RNC's Black History Month outreach includes honor, radio spot for retired Cleveland Judge Sara J. Harper
Ohio Republican Party Chairman Matt Borges awards retired Judge Sara J. Harper with a Trailblazer award Tuesday at the Republican National Committee's Black History Month luncheon.
By Henry J. Gomez, cleveland.com
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A first-of-its-kind outreach effort touting the accomplishments of black Republicans includes Sara J. Harper, the retired Ohio Court of Appeals judge from Cleveland.
Harper is featured in a Republican National Committee advertising campaign that includes 30-second radio spots airing in Atlanta, Cleveland and Detroit. In the Cleveland ad, RNC Chairman Reince Priebus shares some of Harper's groundbreaking past.
She was the first black woman to graduate from Case Western Reserve University Law School. She also was the first woman to serve on the judiciary of the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve and one of two black women to become the first females to win seats on the Ohio Court of Appeals in 1990.
Harper twice was a candidate for the Ohio Supreme Court -- for chief justice in 1980 and for justice in 1994. And she was the first black woman assigned to sit on the state's high court, as a temporary replacement, in 1992.
The RNC presented Harper its Trailblazer award at a Tuesday luncheon in Washington.
"I am thrilled to be in Washington today to honor Judge Harper," Ohio Republican Party Chairman Matt Borges said. "The Ohio Republican Party has a strong history of reaching out across communities and we continue our efforts with the RNC to grow our party."
The radio spots are part of the RNC's increased effort in the last year to win over black voters, a voting bloc that strongly favors Democrats. Also being featured are Georgia's Louis Sullivan, who served as U.S. Health and Human Services secretary in the first George Bush administration, and William "Bill" Brooks, a Michigan businessman who has served as chairman of the GM Foundation and in positions with the Bush and Nixon administrations.
"This Black History Month, we are excited about the unique opportunity to share the remarkable stories of black Republicans who have broken barriers and opened doors so that others may succeed," Priebus said. "Recognizing these truly accomplished trailblazers through black media is an important opportunity to honor our past and build our future."
You can listen to Harper's ad below.