Gregory Harris

Cartoonist Gregory Harris was born on May 6, 1961 in Chicago, Illinois to Joe Nathan Harris and Mae Rainey Kennedy Harris. He graduated from Christian Fenger Academy High School in Chicago, Illinois in 1979 and attended Columbia College Chicago and Loyola University Chicago, where he studied psychology.

While attending Loyola University, Harris worked for the United States Social Security Administration. In 1987, Harris joined the United States Post Office in Chicago, Illinois as a clerk carrier. Then, in 1990, Harris began working as a cartoonist for The Chicago Defender, a Chicago-based African American news publication. In 1994, Harris created The BlackBoard Project, an artistic and civic campaign that organized town hall meetings and utilized billboards to appeal to African American men living in Chicago’s inner city. Throughout his career, Harris published his cartoons in over one hundred newspaper publications, over fifty of which were African American news publications.

Beginning in 1993, Harris’ work was exhibited at the Woodson Regional Library in Chicago in annual showcases seeking to encourage African American children to pursue careers in journalism. His cartoons were also displayed in Black Ink: Spotlight on African-American Cartoonists, a long-running exhibit that debuted at the Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco, California in 1992. Black Ink was also displayed at the San Francisco International Airport in 1993 and the International Museum of Cartoon Art in Boca Raton, Florida in 1994. Harris joined WVON Radio in 1998. He also appeared on numerous other radio broadcasts and television shows including The Stan West Show, and Black Entertainment Television’s Our Voices in 1992. During his career, Harris lectured at numerous colleges and universities throughout the United States.

Harris co-founded the National Association of African American Artists with cartoonist Tim Jackson in 1997. He became the first cartoonist to be officially archived by the Chicago Public Library in the Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature in 1995. Harris also received invitations to the Black Art Center in Lagos, Nigeria.

Harris resides in Chicago, Illinois. He has four children and two grandchildren.

Gregory Harris was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on November 10, 2024.