Woman's passion for education infuses characters she plays
When Kathryn Harris was asked to portray Harriet Tubman at Iles Elementary School in the late 1990s, she could find only one adult biography written about the black abolitionist who freed 300 slaves through a network of safe houses known as the Underground Railroad.
"I read every children's book ever written about her," said Harris, who has since depicted Tubman on stage at least 100 times. "Now there are four or five adult books about her."
Of course, she's read them all.
That's not surprising, since Harris is the library services director for the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library in Springfield, Ill. She supervises a staff of more than 25 people who maintain and advance the library's expansive collection of manuscripts, microfilm, photographs and newspapers pertaining to Springfield's most famous citizen.
But beyond her job, Harris, 60, is an inquisitive woman who thrives on learning.
"When she was growing up, Kathryn read the dictionary and the phone book," said her older sister, Georgetta Slaughter of Sherman.
"She went to the Carbondale library every week and read the majority of books for her age group. When she wanted to read more advanced books, the librarians said 'no' until our mother insisted that they let her. That's how she got so interested in so many things."
One of those things is historical characters, which she portrays at community events, schools and libraries.
Although Harris has had no formal theatrical training, her thorough research and attention to detail have allowed her to bring to life black women like Tubman, Mary Todd Lincoln confidante Elizabeth Keckley, early African Methodist Episcopal preacher Jarena Lee, wife of President Lincoln's barber Phoebe Florville and Sarah "Sadie" Delany.
Harris doesn't really step into a role as much as she lets the character inhabit her body.
At a recent Harriet Tubman performance, her voice, parlance, body language, and even facial features deviated dramatically from the polished woman who sits by day in a ground floor office of the presidential library.
"Don't nobody care about a slave havin' a birthday," she said quickly and dismissively with a clipped Southern accent, explaining why there is no historical documentation of Tubman's birth date.
"I never run my train off the track and I never lost a passenger. Everyone that traveled wit' me got to freedom," said Tubman, boasting about her achievements in a way that Harris never would about herself.
After the portrayal, Harris - still in character - took questions from audience members. While speaking off the cuff, the gritty Tubman chided them for not knowing some historical facts and scolded a teenager who put his coat on before she was done speaking. It was a chance for Harris to teach as well as to further depict the abolitionist's character.
"I did a report on Harriet Tubman last year," said Chrystal Haselett, a fifth-grader who was in the audience. "But I never knew 'til now why they didn't teach slaves to read and write."
In response to a question, Tubman explained that slave owners were afraid that educated slaves would seek freedom.
"There are some things to which I am committed that I would be as forceful about as Harriet (Tubman), if need be - choice, education, libraries, doing the right thing," Harris said.
"I think what I do in the community harkens back to the way my mother wanted to make a difference," Harris said. "She thought it was important to better things any way you can. I'm the same way."
Kathryn Rem can be reached at kathryn.rem@sj-r.com.