Alice Harris (born January 14, 1934), also known as "Sweet Alice", is a
community organizer
Community organizing is a process where people who live in proximity to each other or share some common problem come together into an organization that acts in their shared self-interest.
Unlike those who promote more-consensual community bui ...
, based in
Watts, Los Angeles, California
Watts is a neighborhood in southern Los Angeles, California. It is located within the South Los Angeles region, bordering the cities of Lynwood, Huntington Park and South Gate to the east and southeast, respectively, and the unincorporated comm ...
, as the founder and executive director of Parents of Watts, a local youth outreach group.
Early life and education
Born in
Gadsden, Alabama
Gadsden is a city in and the county seat of Etowah County in the U.S. state of Alabama. It is located on the Coosa River about northeast of Birmingham and southwest of Chattanooga, Tennessee. It is the primary city of the Gadsden Metropolitan ...
in 1934, Alice Harris experienced poverty, homelessness and single motherhood as a teenager.
[Browning, Paul]
"‘Sweet Alice’ Harris to be honored with ‘Community Leadership Award’"
''Dateline Dominguez'' (California State University, Dominguez Hills), September 25, 2015. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
I've been working with youth and adults for the last 52 years. The reason I've done this for so long is because I can remember when I needed help. In Alabama a family gave me help when I was considered 'nothing.' They gave me a job, so I promised them that whenever I find somebody in the same shape and wearing the same shoes I wore, I would do for them what they had done for me," said Harris, who studied cosmetology and later operated her own beauty shop in Detroit, MI, before moving to Los Angeles in the late 1950s. "I won't stop. I'll be doing this until the Lord comes and gets me because I love it. I love to see people smile and I know how good they feel, because I know how good I felt.
When she could, she took college courses in
sociology
Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of Empirical ...
and
child development
Child development involves the Human development (biology), biological, developmental psychology, psychological and emotional changes that occur in human beings between birth and the conclusion of adolescence. Childhood is divided into 3 stages o ...
and earned a
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
degree from
California State University, Dominguez Hills
California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH, CSU Dominguez Hills, or Cal State Dominguez Hills) is a public university in Carson, California. It was founded in 1960 and is part of the California State University (CSU) system.
In 2020, ...
, in
Carson, California
Carson is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, in the South Bay region of Los Angeles, located south of downtown Los Angeles and approximately away from Los Angeles International Airport. Incorporated on February 20, 1968, ...
.
Parents of Watts, Inc.
As a witness to the
1965 Watts Rebellion, and as a way to help ease the tensions in her community that followed, Harris and a group of volunteers worked out of her house to help rebuild the community. Linking with other civic groups, she formed the Black and Brown Committee, which eventually became the Parents of Watts (POW) in 1979 and was incorporated in 1983.
Today, POW operates more than 15 programs in eight houses purchased by Harris. It provides emergency food and shelter for the homeless, tutoring, health seminars and parenting classes, literacy courses, drug counseling, college and career preparation, and housing assistance for anyone who needs it.
"We started working with youth and adults. I gave up my house so we would have a community center to help the children and keep them from getting killed," said Harris. "Then enrollment started going up at our schools. It let us know that what we were doing in the Parents of Watts was working."
Honors and awards
In 1993, ''
Essence
Essence ( la, essentia) is a polysemic term, used in philosophy and theology as a designation for the property or set of properties that make an entity or substance what it fundamentally is, and which it has by necessity, and without which it ...
'' magazine presented Harris with an award for her work. In 2002, California lieutenant governor
Cruz Bustamante
Cruz Miguel Bustamante (born January 4, 1953) is an American politician. He previously served as the 45th lieutenant governor of California from 1999 to 2007, serving under governors Gray Davis and Arnold Schwarzenegger. A member of the Democra ...
named Harris "Woman of the Year," in honor of her community outreach efforts through Parents of Watts.
Harris was featured on an episode of ''
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition'' after a freak 2003 flood damaged her home.
In 2007,
The Women's Conference
The Women's Conference (formerly the California Governor & First Lady's Conference on Women) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan US organization and annual forum for women. The event first began in 1986 as a California government initiative for working pro ...
awarded Harris a Minerva Award.
In 2008, Harris received an honorary
Doctor of Humane Letters
The degree of Doctor of Humane Letters (; DHumLitt; DHL; or LHD) is an honorary degree awarded to those who have distinguished themselves through humanitarian and philanthropic contributions to society.
The criteria for awarding the degree differ ...
degree from the
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...
.
In that year, she was also named one of U.S. president
George H. Bush's "
Points of Light
Points of Light is an international nonprofit, nonpartisan organization headquartered in Georgia, United States dedicated to engaging more people and resources in solving serious social problems through voluntary service.
Each year, Points ...
", bestowed upon citizens who made a significant impact in their communities through volunteer work.
On October 8, 2015, Harris was honored with the Community Leadership Award during California State University, Dominguez Hills' (CSUDH) Founders' Dinner.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Alice
1934 births
Living people
California State University, Dominguez Hills alumni
American community activists
People from Gadsden, Alabama
African-American activists
Activists from Alabama
21st-century African-American people
20th-century African-American people