Fred Harris, friend of GCI, former Senator, dies at 94

Fred Harris, friend of Great Cities, former U.S. Senator, and last living member of the historic Kerner Commission Report dies at the age of 94

 

We mourn the passing of Fred Harris, who died on November 23, 2024, and whose memorial was held this past weekend at the National Hispanic Cultural Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Nearly one thousand people attended to celebrate this important public servant, who was raised in Oklahoma, the son of a migrant farmer.

We had the pleasure of hosting Dr. Harris at our event on March 1, 2018, when we commemorated fifty years since the release on February 29, 1968, of the report of the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders, also known as the Kerner Commission Report, named after its Chairman, Governor Otto Kerner of Illinois. Fred Harris distinguished himself as member of this Commission.  If you would like to view the event that featured Senator Harris, you can do so here. With this same link, you will also find a one-on-one interview with him, as well as interviews with other featured panelists including Timuel Black and Eugene “Gus” Newport.

If you would like to know more about this very special man, you can listen to this 2012 Interview with Dr. Harris, from Voices of Oklahoma.

In 1965, in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles, rioting erupted after an incident with police. Two years later, in June of 1967, riots erupted in several cities across the nation including Atlanta, Boston, Cincinnati, Buffalo, and Tampa.  In July of 1967, Birmingham, Chicago, New York, Milwaukee, New Britain (Connecticut), Rochester and Plainfield (New Jersey).  Most notable were the rebellions in Newark and Detroit. In Detroit, for example, police action precipitated five days of unrest during which time the national guard and U.S. airborne divisions were added to the mix.

In the aftermath of the long, hot summer of 1967, President Lyndon B. Johnson established the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders. The 11-member commission examined the conditions of the cities that led to the turmoil and made recommendations addressing the underlying causes. The Commission’s report, released on February 29, 1968, marks a pivotal moment in the changing dynamics of U.S. cities and of critical analysis of the role of race as a division in America.  Elected to the U.S. Senate from the state of Oklahoma in 1964, Senator Harris quickly became one of the most active members of the U.S. Senate and was deeply concerned about the conditions for inner-city African Americans, recognizing that unequal treatment of urban neighborhoods was one of the determining factors in the 1967 unrest.

We know he will rest in peace after a life of dedication to civil rights and human dignity.

For more on Dr. Harris, the Kerner Commission, and the Great Cities March 2018 Commemoration, See below: