Nov. 23 – Fred Harris, a former U.S. senator from Oklahoma who later moved to New Mexico and became a professor at the University of New Mexico, died Saturday at the age of 94.
Born in 1930, Harris was a Democrat who was elected in 1964 to complete the term of the late Senator Robert Kerr. He was elected to a full term in 1966 and served until 1972, when he did not run for re-election. Previously, he served in the Oklahoma Senate from 1956 to 1964.
Harris, a liberal from a state that was conservative at the time, was a strong supporter of President Lyndon Johnson’s civil rights legislation and of Johnson’s Great Society programs—Medicare, Medicaid, food stamps, housing and education assistance, and more—that time were also passed on. He was also a known opponent of the Vietnam War.
“Throughout his long, distinguished career, Senator Fred Harris was guided by a strong moral compass,” House Speaker Javier Martínez, D-Albuquerque, said in a statement Saturday. “In the United States Senate, he was a fearless champion of civil rights, tribal sovereignty and working people. Later, as a professor of political science at the University of New Mexico and a prolific author, he continued to push for fairness, human rights and equality.”
Although Harris would later move to Corrales and become a professor of political science at UNM, even before that he did some good for the state. A “passionate advocate for Native American rights,” as Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham put it, Harris sponsored a bill signed by President Richard Nixon to restore Blue Lake, a sacred site to the people of Taos Pueblo, to them give. President Theodore Roosevelt had it seized as part of the Carson National Forest in the early 20th century.
“Later, Senator Harris, despite his work in academia, shaped the lives of countless University of New Mexico students who learned firsthand from a political legend about the importance of democracy, good government, and civil political discourse,” said the governor. “The Fred Harris Congressional Internship program provided UNM students with the opportunity to work on Capitol Hill and learn about the inner workings of Congress and the federal government.”
Senator Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico said Harris’ life and career in public service was dedicated to uplifting others and working for the greater good. He fought tirelessly for civil rights, working families and indigenous communities.
“I send my love and prayers to Marg, Senator Harris’ children, and to all who had the privilege of knowing one of the last great statesmen,” Luján said.
Other career highlights include chairing the Democratic National Committee in 1969 and 1970 and running for president in 1972 and again in 1976 on an economic populist platform. According to Lujan Grisham, he also wrote 23 books, including three novels. His latest, Report from a Last Survivor, was published in September. Published by the University of New Mexico Press, it was so named because he was the last surviving member of the 1964 class of freshman senators and of the Kerner Commission that Johnson created to investigate the cause of the many riots in 1967.
In a statement Saturday, U.S. Rep. Melanie Stansbury praised Harris’ advocacy for Native Americans and civil rights and his support for the Great Society.
“As a dear friend, colleague and hero, he will be deeply missed and will leave a hole in our community that can never be replaced,” she said. “His legacy will live on in all the young people he inspired and mentored on their journey to become leaders in the ongoing fight for justice.”
Martínez said Harris “became deeply involved in New Mexico politics and supported many more champions of democratic values to run for elected office,” Martínez said. “He leaves behind a lasting legacy of service above self. My heart goes out to his entire family and all who knew and loved Fred.”
He said Harris “will be greatly missed at Democratic Party functions and at the Barelas Athletic Club, of which he was a founding member.”
In addition to the books he wrote and the students he taught during his time at UNM, Harris will be remembered for creating the Fred Harris Congressional Internship Program in 2006, which gave students the opportunity to spend semester-long internships at New Mexico- members of Congress. .
“I cry with sadness and with gratitude because I knew the great man who was Fred Harris,” U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Saturday afternoon. “His legacy will be felt in the laughter and radical optimism he left us.”
