Trudier Harris | |
|---|---|
 Trudier Harris in 2015 | |
| Born | February 27, 1948 |
| Occupation | Literary scholar, author, educator |
Trudier Harris (born February 27, 1948) [1] is an American literary scholar, author, writing consultor, and educator. She is a Professor Emerita at the University of Alabama and held the position of J. Carlyle Sitterson Distinguished Professor at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. [2] [3] [4]
Harris was born on February 27, 1948, in Mantua , Alabama. She was the sixth of nine children born to Terrell Harris Sr. and Unareed Burton Moore Harris. Harris has three older sisters: Fannie Mae, Hazel Gray, and Eva Lee. She also has two older brothers: Terrell Jr. and Willie Frank. After Harris was born, her younger siblings Peter, Eddie Lee, and Annie (Anna) Louise were born.
Harris was named by her mother after a concert she went to see at Stillman College in Tuscaloosa, Alabama while she was pregnant with Harris. The concert was performed by an artist named Cordelia and Harris' mother was fond of the last syllables of the singer's name. Her first name was misprinted on the original birth certificate as “Trudy” which Harris did not discover until mid 1970s soon after the discovery her name was corrected to Trudier, on the document, and Harris believes her mom was the one who corrected the certificate. [5] Her name is something she is proud of because her mother crafted her name.
Her early childhood years were spent on her 80-acre family owned cotton farm in Greene County, Alabama. She learned how to can vegetables and kill hogs to help contribute to the family’s work. The family farm was successful, but her father still had to face prejudices of the day, and was jailed for an entire year after being accused of stealing a bale of cotton. Her dad died when Harris was six years old from a heart attack on September 4, 1954. [6] After her father’s death, Unareed sold the family cotton farm and moved herself and all the kids to Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Harris and her siblings attended an all-black elementary school, which took some adjusting due to negative stigmas of being from the countryside. Harris and her siblings also had to eat the provided free lunch rather than being able to buy and pick their lunch, which also separated them from other students who were in higher economic social classes.
Harris participated in softball and basketball and maintained honor roll grades throughout her childhood. [6] While the kids were in school Unareed worked as a domestic for white families, then later as a janitor and cook at an elementary school. For the majority of Harris’ early childhood she lived on Fosters Ferry Road and as she grew up her family moved to a house in Lincoln Park Tuscaloosa, Alabama, where her sister Anna still lives today. Harris’ oldest brother, Terrell, was the first in the family to attend college and he attended Jackson State University in 1962 on an academic and athletic scholarship. [6]
Harris attended the all-black Druid High School in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, where she wrote her graduating class' senior play. After high school, she attended Stillman College in Tuscaloosa and was highly active on campus. [7] She became president of her sorority, Zeta Phi Beta. She was also a student worker and served as an assistant to Dean John Rice, who is the father of future U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. [7] In college, Harris also started to participate in local protests as part of the civil rights movement. She graduated in 1969 with a B.A. in English and a minor in social studies. [7] Harris and three of her other siblings were able to receive a degree from a higher level of education. [5]
After receiving her undergraduate degree Harris attended a summer exchange program at Indiana University, which inspired her to go onto graduate school. She attended Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, where she received her master's and doctoral degrees in American Literature and Folklore in 1973 [8]
After Harris graduated from Ohio State University, she was hired as a professor at the College of Willian & Mary where she was the first African American tenured professor. [9] In 1979, she started teaching in the English department at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. [7] Harris was at UNC until 1993 when she briefly moved to work in Atlanta, Georgia at Emory University until 1996 when she transferred back to Chapel Hill where she held the position of J. Carlyle Sitterson Distinguished Professor. Harris retired in 2009 after a total of twenty- seven years of teaching courses in African American literature and folklore at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. [10]
Harris became bored during retirement and decided to join the English department at the University of Alabama in her childhood town, Tuscaloosa. During her time at The University of Alabama the Black Faculty and Staff Association established the “Dr. Trudier Harris Intercollegiate Black History Scholar Bowl.” This is a yearly competition among surrounding universities in Alabama "to showcase their scholarly knowledge of African American History in a variety of categories." [11] Harris served as a University Distinguished Research Professor of English until she retired for the second time in February 2022. After her retirement, she was named a Professor Emerita at the University of Alabama. Although Harris no longer works for The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill or The University of Alabama, she still is an avid fan of Carolina basketball and the Crimson Tide football team. [10]
In 2018, College of William and Mary awarded her an honorary degree. [12]
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