Roger Harris was born and raised in the Roxbury section of Boston, attended the Boston Public Schools, served three years of active duty with the United States Marine Corps, including a thirteen month tour of duty with a combat unit in Vietnam. He was a football standout at Boston University, where he earned “Most Valuable Backfield Player” and a Bachelors Degree. He received a Masters Degree from the University of Massachusetts (formerly Boston State College), a Doctor of Philosophy Degree from Boston College, and is a member of the LeadBoston class of ‘97. Dr. Harris has devoted 41 years working with youth in Boston’s public schools. He has recently retired as Superintendent and Chief Executive Officer of the Boston Renaissance Charter Public School, and has been elected to serve as President of the Renaissance Foundation. Dr. Harris is the founder and president of Urban School Specialists, LLC. He is the Executive Producer of The Positive Youth Project and It Takes A Village educational series aired on Boston Neighborhood Network television. Dr. Harris has served as 2nd Vice President of the Board of Directors for the Massachusetts Charter Public School Association and Vice President of the Boston Charter School Alliance. He is the former Principal of the two-time National Blue Ribbon Award winning Timilty Middle School in Boston. He is a co-founder of the award-winning Roxbury Preparatory Charter School of Boston. Dr. Harris has worked in charter and traditional Boston public high schools, middle schools, and elementary schools as a classroom teacher, athletic coach, mentor, dean, assistant headmaster, and principal, earning national and international recognition as an outstanding urban educator. Dr. Harris is Assistant Professor of Practice at the Boston University School of Education (his alma mater) and has recently been appointed Faculty Director, of BU’s K-12 Education Leadership and Policy Studies department. He has taught graduate and undergraduate courses at the Boston College Lynch School of Education, Curry College, in Milton, Massachusetts, and has taught as an adjunct faculty member of the University of Massachusetts Boston. He has served for over ten years as a mentor principal to the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and has been the recipient of numerous civic and community awards, including the Boston University School of Education’s Distinguished Alumni Award, the Massachusetts Principal of the Year Award, the U.S. Department of Education’s National Distinguished Principal Award, and the President’s Award from the NAACP, Boston. Dr. Harris travels extensively to China, serving as a delegate to the Chinese Bridge to American Schools Program, and has developed partnerships and exchange programs with Chinese Universities and K-12 schools. He is married to Cheryl Watson-Harris, Brooklyn South Borough Director, New York City Public Schools. The Black History Month Breakfast will be held on Thursday March 3, 2016 at the Boston Colonnade Hotel from 8:30 am to 11:00 am.
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Perhaps you saw the award winning movie, “Glory” when it debuted in 1989 or later on DVD or On Demand. Starring Denzel Washington, Matthew Broderick and Morgan Freeman, the film celebrates the heroic efforts of one of the first all Black regiments during the Civil War. The Massachusetts 54th Regiment victories came at a heavy price, including the death of their White commander, Colonel Robert Gould Shaw who died during the 1863 attack of Fort Wagner, South Carolina. The men who fought and died helped to ultimately win the Civil War, and their struggles, setbacks and amazing levels of courage should never be forgotten.
I often pass the monument that was erected on Beacon Street in Boston across from the Massachusetts State House. It pays tribute to the men of the 54th who fought, lived and died so that ultimately all men and women could be free in America. As we close out our tribute to Memorial Day, we pay tribute those who sacrificed their lives in all wars fought by Americans. We pay a special tribute to the Civil War era men of the Massachusetts 54th Regiment. Read More About Them Below… -Carole Copeland Thomas ======================= The Massachusetts 54th Regiment The Robert Gould Shaw and Massachusetts 54th Regiment Memorial, located across Beacon Street from the State House, serves as a reminder of the heavy cost paid by individuals and families during the Civil War. In particular, it serves as a memorial to the group of men who were among the first African Americans to fight in that war. Although African Americans served in both the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812, northern racist sentiments kept African Americans from taking up arms for the United States in the early years of the Civil War. However, a clause in Abraham Lincoln’s 1863 Emancipation Proclamation made possible the organization of African American volunteer regiments. The first documented African American regiment formed in the north was the Massachusetts 54th Volunteer Infantry, instituted under Governor John Andrew in 1863. African American men came to enlist from every region of the north, and from as far away as the Caribbean. Robert Gould Shaw was the man Andrew chose to lead this regiment. Robert G. Shaw was the only son of Francis George and Sarah Blake (née Sturgis) Shaw. The Shaws were a wealthy and well connected New York and Boston family. They were also radical abolitionists and Unitarians. Robert did not blindly follow his parents ideological and religious beliefs, but all recognized the importance and responsibility involved in leading the Massachusetts 54th Regiment. The Massachusetts 54th Regiment became famous and solidified their place in history following the attack on Fort Wagner, South Carolina on July 18, 1863. At least 74 enlisted men and 3 officers were killed in that battle, and scores more were wounded. Colonel Shaw was one of those killed. Sergeant William H. Carney, who was severely injured in the battle, saved the regiment’s flag from being captured. He was the first African American to be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. The 54th Regiment also fought in an engagement on James Island, the Battle of Olustee, and at Honey Hill, South Carolina before their return to Boston in September 1865. Only 598 of the original 1,007 men who enlisted were there to take part in the final ceremonies on the Boston Common. In the last two years of the war, it is estimated that over 180,000 African Americans served in the Union forces and were instrumental to the Union’s victory. Augustus Saint-Gaudens took nearly fourteen years to complete this high-relief bronze monument, which celebrates the valor and sacrifices of the Massachusetts 54th. Saint-Gaudens was one of the premier artists of his day. He grew up in New York and Boston, but received formal training at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts Paris. In New York, forty men were hired to serve as models for the soldiers’ faces. Colonel Shaw is shown on horseback and three rows of infantry men march behind. This scene depicts the 54th Regiment marching down Beacon Street on May 28, 1863 as they left Boston to head south. The monument was paid for by private donations and was unveiled in a ceremony on May 31, 1897. Sources: National Park Service Wikipedia |
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