R.I.P. Council Member Ken Harris

Amidst the craziness of last week, covering the Congressional Black Caucus and McCain deciding he was temporarily suspending his presidential campaign, came the funeral of a former co-worker and all-around great guy-- Baltimore City Council Member Kenneth Harris. Ken Harris served Baltimore City as Counci lMember for nearly 10 years and also hosted a show on WEAA-FM called "City Talk" which is how I came to know him. In the wee hours of Sunday morning on September 20th Ken was shot in a robbery attempt (in his own district where he lived and served) and was pronounced dead at 2am at John Hopkins Hospital.

Ken was 45 years old, married for years to his wife Annette, had two children and his daughter was recently married. He was a strong advocate for tougher crime laws and the irony of his death is all too surreal.

The funeral was held at the Murphy Fine Arts Center at Morgan State University where Ken was an alumni and soon-to-be employee as he was recently pegged to be a lobbyist for the historically black college. Murphy was filled with family and friends of Ken and his family and there was abounding love for him in the auditorium. In the service everyone could feel the magnitude of his absence from the Northeast Baltimore community and the city at-large.

It's a shame to lose such a great person in a city who truly needs "community organizers" (Sarah Palin) and I hope with the example of his life people will follow in his footsteps and spend time caring for and serving their communities.