USA TODAY International Edition
Harvard students makes historic first
First Black man elected to head school’s Council
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – The same month that Mississippi voters overwhelmingly opted for a new state flag without a Confederate emblem, Noah Harris was elected student body president at Harvard University.
It’s been a defining year for Harris, a 20- year- old Black man from Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
“I definitely don’t take that lightly,” said Harris, a junior majoring in government. “Especially with everything that went on this summer with the death of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery, all the protests that went on in this moment of racial reckoning in this country. This is a major statement by the Harvard student body to entrust a Black man with such an unprecedented moment in its history.”
Harris follows two Black students who have headed Harvard’s Undergraduate Council, but Harris is the first Black man elected by the student body.
Cary Gabay ( 1994) was the first Black man to serve in the role; he was chosen in 1993 by members of the council, before the vote changed to include the entire student body in 1995. Gabay died in 2015 after being caught in the crossfire of a shooting in New York City. Fentrice Driskell ( 2001) became the first Black woman to be elected, in 1999. She now serves in the Florida House of Representatives, where she recently was elected to a second term.
Harris co- chairs the Undergraduate Council’s Black Caucus and serves as treasurer. Jenny Gan, a junior from Cleveland who is studying neuroscience, is the new vice president. The two ran on a platform of diversity and inclusion, improving student life and focusing on students’ mental and physical health. They were elected Nov. 12 and will be sworn in Dec. 6 for their 2021 term.
Harris said the process of changing the state flag, a decision made by the Mississippi Legislature this summer, is something he will never forget.
“As you can imagine, learning, sitting in Mississippi studies class and being like, ‘ Oh, this is our state flag and it’s got a Confederate battle emblem.’ That was a rallying cry at a time where Black people were less than human, and it just makes you feel negatively towards yourself. Like how could it not?” he said.
“It was an amazing moment in casting my ballot for the new flag in the November elections.”
Harris, though, has always been a supporter of his home state.
“I want people to know I’m proud of who I am. I’ve never shied away from it. I’m from Mississippi. I’m proud of that, too.”
Brandon Terry, an assistant professor of African and African American studies and social studies at Harvard, said Harris is “somebody who has made sure that the relatively privileged student body that we have at Harvard is exposed to and attuned to broader issues of fairness in the larger society.”
“That’s rare as a student body leader. You can imagine a lot of student body leadership is pretty narrowly inward focused, and you can’t get far by just doing the status quo.”
Terry also believes Harris’ accomplishment makes an important statement about Harvard.
“I think it reflects a growing interest among the broader student body in taking these questions of diversity and inclusion seriously, not just as an abstract or intellectual puzzle, but as a set of values to be lived in the decisions that they make in their most intimate community,” Terry said.
Harris said that though Harvard is diverse – minority students, including the outgoing Undergraduate Council president and vice president, make up nearly half the student body – he wants to see more unity.
“Harvard’s community specifically, it’s very diverse but it’s kind of diverse in that it has its own separate communities,” Harris said. “A lot of what we’re trying to do is we’re trying to bring communities together.”
Harris, who graduated from Oak Grove High School in 2018, has always been involved in school and community activities. The violin and piano player participated in sports and was an Eagle Scout.
He also served as an intern for Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker.
Growing up in Hattiesburg, though, Harris didn’t picture himself going to Harvard. He said, “I just didn’t even know that it was an option.”
In an effort to inspire others, as he had been inspired by parents Anthony and Frankie Harris and the community, he wrote and self- published a children’s book during the summer after his senior year of high school.
The book, “Successville,” was used by Pearl River Community College as part of its Early Childhood Learning Academy.
Harris said he plans to attend Harvard Law School. “I really think that’s an amazing profession for being able to stand up for people and give them a voice,” he said.
“My parents have always taught me to use my voice and to use my platform, and to take the mic and to be able to speak up for people who needed it most, and I really see my love for government and law coming together in that way to be able to give people a voice in the courtroom. And I think that my gifts and my talents would be very well served there.”