Charles F. Harris (January 3, 1934 – December 16, 2015) was an American book

publisher Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

and

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, orga ...

. Through his pioneering work at

Howard University Press Howard University Press (HUP) was a publisher that was part of Howard University, founded in 1972. HUP was the first black university press in the US, with its first chief executive being Charles F. Harris, who published about 100 titles under the ...

and at

Amistad Press This is a list of books published by Amistad Press, an imprint of HarperCollins acquired in late October 1999. It is the oldest imprint devoted to the African-American market, and takes its name from a slave ship on which a revolt occurred in 1839 ...

, which he founded in 1986, Harris was instrumental in the publication of many books by notable African-American writers.

Biography

The youngest of the seven children of Annie Eula (''née'' Lawson) and Ambrose Harris, Charles Frederick Harris was born on January 3, 1934, in

Portsmouth, Virginia Portsmouth is an independent city in southeast Virginia and across the Elizabeth River from Norfolk. As of the 2020 census, the population was 97,915. It is part of the Hampton Roads metropolitan area. The Norfolk Naval Shipyard and Naval M ...

. While in elementary school, he earned pocket money by delivering newspapers to the community, at the same time following his father's stipulation that he read everything he delivered. Harris studied at

Virginia State University Virginia State University (VSU or Virginia State) is a public historically Black land-grant university in Ettrick, Virginia. Founded on , Virginia State developed as the United States's first fully state-supported four-year institution of high ...

, graduating in 1955 with a B.A. degree. He subsequently served in the Infantry of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

, and rose to the rank of

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a s ...

by the time he received an

Honorable Discharge A military discharge is given when a member of the armed forces is released from their obligation to serve. Each country's military has different types of discharge. They are generally based on whether the persons completed their training and th ...

. Harris began a career in publishing at Doubleday in the mid-1950s, a time when (as ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' observed) "the prevailing notion in the book business was that, with few exceptions, writing by black authors or aimed at black readers belonged to a niche market that was at worst inconsequential and at best narrow and unprofitable." Counteracting that view in the publishing industry was where Harris focused much of his career. At Doubleday, he launched the Zenith Book Series, which focused on African-American history for elementary and high school students, and published titles by authors including

John Hope Franklin John Hope Franklin (January 2, 1915 – March 25, 2009) was an American historian of the United States and former president of Phi Beta Kappa, the Organization of American Historians, the American Historical Association, and the Southern Histo ...

and

Rayford Logan Rayford Whittingham Logan (January 7, 1897 – November 4, 1982) was an African-American historian and Pan-African activist. He was best known for his study of post-Reconstruction America, a period he termed "the nadir of American race relations" ...

. In 1967, Harris became a

senior editor A managing editor (ME) is a senior member of a publication's management team. Typically, the managing editor reports directly to the editor-in-chief and oversees all aspects of the publication. United States In the United States, a managing edito ...

Random House Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...

, where he edited a periodical of black writing entitled ''Amistad'', producing two volumes, in 1970 and 1971. In 1971, he was responsible for the launch of

, the first black university press in the US, and served as the first

chief executive A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

, publishing some 100 titles. In 1986, Harris founded the independent imprint

, specializing in publishing works by and about African Americans. Amistad was acquired by

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News Cor ...

in 1999, and Harris remained editorial director of the imprint until 2003. Harris died in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, from

colon cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowel mo ...

on December 16, 2015, aged 81.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Charles F. 1934 births 2015 deaths 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American people African-American publishers (people) American book publishing company founders American publishers (people) Deaths from colorectal cancer in New York (state) People from Portsmouth, Virginia