Harris, Marcelite Jordan
1943-2018 · Contribution: 1965-1997
Military & Safety
Became, in 1990, the first African American woman to be promoted to general officer in the U.S. Air Force, and in 1995 the first to reach the two-star rank of major general, retiring as the highest-ranking woman in the Air Force and highest-ranking Black woman in the Department of Defense
Portraits are AI-generated interpretations, not photographs.
Quick facts
- Born
- 1943-2018
- Category
- Military & Safety
Impact on the world
Harris shattered a series of barriers in Air Force maintenance and command, rising to become the highest-ranking Black woman in the entire Defense Department.
An alternative history
What Would the World Look Like Without It?
One contribution. Many possible consequences. No single-person origin story.
Imagine this selected contribution absent, not the person or the entire field. The areas below are reflection prompts related to this discipline, not verified chains of direct dependency.
Sources
- Book or scholarly workFind
Texas State Historical Association (Handbook of Texas)
Exact source links open the cited record. Source lookups help locate legacy references whose original records did not include a direct URL.
2 more sources and references are available to members.
More in Military & Safety
Adams Earley, Charity Edna
1918-2002
First Black woman commissioned as an officer in the Women's Army Corps; commanded the only Black women's unit to serve overseas in World War II
Anderson, C. Alfred 'Chief'
1907-1996
Founded and directed the Civilian Pilot Training Program that produced the Tuskegee Airmen
Archer, Lee
1919-2010
Fighter combat operations; flying ace credentials
Augusta, Alexander T.
1825-1890
First African-American physician commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Army