Provided

From left, Robert L. Harris Jr., professor of Africana studies; N.Y. Gov. Andrew Cuomo; and former N.Y. Gov. David Paterson at the State Capitol in Albany.

Robert L. Harris Jr., professor of Africana studies, joined N.Y. Gov. Andrew Cuomo Feb. 15 at the State Capitol in Albany for the opening of "The African-American Experience in New York," an exhibition honoring prominent African-American New Yorkers. Harris served as an adviser to the exhibition, which went on display in recognition of Black History Month.

"This exhibit is as much about the state of New York as the New Yorkers being highlighted," Harris said at the opening ceremony. "Through the stories we are telling, attendees of this exhibit can plot the trajectory of civil rights accomplishments in our state, from the historical fight against slavery and segregation to contemporary struggles for racial justice."

Courtesy of Executive Chamber Photography

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo appoints H. Carl McCall to serve as Chairman of the SUNY Board of Trustees Oct. 17, 2011.

Cuomo also was joined by former N.Y. Gov. David Paterson and H. Carl McCall, former state comptroller and chairman of the State University of New York Board of Trustees, two of the 29 New Yorkers profiled in the exhibition and chosen for their significant contributions to the state's heritage.

Abolitionists, early civil rights leaders, authors, entertainers, athletes and politicians are among the notable New Yorkers profiled in the exhibition, which conveys the 400-year history of the state's African-American community, including struggles against oppression and discrimination.

The honorees include Frederick Douglass; Harriet Tubman; W.E.B. Dubois; Sojourner Truth; James Baldwin; Lena Horne; Marian Anderson; Louis Armstrong; Toni Morrison, MFA '55; Langston Hughes; Jim Brown; Jackie Robinson; Kareem Abdul-Jabbar; and Shirley Chisholm, the first female African-American elected to Congress.

Paterson, the state's first African-American governor, and McCall, the first elected to statewide office, also joined the notable firsts among African-American New Yorkers who have attained public office. Also profiled: David Dinkins, former mayor of New York City, and Adam Clayton Powell Jr., the first African-American from New York elected to Congress.

Photo courtesy of Valerie Smith

Toni Morrison, MFA '55, accepts the Nobel Prize in 1993. African American Writers (New York: Charles ScribnerÕs Sons, 2001).

"To be one of the people honored in this exhibit is humbling," Paterson said. "As governor, I was committed to making our state a model for equal opportunity and civil rights, an effort that Governor Cuomo is clearly continuing."

Related artifacts on display in the Capitol include Armstrong's trumpet, Brown's rushing trophy from Syracuse University, items from the Harlem Hellfighters, the first all-black U.S. combat unit; a letter from Hughes to DuBois; a 1921 edition of The Crisis magazine, containing Hughes' first published poem; and an Alpha Phi Alpha history book. Harris is the national historian for Alpha Phi Alpha, which was founded at Cornell in 1906 as the first intercollegiate Greek organization among African-American men

A scholar of African-American history, Harris is director of undergraduate studies at the Africana Studies and Research Center and a former director of the center. He also served as Cornell vice provost for diversity and faculty development from 2000 to 2008 and is a past president of the Association for the Study of Afro-American Life and History.

"While one can see the strides that we have made over the last 400 years, we must continue to remove remaining roadblocks that impede true progress," Harris said. "This project shows Governor Cuomo's dedication to sharing our state's history, and it has been an honor working with him and his administration on this important project."

Learn more about the African-American Experience in New York online at http://hallofgovernors.ny.gov.