Passes At Age 81: Remembering Rev. Marcellus L. Harris, Jr.

Special to the Guide

HAMPTON

Longtime pastor, community activist, and media contributor Rev. Dr. Marcellus Lee Harris Jr. passed away on Saturday, February 10, 2024 in the comfort of his home. He was 81. 

Harris served as the pastor of First Baptist Church Morrison in Newport News, Va. for 45 years and was an ardent supporter of the Black community in Hampton Roads. Regarded for being passionate, courageous, and vociferous, he was widely respected among his peers and elected officials. The late Flora D. Crittenden, a former Newport News Delegate, said when Harris talked, people listened.

A native of southeast Newport News, he was regularly seen on the front lines marching for social justice causes, interlocking arms with Black civil rights leaders and pastors, as well as advocating for the rights of the marginalized and underserved.

The Daily Press published a profile about his life thirty years ago, describing Harris as “Popping up at jails and juvenile halls, courts and city councils – often with reporters close behind – he was a ubiquitous and outspoken critic wherever Blacks were victims of racial violence, discrimination, intolerance or insults – real or perceived.” Pastor Harris later stated that he saw “his calling to serve God as a way to help lift people at times when no one else can help.”

One of his most prominent advocacy cases was the 1993 trial and conviction of then nationally acclaimed high school athlete, Allen Iverson, and three friends in a Hampton bowling alley brawl with a group of white students which deepened the racial divide on the Peninsula. Pastor Harris’ voice was influential in raising public awareness about the case and injustice.

During a news conference, he drew comparisons between Iverson and legendary civil rights figure Rosa Parks, the Black seamstress who refused to move to the back of a segregated Montgomery, Ala., bus in 1955. “Our community is determined and convinced we have a Rosa Parks-type vehicle here,” Harris said. “And we’re not going to give up this issue. Nothing short of justice will be satisfactory to us.”

A few months later, former Governor L. Douglas Wilder granted clemency to Iverson. This action allowed Iverson to begin his collegiate basketball career and later have a stellar NBA career. Harris was subsequently interviewed in the 2010 ESPN “30 for 30” documentary “No Crossover: The Trial of Allen Iverson.” In 2016, Iverson was inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame.

Pastor Harris also expressed support for NFL star athlete and Newport News native Michael Vick’s redemption following a conviction for his involvement in a local dogfighting ring. Vick was a former high school teammate of Harris’ son, Newport News City Councilman Marcellus L. Harris III. In a 2010 Daily Press feature entitled, “The fall and rise of Michael Vick: From prison to starting again in the NFL,” the elder Harris said, “Anybody can fall down. Anybody can stumble. Anybody can make a mistake. But it’s what you do afterward, how you get back up.” 

Marcellus Lee Harris Jr.—also referenced by his childhood moniker “Butch” – enlisted in the U.S. Navy after high school and served in the Vietnam War.

In his 1993 Daily Press profile, he recalled the turning point where he knew that he wanted to help others. After a grim day on the Vietnam battlefield, he said, “I looked up into the sky, and I felt literally alone, literally useless. I thought, `If I die out here nobody would even care, no one would even know.’ I said to myself, `I’ve got to do something about my life.’ I decided then I needed to get intensely involved with contributing, with making a difference. It came to me as a sort of wake-up call. I wanted to serve folk.”

Following his military service, Harris returned to Newport News in 1969 and began ministry at Ivy Baptist Church under the late Rev. Dr. W. Henry Maxwell, who was also a state senator. In 1971, Harris became the pastor of First Baptist Church Morrison and remained there for 45 years until his retirement in May 2016.

His congregants regarded him as an intellectual pastor who rarely used notes to preach, and had an unconventional, invigorating delivery. He often infused his sermons with references to Black history and issues affecting African-Americans.

Following his 2016 retirement as acting pastor of First Baptist Church Morrison, Harris was designated Pastor Emeritus.

Harris attended West Virginia State University and received degrees from Norfolk State University, United Christian College, National Theological Seminary and College, Richmond Virginia Seminary and College, and Canaan Seminary and College. His highest earned degree was Doctor of Ministry. He was also founder of the United Campus Ministry of Christopher Newport University , taught ministry courses at various seminaries and church institutes throughout his pastoral tenure, as well as continued pastoral counseling post-retirement.

M oreover, Harris was a featured weekly contributor to The New Journal and Guide—a regional newspaper covering issues in the African-American community – and previously hosted a radio show on Christian radio station WTJZ (AM) 1270.

Harris explained, “To me, a passion for people is something that goes beyond the walls of this church [First Baptist Church Morrsion],” he says. ”I wanted people to know that here’s a man who’s going to do more than stand up on Sunday in a robe and preach. So I started to use the resources of my ministry as a springboard to other things.”

He leaves to cherish his memory his loving wife Rev. Dr. Annette Harris, their six children and a host of grandchildren, spiritual children, family, friends, and colleagues.