appointed to the Board of Directors of one of the United State's largest and most important corporations - International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) (World Book, p. 1). Meanwhile she continued to be active and influential in the Democratic Party. In 1972 she was headed the Credentials Committee, and in 1973 was again a delegate to the Democratic National Committee (Staff, p. 1). She also remained vitally interested in civil rights. From 1967 to 1977, she was on the executive Board of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund (Johnson, p. 1). "

Sample of Sources Used:

• Capital Outlook. 2006. "Patricia Harris." The Jacksonville Advocate, March 9. Accessed via the Internet 4/16/06. <http://jacksonvilleadvocate.com/News/article/article.asp?NewsID=67174&sID=36>
• ESPER. "Patricia Roberts Harris: Lawyer, Ambassador, Cabinet Member." Ebony Society of Philatelic Events and Reflections. Accessed via the Internet 4/16/06. <http://esperstamps.org/h23.htm>
• Johnson, Judith R. 2004. "Harris, Patricia Roberts." Reconstruction Period Research Forum. Accessed via the Internet 4/16/06. <http://www.afrigeneas.com/forum-reconstruction/index.cgi?noframes;read=143>
• Staff. 1996. "Patricia Roberts Harris," in AFRO-American Almanac Biographies. Accessed via the Internet 4/16/06. <http://www.toptags.com/aama/bio/women/pharris.htm>
• World Book. 2004. "Harris, Patricia Roberts (1924-1985)." Accessed via the Internet 4/16/06. <hhttp://www.worldbook.com/features/whm/html/

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