Photographer grabbed a piece of the world when he snaps the shutter, but he also created a portrait of himself in the process.
As a long-time staff photographer for The Pittsburgh Courier, an African-American newspaper with a staff of 350 in the heyday and national influence, Harris (1908-99) explored the city with 4 a 5-inch Graflex Speed Graphic camera, flash always at the ready.
He watched the great migration North, the Jazz Age, the era of World War II, and the civil rights movement. He photographed Vice President Richard Nixon’s campaign in 1960, and President John f. Kennedy addressed outside the House in 1962, a year before the assassination.