NEW CARROLLTON, MD. — “Come on in, brother! Come on!”
I heard the welcoming voice of my friend and colleague Hamil R. Harris as soon as I stepped out of my car in his Washington, D.C.-area driveway.
On a recent East Coast trip, my son Brady, 7-year-old grandson Bennett and I saw our favorite team, the Texas Rangers, play the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. In the nation’s capital, we explored sites such as the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial.
Bobby, Brady and Bennett Ross visit the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.
But for me, a highlight of the trip was seeing Harris, a former longtime Washington Post reporter who serves on The Christian Chronicle’s Editorial Board.
“Y’all made it to the ‘hood!” Harris said enthusiastically. “Come in, and give me a hug.”
The 66-year-old father of four has battled health issues in recent years. Still, he preaches regularly for the Glenarden Church of Christ in Maryland.
For years, Terry Mattingly, a nationally syndicated religion columnist, invited Harris to speak to students at the Washington Journalism Center, a former program of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities.
Mattingly still recalls Harris’ attention to detail, including when he covered an anniversary of the 1968 D.C. riots that followed the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
Harris wanted to see the riots through the eyes of those who experienced them. So he rode buses through affected neighborhoods and took notes.
“Harris marked key buildings that were still in ruins,” Mattingly said. “Then he went back and wrote down the graffiti on the buildings.
“My students simply could not imagine going into that level of detail,” the columnist added. “But Harris didn’t settle for vague adjectives and sloppy adverbs. He sweated the details.”
The Washington Association of Black Journalists honored Harris in 2022 with its inaugural Legacy Award.
“Hamil is a celebrity in the D.C. journalism scene,” said Michelle Boorstein, the Post’s longtime religion writer. “Hamil is respected by and connected to so, so many people active in religious life in the D.C. area.
Hamil R. Harris and Bobby Ross Jr. pose for a photo at Harris’ Washington, D.C.-area home.
“For someone with such wide-ranging expertise … Hamil is one of the most loving and down-to-earth people you will meet,” Boorstein added. “When we worked together, he would always call me ‘Shelly’ and say I looked like Cher, which kills me.”
The Florida native cares about quality journalism.
But he cares even more about people.
Trindi Mitchell
“Hamil is not merely a colleague on the Editorial Board,” said Trindi Mitchell, a member of the Henry Street Church of Christ in Gadsden, Ala. “He is my big brother and mentor.
“I consider Hamil as a combination of John, ‘the apostle of love,’ and Barnabas,” added Mitchell, who serves alongside Harris on the board, which collaborates on topics and stances for the Chronicle’s editorial page. “He has an earnest, genuine love for all people, always ready to uplift and encourage everyone he meets.”
When Harris suffered a stroke back in October, I sent him a text message to tell him I was praying. Almost immediately, he called me from the hospital.
The stroke had slowed his speech, but he was grading papers — in his hospital bed — for a journalism class he teaches at Morgan State University.
Always eager to pitch a story idea, he offered to write about his stroke experience. I urged him to focus on his healing.
Anytime we talk, Harris always insists on praying. During the October call, I asked God to bless my brother’s recovery, and he emotionally thanked the Lord for saving his life.
Harris embodies 1 Thessalonians 5:17: He prays without ceasing.
“At the end of every conversation I have with Hamil,” Mitchell said, “he ends with a prayer and says, ‘I love you, sister.’”
Cheryl Mann Bacon, a Chronicle contributing editor, said, “I have never had a conversation with Hamil that he didn’t want to conclude by praying for me, and I know of no other person like that. No one ever feels so prayed for as when they have been prayed for by Hamil.”
Hamil R. Harris prays during a visit with the Rosses at Harris’ Washington, D.C.-area home.
Erik Tryggestad, the Chronicle’s president and CEO, echoed Mitchell and Bacon: “I can’t count the number of times Hamil has prayed for me over the phone. Just can’t say enough about this great reporter, minister and friend.”
I felt so honored that my son and grandson got to meet Harris.
“You know what?” my friend said as we visited. “There’s nothing like the power of fellowship.”
As we prepared to go, I knew what was coming.
“Bobby, you know how I am,” Harris said. “I’m going to say a prayer.”
But before he did, he had a question.
“You got enough money?” he asked. “You all right?”
Family photos hang on the living room at Hamil R. Harris’ Washington, D.C.-area home.
I assured him I had plenty of money.
Still, he reached into his wallet and pulled out $11, which he handed to Bennett. My grandson shyly accepted the cash and excitedly spent it later that day.
As I bowed my head for my brother to pray, I never felt so rich.
Hamil R. Harris offers a gift — $11 in cash — to 7-year-old Bennett Ross, grandson of Bobby Ross Jr.
BOBBY ROSS JR. is Editor-in-Chief of The Christian Chronicle. Reach him at bobby@christianchronicle.org.
