Oral history interview with Jerry C. Harris, 2006 May 17

Jerry Charles Harris, Sr. was born in Bogalusa, Louisiana, in 1936. He relocated to Denver, Colorado, as a young child. He came to Portland, Oregon, to meet Zola M. Barnes at the recommendation of his godmother, and they were married in 1956; they later adopted two children. Harris had been attending Western Business College in Colorado, but after moving to Oregon he attended Court Reporting College in Portland, graduating in 1961. In 1962, he became the only black court reporter for the Multnomah County courts. In 1965, he began working as a court reporter for U.S. District Court Judge Gus Solomon. He later worked for other judges on the U.S. District Court of Oregon, and retired in 1997. He was a member of the Community Church of God (now Maranatha) and served as a Sunday school teacher, usher, elder, and chairman of the church board. Harris died in 2011.