Uncrowned Community Builders

Mr. Harper was a lifelong resident of Buffalo. He was a graduate of Seneca High School and served in the US Air Force during the Korean War. He was the first African American to be employed as a tool and die maker at the Trico Company and was elected president of the local union in 1985. He led efforts to preserve jobs when the company closed much of its Buffalo operation. He worked 38 years at Trico. He was a founder and chairman of the Greater East Side Development Corporation and the Fire survival center. For his union activity and his work in the community he was presented with the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Award in 1992. Mr. Harper was 60 years old at the time of his death on September 17, 1993. He is buried at Forest Lawn Cemetery.