MANSFIELD: In Memory of Constance (Connie) Delores Harper — 1932-2014

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The two towering institutions that have served as the twin pillars, that have sustained Americans of African ancestry over the centuries  — the Black Church and the Black Press — converged on Saturday, Nov. 1 at Olivet Institutional Baptist Church. The occasion was the Home Going celebration held in honor of one of our most able “sheroes,” Call & Post Associate Publisher and Editor Connie Harper, the talented, tenacious, and always-gracious newspaperwoman I was privileged to briefly work with in the mid-’90s.

It was the institution of the Black Church — which inculcated and then encouraged a belief among Blacks in a higher, more just power … the belief that a better world existed for us on the other side of the brutal and dehumanizing one we experienced for the hundreds of years of our bondage — that brought us through the dark days of the African Diaspora; and it was the Black Press — which started with Freedom’s Journal, founded in 1827 by John B. Russwurm and Samuel E. Cornish — that provided us with the fiery sword of truth … that gave us a voice to speak out in regards to the degrading conditions of our captivity and to unequivocally state that we too were a people deserving of respect and human dignity.

Connie Harper, born in the Outhwaite Homes projects (where her family was neighbors to the family of Carl and Louis Stokes), understood the power of the pen and what journalism could accomplish at an early age: She was the editor of her junior high school, high school, and her beloved Central State University newspapers, before going on to a professional career in journalism, at first with the Cleveland Courier (a subsidiary of the Pittsburgh Courier, the most prominent and influential Black newspaper in America at the time). She later, for a time, would become the woman’s editor of the Call & Post under her mentor, W.O. Walker.

An astute student of the history of journalism, Connie knew that Blacks had been mentioned in print in America since 1619, when Captain Jope’s ship brought the first Africans to these shores and advertised them for sale. And Blacks would be continually mentioned in terms of the auction block or in runaway slave notices for centuries after that. But if they were mentioned by name at all it was by the ones their slave masters had given them: Toby, Missy or Buck, or some other sobriquet more befitting a pet than a person … but never as human beings.

Indeed, the only records of Blacks’ existence in this country up until the launching of the Journal was in the ledgers and books kept by plantation owners, on the pages listing livestock and other property. It wasn’t until the first Black newspapers began to appear in America did any semblance of a recorded Black history be chronicled in the United States.

Only the Black Press noted if a Black person was born, had lived, died, married, given birth to children, graduated from school, or participated in any other human functions that are so critical in providing individuals, families and races with a sense of connectedness to their past, their roots, and a vision for who they are and for what they hope their children will become. Connie came from a long and proud linage of Black journalists who knew well their role in uplifting the race, and she did her profession proud.

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A phrase sometimes heard about a funeral in the Black Church is: “The minister preached them all the way into Heaven.” Connie Harper, however, didn’t need any help getting through the Pearly Gates … her place had already been long secured. She’d earned her way to her great reward through her faith.

But that didn’t prevent the Rev. Dr. Jawanza K. Covin from delivering an emotionally charged, heart-thumping, and God-praising eulogy on her behalf; indeed, according to some in attendance more expert in such matters, it was the best eulogy they’ve ever experienced. The good Reverend summoned up that old-time religion of our forebears, the joyous kind that carried our race through its darkest days … the kind that encourages us to dream and strive, to work for better tomorrows for our progeny.

I’d heard about the good preacher’s oratorical abilities in the pulpit since he arrived in Cleveland a few years ago to assume the pastor ship of Olivet, which had for decades been in the hands of the eminently capable and world-renowned giant, Rev. Dr. Otis Moss.  He indeed had big shoes to fill, and he’s done so magnificently.

Rev. Colvin spoke to the struggles of African-Americans throughout our time in this country … the hardships visited upon us by our being captive strangers in a strange land. And he was effusive with his praise for the Black Press (which Connie Harper personified) for telling the truer story of our compelling journey. But one comment, one sentence will remain with me forever: “We’re better than our history.”

Indeed.

We’re so much more, so much better than the all too often negative portrayals of us Black folk that’s routinely force-fed to a gullible public by the majority media merely to sell newspapers, raise TV ratings and to further justify our ill-treatment by a brutal and repressive criminal justice system.  Considering where we started from, and how far we’ve come in a relatively short period of time … we are an amazing race of people, and Rev. Colvin made that crystal clear.

Does poverty cause more crime and aberrant behavior in disadvantaged communities? Of course it does. But the tendency to characterize an entire race of people as somehow guilty, responsible for the reduced circumstances of one-third of our race  … based on the behavior of a small percentage of wrongdoers is what Connie Harper pushed back against every week at the Call & Post, and Rev. Covin took eloquent note of her efforts.

