Harris, Barbara Clementine

Harris, Barbara Clementine

(born June 12, 1930, Philadelphia, Pa., U.S.) U.S. clergywoman. Harris worked as a public relations executive in the 1960s. An African American, she was also active in the civil rights movement and the women's rights movement before beginning studies for the Anglican clergy in 1974. She was ordained an Episcopal priest in October 1980. On Feb. 11, 1989, despite much opposition, she was consecrated bishop suffragan (assistant) for the diocese of Massachusetts, becoming the first female bishop in the Anglican Communion. As bishop, she continued her advocacy for ethnic minorities and women until her retirement in 2002. In 2003 she began serving as assisting bishop in the diocese of Washington, D.C.