Duchess Harris

Background

About Duchess Harris

Duchess Harris is the Chair of the History Department at Macalester College, where she also serves as a Professor of American Studies and is affiliated with the Political Science Department. She is a distinguished African-American academic, legal scholar, and author whose work has significantly shaped American studies, Black feminist thought, and higher education. Born in Virginia to a family of trailblazers, including her grandmother Miriam Daniel Mann, one of NASA's first Black women mathematicians, Harris received an academic scholarship at age 14 to attend Canterbury School in Connecticut. She went on to earn her B.A. in American History and Afro-American Studies from the University of Pennsylvania, where she became the first Black woman elected student body president at any Ivy League institution—a milestone widely recognized and celebrated. Harris holds both a Ph.D. in American Studies from the University of Minnesota and a J.D. from Mitchell Hamline College of Law. She joined the Macalester College faculty in 1998, co-founded its American Studies department, and has chaired several campus wide committees. Notably, Duchess Harris served as Special Assistant to the Provost for Strategic Initiatives at Macalester College, where she played a central role in shaping the institution’s strategic direction, curriculum planning, and campus culture. Her prolific scholarship includes seminal works such as "Racially Writing the Republic,""Black Feminist Politics," and "Black Girl Magic Beyond the Hashtag," along with curating a K-12 educational series on American history. Harris has also advocated nationally and locally for civil rights, earning numerous honors and awards for her dedication and leadership. Her enduring influence extends across education, public policy, and cultural discourse.