![]() ![]() But he also had street credibility, earned in his three years as a settlement house social worker on the North Side. He had degrees in social work from the University of Minnesota and University of Pittsburgh, and was elected Phi Beta Kappa. His most prized honor was a plaque from the school board awarding him an honorary GED certificate, an honor devised by a group of teen mothers after he'd found money for a program to keep them in school. ![]() Working for Minneapolis Public Schools, he'd stay on the phone late into the night to find alternative schools for students who'd been expelled, so that they could have another chance. He also worked on behalf of the underdog. ![]() In fact, when Groves eulogized Harris, using his résumé, even his five children were surprised by all he'd accomplished. Harris was a longtime lobbyist for Minneapolis schools, helped form the influential Urban Coalition and served as its first director, and led Hennepin County's anti-poverty agency. That kind of drive was typical for Harris, who died May 14 at age 81 after multiple illnesses. Of course, he'd add, he was the school's only miler. Eventually he became the top miler for Marshall High School in Minneapolis. "He just kept running and running until the pain went away," granddaughter Melanie Groves recalled him telling her. After a teenaged Larry Harris recovered from a mild case of polio and a car accident that had emergency workers giving him up for dead, his legs still pained him. ![]()
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