In a career than encompassed so much more than journalism (one that took her to important and influential positions in Chicago, and Washington, DC) Connie — like so many women before her — was a pacifying and uplifting force.

Throughout history, when men busily engage themselves in war, destruction and mutual mayhem, it’s always been women — in every culture, civilization and time — that has taken the human race on their strong back and shoulders and lifted us up to that higher ground, that higher vantage point of human compassion. Connie Harper dedicated her life to this task … for the descendents of Africans in America, and indeed for all mankind. When the world was saying that we people of color were less, she countered — in print — that we were more … that we were more than the callous and negative stereotypes. That we are indeed better than what those who oppose our progress — and to this very day attempt to limit our franchise — say we are.

Connie’s reward at the end of her life’s journey was fitting and well deserved: She had a huge gathering of her friends and admirers at a joyous and exuberant Home Going celebration. May she rest in eternal peace, knowing that her work on this earth was exceedingly well done.

From Cool Cleveland correspondent Mansfield B. Frazier mansfieldfATgmail.com. Frazier’s From Behind The Wall: Commentary on Crime, Punishment, Race and the Underclass by a Prison Inmate is available again in hardback. Snag your copy and have it signed by the author by visiting http://NeighborhoodSolutionsInc.com.

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6 Responses to “MANSFIELD: In Memory of Constance (Connie) Delores Harper — 1932-2014”

  1. John Ettorre

    Oh, for Christ sake, Mansfield. You of all people should know that this is mostly baloney. She was not a journalist, just a local watchdog for her former boss, a crook named Don King, who once kicked a man to death, and who also let his secretary–one Connie Harper–take the fall for him by going to jail for insurance fraud. In a week dominated by ethical scandals at both the PD and Scene Magazine, can’t we get any better than this from independent voices like yours?

  2. Mansfield Frazier

    John,

    What about Connie’s life before Don King? Does those accomplishments count for nothing? Yes, Don, like me, was formerly incarcerated, and I guess there are some people who will never let him forget it, or give him a second chance. He’s turned his life around and done some great things since his days as a numbers man over 40 years ago. But once a lawbreaker, always a lawbreaker, right John? Does that include me in your mind?

    I would have thought that “you of all people” would understand the real premise and thought processes behind the tribute:: The power and influence of the Black Church and the Black Press in terms of their historic roles of making life better for African-Americans. I used the occasion of her passing as an opportunity to pay homage to two great institutions.

    This was designed as a rallying call for someone to step up and keep the Call & Post going, by making it stronger, better publication. There still is a need for it, and it does have an 80-year-old name that’s of value to the Black community.

    By the way, I didn’t pick the week in which Connie died (but I did pick what was most important to me) and I’m sure others will address the ethical scandals you referenced. Hey, how about you doing it, or is that expecting too much from a media critic?

  3. John Ettorre

    Thanks for the thoughtul response, Mansfield. To me, you’ve fully redeemed yourself with your actions post-incarceration. That’s the key, and it’s why I respect you (I also happen to like you, for other reasons). And while I don’t know about Connie’s other activities, I do know that her role at the Call & Post can’t be divorced from the fact that the paper has little or no credibility since being owned by King. He uses it for cynical political purposes, allowing what should be the leading voice of the black community in this region to instead coddle the powerful and elect Republicans. Last I checked, they don’t often stand up for the interests of the black community. So yes, I too would love for someone to keep the C&P going, but it would only matter if they had some real credibility, unlike those who currently own and run it.

    As for my role as a media critic, I lack an influential platform myself, and so I figure I do more than my part in trying to keep my region’s media honest by pointing those who do leverage such national platforms to what I consider abuses. I happened to be the one who first alerted Jim Romenesko to the PD situation, and it all blossomed from that starting point. I also alerted the Columbia Journalism Review to the Scene’s questionable ad decision. I take pride in what ultimately resulted: lots more media transparency. In the end, that’s really all I care about.

  4. John Ettorre

    And sorry, I forgot to address your point about Don King having redeemed himself. I’d disagree with that, pointing simply to many lawsuits filed by his client boxers over the years (including his most famous, Mike Tyson), who accused him of ripping them off.

  5. Bob Fritz

    I don’t have a dog in this fight and will not comment on Connie Harper.

    What I would freely like to know about is the scandals affecting the Plain Dealer and Scene. Where can one read about these?

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