IOWA WOMEN’S ARCHIVES
UNIVERSITY OF IOWA LIBRARIES
IOWA CITY, IOWA
LILEAH HARRIS (1931-
)
PAPERS, 1961-1995
3.1 linear feet and
audiovisual material
Processing of this collection was supported through funding
from the Resource Enhancement and Protection (REAP) Act through a Historical
Resource Development Program (HRDP) grant from the State Historical Society of
Iowa.
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ACQUISITION: |
The papers (donor no. 359) were donated
by Lileah Harris in 1996. |
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ACCESS: |
The papers are open
for research. |
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AUDIOVISUAL: |
Two audiocassettes shelved in audiocassette collection: AC496-AC497. |
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COPYRIGHT: |
Copyright has been retained by the donor. |
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PROCESSED BY: |
Natalie S. Brody, 1998,
and Suzanne Araas Vesely, 1999. |
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REVISION: |
Bobby Jett, October 27, 1999 [Word 7 HarrisL.doc] |
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Biography
(Evelyn)
Lileah Harris was born and raised in Waterloo, Iowa, one of the five children
of Lee B. and Lily Furgerson. Her
father was a physician and her mother an elementary school teacher. As a child Harris’ interest in music was
encouraged by her mother and at Iowa State Teachers College (now the University
of Northern Iowa), she majored in piano.
Since her marriage at nineteen to Percy Harris, the couple has resided
in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where he practiced medicine for many years, possibly the
first black physician to practice in Iowa.
They raised twelve children in Cedar Rapids. Of particular interest to the Harris investigator will be the
uproar caused by the Harris’ purchase of land from St. Paul’s Methodist Church
in 1961 to build a new home for the family in one of the better Cedar Rapids
neighborhoods.
During
the 1970s and 1980s Harris was deeply engaged in a wide range of community
activities. She was recognized for her
outstanding service through a PTA keeper award in 1986. Among her many activities for the Washington
High School PTA from 1982-1988, she served as President for the years
1984-1985, organized a conference on children. In addition, Harris successfully
confronted a racist selection system that discriminated against black aspirants
for cheerleading, and hosted a visit by University of Iowa President James O.
Freedman in 1986. In 1983, the
Department of Education recognized Washington High School as an exemplary High
School in the nation. She was also recognized by Erskine Elementary School as
an outstanding volunteer in 1987, receiving the Cedar Rapids Community School
District Foundation 20- year award in 1991.
Harris also served on the
advisory board for the Jane Boyd Community House, which offered a wide range of
community services for at-risk individuals of all ages, and Minnesota Early
Learning Design, 1986-88, which addressed the problems of parents in
crisis. Harris was a member of the
Multicultural Nonsexist Committee in the early 1980s, which introduced an
integration plan for the Cedar Rapids School System, and she was a member of
the Cedar Rapids Human Rights Commission throughout the 1970’s and 1980’s. Both she and her husband have been avid
supporters of the arts; they are on the University of Iowa Hancher Honor Roll
for 1994 and 1995. Lileah Harris also
served as publicity chair for the Cedar Rapids Symphony, 1973-74.
Like
her mother who returned to school in her 40s, Harris sought a college degree
later in life, enrolling in the University of Iowa in 1988. In 1992, at the age of sixty-two, Harris
received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Russian, along with the Dean’s
Achievement Award from the College of Liberal Arts.
Harris saved an article
interviewing Martha Harris Fair in her 1982 DPI file (see box 5): Fair believes
that racism and sexism is here to stay.
The point, as she sees it, is not to be better than everyone else, but
to survive: learn to swim with the sharks.
Lileah Harris also found a way to swim with the sharks, to survive, and
to make it possible for women of all races to also survive.
Scope and Content Note
The Lileah Harris
papers date from 1961 to 1995
and measure 3.1 linear feet. They are
divided into three series: Biographical information, Education activities, and
Cedar Rapids community activities. The
collection contains a wide range of materials relating to Harris’ extensive
community commitments. The arrangement
is generally chronological, except for a few instances in which some groups of
papers apparently went together.
Undated papers are kept with the file in which they arrived.
Related
Collections:
Furgerson,
Betty Jean (sister)
Nash,
Martha (sister)
Furgerson,
Penny (sister-in-law)
Box no. Description
Box 1
Biographical information
Awards, 1969-1999
Correspondence, 1974-1995
Newspaper and magazine
clippings, 1990-1998 (scattered)
Percy Harris (husband)
Newspaper clippings
St. Paul’s Methodist Church
Conference, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, December 13, 1961 [shelved in audiocassette
collection: AC496-AC497]
Newspaper clippings
Newspaper clippings, 1985,
1998
Speeches, 1983-1989 and
undated
Education activities
Issues
Maternity leave 1972
Cheerleading, 1980-1981
Washington High School
Parents Teachers Association (PTA)
Pre-1982
1982
1983, January-April
1983, May-December
Undated [1983?]
1984
Undated [1984?]
Box 2
1985 January-August and
undated
1985 September-December and
personal notebook [AMS]
James Freedman speech, 1986
1986 January-April and
undated
1986 May-December
1987 and undated
1988 and undated
1984-88 and undated
Box 3
Calendar Advisory Committee,
1982
District Communications
Committee, 1985-1986 and undated pamphlets
Multicultural Non-Sexist
Advisory Committee
General (1968-1989 and undated)
1981 and undated
Summer 1981: Non-native
Speakers
1982 and undated
1983 and undated
1984-1988
Box 4
Integrated Education Report
1980
1981
Cedar Rapids Community
School District Foundation, 1985-1991
Facilities Committee,
1985-1986
Facilities Committee
Planning and Development Manual
Fine Arts Advisory
Committee, 1985-1990
Box 5
Cedar Rapids Schools: The Window, 1979-1981 and Miscellaneous,
1981
Cedar Rapids Schools: The Window, 1982-83 and miscellaneous,
1982.
Cedar Rapids Schools: The Window, 1983, Key Communications Network, 1982-84 and misc., 1982-84.
Iowa Department of Public
Instruction (DPI)
Minorities in Education,
1982-1983
Task Force, Teacher
Education and Certification, 1984 and undated
Cedar Rapids community activities
Citizens Jail Advisory
Committee, 1981
Human Rights Commission
History, 1963-1973
Annual Reports, 1970-1972
Annual Reports, 1973-1974
Employment survey, 1972
Box 6
Miscellaneous, 1970-1975
Symphony publicity
committee, 1973-1974
Jane Boyd Community House
Jane Boyd Bugle newsletter, 1979-1983
1975-1977
1978
1979 (2 folders)
Minutes
Finances
Box 7
1980
Minutes, Letters of support,
undated
Finances
Miscellaneous, 1978-1984
1981-1982
1983 and undated
January-May
June-December 1984-1985
Box 8
Minnesota Early Learning
Design (MELD)
1986 and undated
1987 and undated