Rutha M. Harris

High School

Local

Ms. Harris' expertise includes civil rights services and special education.

Secondary Education

Singing, Watching Movies,

Bachelor of Arts in Music, Albany State University, GA (1970)

Georgia Association of Educators; National Education Association; National Association for the Advancement of Colored People; Albany Georgia Alumnae Chapter, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.; DCAE

Public Service and Education

Ms. Harris of Albany, Ga., initially gained national attention as a member of the SNCC Freedom Singers during the 1960s Civil Rights Movement. Ms. Harris began her journey as a singer in her father's church, Mt. Calvary Missionary Baptist Church, at the age of 8 as a member of the Junior Choir. Born in Albany, Ga., in 1940, she was the seventh of eight children of Rev. Isaiah A. Harris and Katie B. Douglas Harris. She continued singing throughout her developmental years, becoming director of Mt. Calvary Missionary Baptist Church’s Junior Choir and one of the principal soloists at Monroe High School under the direction of the late Anne Elizabeth Wright, whose choruses were legendary for their superior ratings. Upon graduating from high school, Ms. Harris began work on a degree in music at Florida Agricultural And Mechanical University, but returning home after the first year, she became involved in the Albany civil rights movement, which was in its genesis during the fall and winter of 1961.
Ms. Harris was among the mass arrests that filled the Albany and surrounding counties’ jails during December, 1961, and became a singer with a core group of song leaders who led singing at the mass meetings. Albany became known as the center of a singing movement because of the power among the song leaders and the strong tradition of congregational singing in southwest Georgia. During the fall of 1962, Ms. Harris performed with a group of SNCC Freedom Singers at a gospel fest for freedom benefit at McCormick Place in Chicago, Ill. She was then invited by SNCC Freedom Singers field secretary Cordell Hull Reagon to become a founding member of the SNCC Freedom Singers along with Albany singer, Bernice Johnson, and Charles Neblett of Carbondale, Ill.
As an a cappella ensemble, this group began its work late in 1962, and traveled all over the country performing concerts of freedom songs for audiences eager to connect and become involved in supporting the expanding non-violent freedom movement throughout the South. The SNCC Freedom Singers were recorded by Mercury Records in 1963, and performed at the Newport Folk Festival, Carnegie Hall, Orchestra Hall and the historic March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.
After the 1963 tour with the SNCC Freedom Singers, Ms. Harris continued her work as an organizing singer with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference under the leadership of the late Hosea Williams. Ms. Harris returned to Albany and completed a bachelor of arts in music at Albany State University. In May 2003, Ms. Harris retired after 30 years as a member of the faculty at Monroe Comprehensive High School, the same school she had attended for her own high school education. During her career of teaching and singing, Ms. Harris has received many honors and awards. She is a member of the Georgia Mass Choir, directed by Rev. Milton Biggham. As a singer in this phenomenal ensemble, Ms. Harris has performed in Spain and Portugal, and appeared in the movie, “The Preacher's Wife,” starring Whitney Houston and Denzel Washington. Ms. Harris recorded her first CD entitled “I Am On The Battlefield,” in 2004. She is a member of the Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church, under the leadership of Dr. Daniel Simmons, where she directs the gospel choir. She is also the founder and director of the Albany Civil Rights Museum Freedom Singers. She continues to perform reunion concerts with the SNCC Freedom Singers throughout the nation.
She has recorded with Mavis Staples in Los Angeles, Calif., and performed in Manhattan, N.Y. at the Town Hall Theater on October 6, 2006. She also performed at the opening of the Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site on September 25, 2007, and for the legendary midwife, Mrs. Mary Coley on October 20, 2007. She participated with a program that was sponsored by the Embassy of the United States in Ankara, Turkey, and the American Studies Association of Turkey, which is an academic organization. This ranged from October 31 through November 8, 2007.

Founder, Director, Albany Civil Rights Museum Freedom Singers

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She attributes her success to her faith in God.

She became involved in her profession because she began working.

Ms. Harris also performs civil rights services and travels to different universities. She is a freedom singer and during Black History Month, she travels regionally and sings about civil rights. She retired from the same school that she graduated from in 1958.

Helping Sick People, Performing Community Services, Freedom Singing

Special Education License (K-12), State of Georgia

Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Dream Award (2001); Outstanding Georgia Citizen, Georgia Secretary of State Cathy Cox (2000); Teacher of the Year, Monroe Comprehensive High School (1982-1983);