• Local Legend invited to attend State of the Union Address
By Sarah Steele Wilson
Jan 23, 2012, 19:53
Ward 2 City Councilor Curtis Harris, left, will be in attendance as a guest of U.S. Senator Mark Warner. | file photo
As members of Congress pack into the United States Capitol on Tuesday night to hear President Barack Obama's third State of the Union Address, Hopewell will be represented in the historic gallery for the speech. Ward 2 City Councilor Curtis Harris will be in attendance as a guest of Senator Mark Warner of Virginia.
"It's an exciting time for me," said Harris, who said he was surprised when Warner invited him. "I'm glad to see the President."
Each member of Congress is allowed to invite one guest, and this year, Warner decided to ask Harris, who he has know since the early 90s.
"We've been friends for a long time, and it just hit me the other day that rather than just inviting a family member or some big donor, I thought Reverend Harris would appreciate it," Warner said.
Warner said he selected Harris because of his involvement in politics in Hopewell and southside Virginia and the prominent role Harris has played in the Civil Rights movement. Harris was a friend of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and a member of King's human shield during the march from Selma to Montgomery, Ala. in support of the voting Rights Act. Also, in addition to serving on City Council and starting the C.W. Harris Empowerment Center across from Unity Baptist Church, Harris was Hopewell's first African-American Mayor.
"Without folks like Curtis Harris, there probably could never have been a Barack Obama," Warner said. "He has a lot of history, and I think, I hope, it will be a special night for him. I know it will be a special night for me to have him there."
The two men have communicated periodically over the years since they first met.
"[Warner] came and talked to me...right here in Hopewell," Harris recalled. "He came to my house."
Warner's staff has been busy preparing for Harris' visit, and his children Joanne Harris-Lucas and Michael Harris and his grandson and care-taker Kenneth Harris, Jr. are also making plans to drive Harris to Washington D.C. for the event.
"We are proud that Senator Warner selected Dad," Harris-Lucas said. "He knows hundreds, thousands of people who are his constituents, who have supported him in his campaigns. I don't know why it was Daddy that he selected, but we certainly are grateful for him to have this opportunity."
