Rev. Robert Harris, 1976
Rev. Robert Harris arrived in Ogden in 1956. He opened the first Black-owned grocery store at 2710 Lincoln which he called the Faith Market. He often provided food for the homeless and less fortunate from his store. Harris also owned a BBQ restaurant on 25th and Lincoln.
Harris was passionate about a variety of social issues. He went on 39 peace marches, including a march in the midst of the Watts riots in California. He protested for Civil Rights and against racial discrimination. He also opposed abortion, gay liberation (homosexuality), capital punishment, and the ill-treatment of the poor and elderly. Harris would often march in protest with other like-minded individuals in Utah and California, and he was arrested over 97 times.
In 1976 Harris decided to run for state legislative office representing Weber County. On November 2, he became the first Black person elected to the Utah State House of Representatives. He served just one term and lost reelection in 1978.
As a minister of the Church of God in Christ, Harris was dedicated to the task of “giving help to anyone who comes by.” He was known for lengthy fasts and prayers for causes he considered just. Every other Sunday, he would preach at the Utah State penitentiary.
On November 14, 1979, Harris staged a one-man protest against the Ku Klux Klan at the state capitol. He asked other Black ministers to join him, but he said they declined “because they were afraid I might say something they don’t agree with.” Rev. Harris passed away in 2005.
