John Roy Harper II

John Roy Harper II
Chair of the United Citizens Party
Personal details
Born(1939-09-02)September 2, 1939 Greenwood
DiedJuly 27, 2003(2003-07-27) (aged 63)
Columbia, SC
SpouseDenise Jefferson 1944-2010
Children1
EducationFisk University (BA)
University of South Carolina (JD)

John Roy Harper II (September 2, 1939 - July 7, 2003) was an American attorney and founder of the United Citizens Party.

Early life and education

John Roy Harper II was born in 1939 to Mary Frances (née Smith) and John Roy Harper, both of whom were longtime teachers at Boylan-Haven-Mather Academy,[1] known as Mather Academy. Harper attended Mather Academy, earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Fisk University and a Juris Doctor from the University of South Carolina School of Law.

Career

Harper was a plaintiff in several Voting Rights Act cases regarding redistricting plans, including Harper v. Kleindeinst, McCollum v. West.[2] His cases reached the US District Court, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court.[3]

In 1988, Harper along with NAACP attorney Willie Abrams sued Richland County, resulting in 11 voting districts and the election of four Black members of County Council.[4]

Political career

Harper worked with state lead Kevin Alexander Gray on Jesse Jackson's 1988 presidential campaign.[5]

Harper was one of five men running to be the first Black person elected to Congress from South Carolina since George W. Murray during Reconstruction. In the 1992 Democratic Primary for the 6th Congressional district were Harper, Jim Clyburn, State Senator Herbert Fielding, State Senator Frank Gilbert, and Dr. Kenneth Mosely, an educator.[6]

Personal life

His former wife, Denise Jefferson, was director of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater until her death.[7] He was the father of singer, dancer, and choreographer, Francesca Harper.

References

  1. ^ Joan A. and L. Glenn, Inabinet (2011). A History of Kershaw County, South Carolina. Columbia, South Carolina: University of South Carolina Press. p. 530. ISBN 978-1-57003-947-8.
  2. ^ "Harper I". Records and Briefs of the United States Supreme Court: 3. 1973.
  3. ^ Deas-Moore, Vennie (2012). Columbia, South Carolina. South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing. p. 111. ISBN 9781439610909.
  4. ^ Bernard Grofman, Chandler Davidson and (1994). Quiet Revolution in the South: The Impact of the Voting Rights Act, 1965-1990. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. p. 211. ISBN 0-691-03247-5.
  5. ^ Edsall, Thomas B. (March 13, 1988). "JACKSON WINS WITH MAJORITY IN SOUTH CAROLINA CAUCUSES". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 6, 2024.
  6. ^ "Five Blacks Seeking S.C. Congress Seat". Jet Magazine. August 17, 1992. p. 7. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
  7. ^ Fox, Margalit. "Denise Jefferson, 65, Director of the Ailey School, Is Dead", The New York Times, July 20, 2010. Accessed December 18, 2023.