[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 153 (Wednesday, November 3, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S13836-S13837]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     TRIBUTE TO DR. PERCY G. HARRIS

  Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, I ask my colleagues to join me in 
paying tribute to Dr. Percy G. Harris, a distinguished Iowan from Cedar 
Rapids who is retiring after forty years of practicing family medicine. 
His biography is truly a great American story.
  Dr. Harris was born into a poor family in Mississippi in 1927. He was 
orphaned as a teenager and moved to Waterloo, Iowa to live with his 
aunt. High school was a struggle for Percy Harris, but he finally 
received his diploma at the age of 19. After that, he was determined to 
make something of his life, and set his sights on becoming a doctor. He 
was admitted to medical school at Howard University in Washington, DC. 
He paid his way by working as an elevator operator and janitor. After 
he received his medical degree, Dr. Harris returned to Cedar Rapids, 
Iowa to open a family practice.

[[Page S13837]]

  His practice grew and flourished over four decades. His patients 
credit him with the old-fashioned virtue of patience and say he is 
always willing to spend extra time caring for them. He believes in 
giving back and is active in the community as a civil rights leader and 
as a volunteer athletic doctor for Jefferson High School.
  Percy Harris's life is a list of firsts. He was the first African-
American to hold an internship at St. Luke's Hospital in Cedar Rapids. 
He served as Linn County, Iowa's first and only medical examiner. In 
1977, Governor Robert Ray appointed him to the Iowa Board of Regents 
where he served two terms as the Board's first African-American member.
  Dr. Harris encountered adversity along the way, but he chose to view 
it as a challenge rather than an obstacle. In 1961, he and his wife, 
Lileah, decided to build a home for their growing family. They set 
their sights on a piece of property in one of Cedar Rapids' all white 
neighborhoods. The neighbors were up in arms, but Percy and Lileah 
Harris persisted and eventually purchased the property in a dispute 
that gained national attention. They built their family home on the 
property and raised 12 fine children, all of whom are now grown and 
successful in their own right.
  Mr. President, Dr. Harris is one in a long American tradition of 
medical practitioners who put patients before profits, who lead by 
example, and who dedicate themselves to the well-being of humankind, 
from their community to their nation. I congratulate him on his many 
achievements and wish him well in all future endeavors. I know wherever 
he chooses to put his many talents, he will leave his mark.

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