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In Memoriam: Andrea Harris Opened Doors For Minority-Owned Businesses In North Carolina

WUNC News | By Frank Stasio,
Kaia Findlay
Published May 26, 2020 at 12:04 PM EDT
Andrea Harris, co-founder of the North Carolina Institute of Minority Economic Development, advocated for minority communities across the state. She died Wednesday at the age of 72.
Andrea Harris, co-founder of the North Carolina Institute of Minority Economic Development, advocated for minority communities across the state. She died Wednesday at the age of 72.
Andrea Harris, co-founder of the North Carolina Institute of Minority Economic Development, advocated for minority communities across the state. She died Wednesday at the age of 72.
Credit Courtesy of The North Carolina Institute of Minority Economic Development
Andrea Harris, co-founder of the North Carolina Institute of Minority Economic Development, advocated for minority communities across the state. She died Wednesday at the age of 72.

Andrea Harris was a force to be reckoned with. An advocate for the economic advancement of minority communities in the state, she tore down barriers that prevented those communities from owning homes or running businesses. 

Host Frank Stasio remembers the life of Andrea Harris, co-founder of the North Carolina Institute of Minority Economic Development, with two of her long-time friends. Harris died Wednesday at age 72.

In 1986, she co-founded the North Carolina Institute of Minority Economic Development, known familiarly as

The Institute, and served as its president for many years. The Institute has given over $1 billion to minority businesses in financial and contract awards.  Harris grew up in Henderson and attended Bennett College in Greensboro. She started her career in advocacy and economic justice at the age of 23, when she became the director of a community action agency in her hometown and fought poverty in three rural counties. Harris died Wednesday at the age of 72.

Host Frank Stasio remembers her life and legacy with Lew Myers and Anita Brown-Graham. Myers met Harris when they were both in their 20s and co-founded The Institute. Brown-Graham was one of Harris’ mentees. She is a professor of public law and government at the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Government and the director of the ncIMPACT Initiative.

Copyright 2020 North Carolina Public Radio
Frank Stasio
Longtime NPR correspondent Frank Stasio was named permanent host of The State of Things in June 2006. A native of Buffalo, Frank has been in radio since the age of 19. He began his public radio career at WOI in Ames, Iowa, where he was a magazine show anchor and the station's News Director.
See stories by Frank Stasio
Kaia Findlay
Kaia Findlay is a producer for The State of Things, WUNC's daily, live talk show. Kaia grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in a household filled with teachers and storytellers. In elementary school, she usually fell asleep listening to recordings of 1950s radio comedy programs. After a semester of writing for her high school newspaper, she decided she hated journalism. While pursuing her bachelor’s in environmental studies at UNC-Chapel Hill, she got talked back into it. Kaia received a master’s degree from the UNC Hussman School of Journalism, where she focused on reporting and science communication. She has published stories with Our State Magazine, Indy Week, and HuffPost. She most recently worked as the manager for a podcast on environmental sustainability and higher education. Her reporting passions include climate and the environment, health and science, food and women’s issues. When not working at WUNC, Kaia goes pebble-wrestling, takes long bike rides, and reads while hammocking.
See stories by Kaia Findlay