April 2002 Call to Action News

Kim and Reggie Harris sing of the Underground Railroad

Kim and Reggie Harris have toured the world as a folk music and storytelling duo since 1980, averaging 250 concerts a year. Both from Philadelphia, they met at a summer camp in 1974, became friends that fall as Temple University students, and married in 1976. They have opened for, and performed with, such artists as Pete Seeger, Richhie Havens, Tom Paxton, Arlo Guthrie, Joan Baez, and even Leontyne Price.

From their first album in 1982 to their recent recording, Steal Away, the Harrises' music honors their African American forebears and supports the struggle of enslaved people everywhere for freedom. One of their most moving programs is "Sing to Freedom: Music and Stories of the Underground Railroad," celebrating a memorable chapter in American history. The Underground Railraod was about hope, courage, and finally triumph for a network of people of many races and creeds. Kim and Reggie are part of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (Washington, D.C. Touring Workshop Program, teaching teachers how to bring the arts into the classroom.