Marcelite Cecile Jordan Harris: Trailblazer in the U.S. Air Force (1943–2018)

Marcelite Cecile Jordan Harris, first Black female major general of the United States Air Force as well as the entire U.S. armed forces, social activist, and political consultant, was born on January 16, 1943, in Houston, Texas, to Cecil O’Neal Jordan and Marcelite Elizabeth (Terrell) Jordan. She grew up in Houston where her father worked as a postal carrier and her mother was a librarian in the Houston Independent School District. She graduated from Kashmere High School in 1960 and then attended Spelman College (a historically Black women’s college in Atlanta, Georgia), where she graduated with a bachelor of arts degree in speech and drama in 1964. During her time at Spelman, she traveled with a United Service Organizations (USO) tour to military bases in Germany and France and had aspirations to be an actress and return abroad. After graduation she briefly taught at the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) Headstart program and attended law school at night but found it difficult to maintain a reliable income.

With hopes of a steady salary and a chance to explore the world, Marcelite Jordan entered the U.S. Air Force (USAF) Officer Training School at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, in 1965 and was commissioned a second lieutenant later that year. In 1967 she was promoted and transferred from Travis Air Force Base in California to the 71st Tactical Missile Squadron at Bitburg Air Base in West Germany. She was promoted to captain in late 1969. Wishing to improve her knowledge of aircraft engineering and repair, she applied for acceptance to the Aircraft Maintenance Officer Course. After initial denial, she was admitted into the course at Chanute Air Force Base in Illinois in September 1970 and completed the course in May 1971. Holding a variety of assignments, she become the “first” of many, as she was the first woman aircraft maintenance officer in the USAF. She was promoted to the rank of major in 1975. From 1975 to 1978 she served at the USAF headquarters in Washington, D.C., as personnel staff officer and as White House social aide for the Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter administrations. From 1978 to 1980 she was one of the first two women air officers to command at the U. S. Air Force Academy at Colorado Springs, Colorado.

On November 29, 1980, Marcelite Cecile Jordan married Maurice Anthony Harris in Harris County, Texas. Her husband, also in the USAF, achieved the rank of lieutenant colonel and had a son, Steven. The couple had one child together, daughter Tenecia.

Marcelite Harris was promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1981 and colonel in 1986. In 1988 she became the first female commander of the 3300th Technical Training Wing at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Mississippi. Her responsibilities at the school involved oversight of the training of thousands of soldiers from all branches of the military in computer science, communications, avionics, electronics, and air traffic control. While in service, Harris ensured that her training was up to date as she obtained a bachelor of science degree in business management from the University of Maryland University College (1989). Other studies included national security and government management courses at Harvard University (1989, 1994, 1995). Effective in 1990 she became vice commander of the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma.

Making history again, in 1991 Harris became the first African American female brigadier general in the U.S. Air Force. From 1993 to 1994 she served as director of technical training for Headquarters Air Education and Training Command at Randolph Air Force Base in San Antonio. In September 1994 Harris was named the first female director of maintenance and deputy chief of staff for logistics at the U.S. Air Force Headquarters in Washington, D.C. In this capacity, she became the first woman responsible for maintenance operations and aerospace weaponry at all USAF bases and headed more than 125,000 military and civilian personnel. On May 25, 1995, Harris became the first Black woman major general in the history of the armed forces. Shortly before her retirement in 1997, she helped create a permanent office for the Committee on Women within the Military Committee of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

Upon retirement from her military career, Harris joined the United Space Alliance, Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Florida. She later retired to Atlanta, where she was active within the local community. Her social activism included her involvement in the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), as she served as the treasurer for the Atlanta branch. In 2012 she joined the local Chautauqua Circle. Harris was also a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and a member of First Congregational Church in Atlanta. Nationally, she served on the board of United Services Automobile Association (USAA), an insurance and banking services company for military members and their families, for more than a decade. In 2010 President Barack Obama appointed Harris to the Board of Visitors of the Air Force Academy; she served until 2016.

Major General Harris received many awards and medals for her accomplishments, including the Bronze Star, Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster, Air Force Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster, Presidential Unit Citation, and Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm. To honor her legacy and contributions to African American women and American life, she was awarded many honors, including Woman of the Year by the National Organization of Tuskegee Airman(1990); Most Prestigious Individual by Dollars & Sense magazine (1991); “Black Woman of Courage” by the National Federation of Black Women Business Owners (1995); the National Political Congress of Black Women, Inc., “Military African American Woman” honor for contributions to the Department of Defense (1995); “Women of Distinction” Award from the Thomas W. Anthony Chapter of the Air Force Association (1995); the Ellis Island Medal of Honor (1996); and an honorary doctorate of letters from Spelman College (1999).

While on a Caribbean vacation, Marcelite Jordan Harris was taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, Florida, where she unexpectedly died on September 7, 2018. She was buried alongside her husband (who died in 1996) at Arlington National Cemetery on February 7, 2019. She was survived by her children and two grandchildren.