Name Lee Harris Role Law professor | Party Democratic Party Spouse(s) Alena Allen (m. 2005) | |
 | ||
Preceded by Berlin F. Boyd (appointed) Succeeded by Berlin F. Boyd (appointed) Books Mastering Corporations and Other Business Entities Education | ||
Lee Ardrey Harris (born August 1978) is a law professor who currently serves as a TN State Senator, representing Tennessee's 29th district. Prior to his election to the state Senate, Harris served on the Memphis City Council, representing District 7. He was born and raised in Memphis, and studied at Morehouse College, followed by Yale Law School. In 2014 he was elected to the Tennessee Senate replacing Ophelia Ford. He was elected in November 2014 by the Democratic Senate Caucus of the Tennessee State Senate to the leadership position of Senate Minority Leader. He is the first black lawmaker of either party to hold a leadership position in the Tennessee State Senate.
Contents
Early life and education
Harris was born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee. He is the son of a retired high school guidance counselor and a heating and air conditioning repairman. He attended Memphis city schools, including Alcy Elementary School, John P. Freeman Middle School, and Overton High School. Lee Harris attended Morehouse College on a full scholarship, graduating in 2000. While at Morehouse, Harris completed a one-year course of study at the London School of Economics. Harris graduated from Yale Law School in 2003.
Career
Harris began his legal career as an associate at Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, a large Memphis law firm. From 2003, Harris began teaching at the University of Memphis, School of Law, attaining tenure in 2009. Harris teaches and publishes in the fields of corporate law.
In 2006, Harris unsuccessfully ran for the U.S. House of Representatives for the 9th congressional district.
In 2011, Harris faced Kemba Ford in a runoff election for Memphis City Council. He won the race with more than 60% of the vote.
On April 3, 2014, Lee Harris announced his intention to contest a Tennessee State Senate District 29 seat currently held by state Senator Ophelia Ford. Harris was elected to the seat and was sworn in in January 2015. He was elected by his colleagues in the Democratic Caucus of the Tennessee State Senate to be Senate Minority Leader for the session. He is the first black lawmaker of either party to hold a leadership position in the Tennessee State Senate.
Policy Positions
Lee Harris was a proponent of an October 16, 2012 amendment to Memphis' anti-discrimination ordinance, which prohibits the City of Memphis from discriminating on the basis of age, disability, national origin, ethnicity, gender identity, and sexual orientation.
Books
Personal
Harris is married to Alena Allen, a law professor at the University of Memphis, School of Law.