Jim C Harper II
Dr. Jim C. Harper, II, a native of Mount Olive, North Carolina, has dedicated his career to teaching and inspiring others through lessons of history. After serving in the United States Marine Corps, he earned his Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees in History from North Carolina Central University, and his Ph.D. from Howard University.
As a visionary and forward-thinking executive leader, he has a passion for orchestrating transformational initiatives to create engaging, relevant programs, increasing outreach to the community and campus at large, and fostering a collaborative approach to educating students.
He has been employed at North Carolina Central University for over two decades, serving as department chair for over a decade. Currently, he serves as a professor of history and associate dean of the School of Graduate Studies at NCCU, and he is also a faculty affiliate with the Samuel Dubois Cook Center on Social Equity at Duke University.
Dr. Harper is the recipient of multiple teaching and service awards, including the University of North Carolina System’s Board of Governors Excellence in Teaching Award, the North Carolina Central University Excellence in Teaching Award and the Colonel Charles Young Trailblazer Award, which recognizes distinguished individuals who have demonstrated outstanding service and commitment to the community, leadership, and youth.
Dr. Harper has published a number of books, chapter, articles, and digital research projects. He is currently working on a co-authored manuscript With Faith in God and Heart and Mind: A History of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. (UNC Press 2024).
Dr. Harper’s research interests include African American and African education. He has published the book Western Educated Elites in Kenya, 1900–1963: The African American Factor. Harper has served as lead editor of Topics in the African Diaspora independence movements in the 20th century. He is currently working on a co-authored manuscript, With Faith in God and Heart and Mind: A History of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., which will be published by the University of North Carolina Press in 2024. Harper has also published a number of journal articles and book chapters.
In addition to the previously mentioned scholarly work, Dr. Harper is also a dedicated public historian. He has completed several public history research projects, including two documentaries entitled 100 Years of Brotherhood and Service: The Beta Phi Chapter, Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. and The Mighty Sixth District Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.: Shapes History; a Digital Mapping Oral History Project in Durham, NC; Durham Memories in the Finding Freedom through Entrepreneurship: Durham’s Black Wall Street; the Diversity Workforce Oral History Project with the National Parks Service. He also produced the Grand Reflections Oral History Project of the Grand Basilei of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. He is currently working on the Sixth District Oral History Project, where he serves as the director and is collecting video oral interviews of fraternity members with 50 or more years of membership in the fraternity in the chapters in North and South Carolina.
As a scholar, teacher, and public historian, Dr. Harper seeks to expand the use of 21st century technology and historical research methods to engage and inspire students, colleagues, and the public.
Education
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B.A., History |
North Carolina Central University |
1994 |
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M.A., History |
North Carolina Central University |
1997 |
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Ph.D., History |
Howard University |
2004 |
Projects
Publications
Books
- M. Hobson, E. Cole, J. Harper, D. Alridge. (2025). With Faith in God and Heart and Mind: A History of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. (UNC Press)
- Harper, J.C., Johnson, C., Hargrove, J., & Frazier, T. (Eds.). (2016). Topics in the African Diaspora. Dubuque, IA: Kendall Hunt Publishers.
- Harper, J.C. (2006) Western-Educated Elites in Kenya, 1900-1963: The African American Factor. New York, NY: Routledge.
Book Chapters
- Harper, J.C. (2016). “When Knowledge Becomes Power: Western Education and the Emergence of Western-Educated Resistance in Kenya, 1840-1950.” Jim C. Harper, II, Charles Johnson, Jarvis Hargrove, Tony Frazier (Editors). Topics in African Diaspora History. Dubuque, IA: Kendall Hunt.
- Harper, J.C. (2016). “Kenyan Nationalism and the Architects of the Kenyan Student Airlifts.” Jim C. Harper, II, Charles Johnson, Jarvis Hargrove, Tony Frazier (Editors). Topics in African Diaspora History. Dubuque, IA: Kendall Hunt.
- Harper, J.C. (2011). “Educating Mr. Obama: Western Educated Elites and Kenya’s Quest for Higher Education.” In E. Clark-Lewis (Ed.), Synergy: Public History at Howard University. Washington, D.C.: A.P. Foundation Press.
Refereed Journal Articles
- Harper, J.C., Nina Smith, Che Smith, and Deja Young (2020) “Don’t Shoot! State-Wide Police Shootings, Adolescent Risk-Taking Behaviors, and the Historic Influence of Wealth,” Advances in Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, vol. 7, number 7, July 2020.
- Harper. J.C. (2019) “African Immigrants in the United States: Education, African Brain Drain, and Transnationalism on the Future of Africa,” Liberian Studies Journal. vol. 39, number 2, January 2019.
- Harper, J.C. (2017) Tom Mboya and the African Student Airlifts: Inclusion, Equity, and Higher Education Among Kenyan Women and Men. Africology: The Journal of Pan African Studies, vol. 10, no. 9 October 2017.
- Harper, J.C. (2011). Education for Black Liberation: The Kenyan Student Experience, 1950-1963. Africalogical Perspectives, 7 (1).
Book Review
- Harper, J.C. (2009) [Review of the book The African American Quest for Institutions of Higher Education Before the Civil War: The Forgotten Histories of the Ashmun Institute, Liberia College and Avery College, by R. W. Irvine.] Liberian Studies Journal, 34 (2), 121-123.