Curtis W. Harris

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Curtis W. Harris (July 1, 1924 – December 10, 2017) was an African-American minister, civil rights activist, and politician from Virginia. He became Hopewell, Virginia’s first Black mayor and earned many awards for his work.

Early life
- Born in Dendron, Virginia, and moved with his family to Hopewell in 1928.
- Married Ruth Jones Harris in 1946; they had six children.
- Worked as a janitor before becoming a Baptist minister in 1959.

Civil rights work
- Led Hopewell’s NAACP chapter starting in 1950.
- Took part in sit-ins and protests against segregation, including at a drugstore and the city’s segregated swimming pool; was arrested multiple times.
- Helped form the Hopewell Improvement Association (an affiliate of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, SCLC) in 1960 and served as its vice president.
- Worked with Martin Luther King Jr. on major civil rights efforts, including the March on Washington (1963) and the Selma to Montgomery March (1965).
- Led Virginia civil rights initiatives and served in leadership roles with the SCLC for decades.
- Faced threats and even hostility from groups like the Ku Klux Klan, but continued campaigning against discrimination.
- In 1998, Harris became Hopewell’s first African-American mayor. He also filed a racial discrimination complaint against Fort Lee, Virginia, in 1996.

Church and political career
- Ordained as a Baptist minister in 1959 and served as pastor in several Virginia churches, including First Baptist Church in Chester, Union Baptist in Hopewell, and Gilfield Baptist in Ivor.
- Began running for Hopewell City Council in 1964; after years of effort, he helped change the city’s at-large system to wards and was elected to the council in 1986 (Ward 2).
- Served as vice mayor in 1994 and became mayor in 1998, serving until his retirement in 2012.
- In 2014, Hopewell renamed a street Rev. C. W. Harris Street in his honor, and Ruth Harris Way was named for his wife.

Awards and honors
- Received numerous honors, including Citizen of the Year (1971), Honorary Doctor of Divinity (1972), and Honorary Doctor of Law (1983).
- Won a Rosa Parks Award (1981) and other leadership honors from the SCLC and notable institutions.
- A library in a Hopewell middle school was named for him in 2007.
- Streets and a post office in Hopewell were named in his and his wife’s honor in later years, reflecting his impact on the community.
- Died December 10, 2017, in Chester, Virginia, at age 93.

Legacy
Curtis W. Harris is remembered as a dedicated minister, a tireless civil rights advocate, and a trailblazing city leader who helped advance civil rights and improved life for residents of Hopewell and beyond.