USM Alumnus Harris Chosen for Hattiesburg Public School District Class of 2022 Hall of Fame
Wed, 09/28/2022 - 04:25pm | By: David Tisdale
Dr. Anthony Harris, a University of Southern Mississippi (USM) alumnus and one of its former faculty members and administrators, will be inducted into the Hattiesburg Public School District’s (HPSD) class of 2022 Hall of Fame.
A 1971 graduate of Hattiesburg’s former L.J. Rowan High School, Dr. Harris will be formally inducted in the HPSD Hall of Fame during a black-tie gala on Thursday, September 29, at 7 p.m. in the historic Eureka School in downtown Hattiesburg; the event will also be livestreamed at HPSDFoundation.org. Proceeds from HPSD Hall of Fame activities go in support of the Hattiesburg Public School District.
Dr. Harris earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from USM and a doctorate from Texas A&M University-Commerce. A fellow with the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, he once traveled to 17 countries in a three-year span, and has authored 13 books, including Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me 'Round: A Coming of age story and a personal account of the Civil Rights Movement in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. An active participant in the local Civil Rights Movement, he has been a champion for social justice, education, and human rights. Featured in the PBS documentary “Freedom Summer,” he has a strong commitment to public education, including serving as a local school board member and establishing mentoring programs for African American boys.
Dr. Harris currently serves as professor and chair of the Department of Educational Leadership and Counseling at Prairie View A&M University. He previously served as an administrator and faculty member at Sam Houston State University, Texas A&M University-Commerce, Mercer University, and at USM. In addition, he conducts workshops and delivers keynote addresses on topics pertaining to the Civil Rights Movement, the educational success of young Black males, and leadership.
“It is an honor to have been chosen for induction into the Hattiesburg Public School
Hall of Fame,” Dr. Harris said. “I am delighted to join the other outstanding inductees
in this year’s class. In addition, this honor is even more special when I consider
the fact that many of my achievements as an adult are directly linked to the education
I received in the Hattiesburg School System.”
Dr. Harris graduated from Rowan High School (formerly Royal Street High School) the
last year it operated as the city’s segregated high school for Blacks, before it was
converted into the 10th grade campus of the desegregated school district; it serves today as an elementary
school. He also attended Hattiesburg’s Mary Bethune Elementary School (grades 1-6),
Lillie Burney Junior High School (7th grade), and desegregated Thames Junior High (8th and 9th grades) and attended S.H. Blair High School (10th and 11th grades), the latter serving as the then all-white high school before the transition
to desegregation of all the local schools. He received several academic awards in
his senior year at Rowan, including in music and social studies. He was a member of
the band at Lillie Burney, Thames, Rowan, and Blair, playing baritone saxophone, and
was a member of the yearbook staff at Rowan.
Dr. Harris credits a corps group of dedicated educators in the city’s segregated schools
for helping him and his classmates thrive academically and socially, even in the face
of the hardships imposed by racially discriminatory laws and customs of the Jim Crow
era.
“When I reflect on my 12 years in the Hattiesburg Public Schools, I am grateful for
the guidance, discipline, and high expectations my teachers instilled in me, sometimes
in a strict but loving manner,” Dr. Harris continued. “Each of my elementary school
teachers – Mrs. Jackson (1st), Mrs. McGowan (2nd), Mrs. Lewis (3rd), Mrs. Fowler (4th), Mrs. Harris (5th), and Mrs. Lee (6th) – instilled in their students the desire and determination to excel and overcome
obstacles and to be vigilant and cognizant of the forces and systems that were designed
to relegate us to second-class citizenship.
“I am especially grateful to my teachers during my senior year at Rowan High School, who emphasized the importance of resisting the path of least resistance and not accepting mediocrity in our academic work. They had high expectations of my classmates and me; and I never wanted to let them down.”
Dr. Harris attended USM from 1971-1974, majoring in Spanish. He then earned a master’s degree in counseling from USM in 1976 and was a counselor in its University Counseling Center, under the leadership of the late Dr. Bill Shafer, from 1976 to 1979. As an undergraduate student, he was highly active with the Afro-American Cultural Society, which presented him with the Clyde Kennard Memorial Award in 1974. Later, he served as Executive Assistant to the President under the late Dr. Horace W. Fleming and taught in the university’s Educational Leadership program and in the Counseling program.
He continues his passion for mentoring students in elementary and intermediate schools, and continues writing, working on his 14th book, a novel he expects to come out early next year. He also has a podcast, Looking Back/Moving Forward, which can be accessed on Spotify.
Joining Dr. Harris in this year’s HPSD Hall of Fame include:
- Architect Larry A. Albert ‘72, Hattiesburg High School
- Director of the National Sleep Center Marishka K. Brown ‘99, Hattiesburg High School
- Current Mayor of Moss Point Billy E. Knight, Sr. ’59, L. J. Rowan High School
- Former Mayor of Hattiesburg J. Ed Morgan ‘65, Hattiesburg High School
- Educator Peggy Varnado ’69, Hattiesburg High School
Russ Hendley serves as chair of the 2022 Hall of Fame Committee; Jerome Brown is HPSD
Foundation President.
“Dr. Harris has lived a life of service through his work in the civil rights movement and his career as a counselor and academic leader,” said Dr. Chris Winstead, dean of the USM College of Arts and Sciences. “He is an outstanding role model for both current and former students at the Hattiesburg Public School District, such as me, as well as for our Southern Miss community. We are immensely proud of his accomplishments as an alumnus of our university and engaged and active servant leader. As a fellow HPSD graduate, I am very pleased about his induction into the HPSD Hall of Fame.”