Patricia Roberts Harris (May 31, 1924March 23, 1985) was an American politician, diplomat, and legal scholar. She served as the 6th United States secretary of housing and urban development from 1977 to 1979 and as the 13th United States secretary of health and human services from 1979 to 1981 under President Jimmy Carter.
Born and raised in Illinois, She previously served as the United States ambassador to Luxembourg from 1965 to 1967 under President Lyndon B. Johnson. Throughout her public career, Harris was a trailblazer for women and people of color to hold a number of positions, including the first African American woman and woman of color ever to serve in a presidential cabinet and the first woman and person of color appointed to two different presidential cabinet positions. She was the first African American HHS secretary and just the second black HUD secretary, as well as the second woman to lead either of those executive departments. Furthermore, she was the first black woman U.S. ambassador, the dean of a U.S. law school, and a member of a Fortune 500 company's board of directors. A member of the Democratic Party, she ran for mayor of the District of Columbia in the 1982 mayoral election but was defeated during the primaries, ultimately finishing second to incumbent mayor Marion Barry.
Early life
Patricia Roberts was born on May 31, 1924, in Mattoon, Illinois, the daughter of railroad dining car waiter Bert Fitzgerald Roberts and Hildren Brodie (née Johnson). She had one younger brother, Malcolm, known to his family as Mickey. Her parents separated when she was 6 years old, after which she was raised primarily by her mother and grandmother, attending public school in Chicago. During her time at Howard University, she was also a member of Delta Sigma Theta — a historically Black sorority that had been founded at Patricia's alma mater in 1913. In 1943, she participated in one of the nation's first lunch counter sit-ins.
Career
While studying in Chicago, Roberts was a program director for the Young Women's Christian Association. While at American University, she concurrently worked as the assistant director of the American Council on Human Rights, beginning in 1949 and staying until 1953. She then joined Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson, one of Washington, D.C.'s most prestigious law firms. Upon her appointment to the Chase Manhattan board, she observed: "The demands on the small pool of Blacks allowed to develop in the last 300 years is too great. What has to happen is that this pool must be increased, and that's something that big corporations can help to do. I'm a first on many boards, but I'm not going to be content to remain the only Black, or the only woman." President Jimmy Carter appointed her to two cabinet-level posts during his administration.
Cabinet Secretary
thumb|right|Harris as secretary of HUD with [[President Carter and New York mayor Abraham Beame touring the South Bronx in 1977]]
Harris was appointed to the cabinet of President Jimmy Carter as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) when Carter took office in 1977. Otherwise, her confirmation went smoothly.
Personal life and death
During her tenure at the American Council on Human Rights, Harris first met William Beasley Harris, then a member of the Howard law faculty and later a Federal Power Commission administrative judge. Established in 1987, the program provides a stipend for a summer internship, along with mentoring, academic, and service learning opportunities; it has so far served over 200 Fellows.
On January 27, 2000, the United States Postal Service's released its 23rd commemorative stamp in its Black Heritage Series, honoring Harris. The stamp was designed by Richard Sheaff of Scottsdale, Arizona, and 150 million copies were produced in recognition of Black History Month.