Joel Chandler Harris

Joel Chandler Harris (1848 - 1908) was an American journalist and author known mostly for the 'Uncle Remus Tales' and their related works. During his career as a writer Harris would seek to promote friendship between the colored and white population of the US following the American Civil War.

Biography
Joel Chandler Harris was born in Edenton, Georgia in 1848. His parents where never married and his father abandoned him shortly after birth. He was raised by his mother, Marian Harris in a small cottage owned by Dr. Andrew Reed. His mother would work mutliple jobs while raising Joel and would when she had time read him stories of southern folk heroes which inspired Joel's interest in literature and folklore. Dr. Reed offered to pay for Joel's education and sent him to the local academy. On top of Joel Harris's illegitamacy he had red hair and a stutter making him a target for harrassment by his classmates. To counter this Joel Harris established himself as the class clown gaining him admiration from his fellow students. He was great at reading and writing but he wasn't an outstanding student and dropped out of school to find work. When he was 13, in 1861, the American Civil War broke out. A year latter Joseph Addison Turner, the owner of a plantation near Edenton asked the young Joel to aid in publishing the nation's only Planation centric newspaper 'The Countryman'. Harris accepted the offer and Turner became something of a father figure to young Harris. He expanded Harris's education in literature and helped him evade the draft latter in the war. He also allowed Harris to publish some of his writings in 'The Countryman'. During his time at Turner's plantation Harris would freqeuntly visit the slave quaters where he would hear stories from 'Uncle' George Tyrell, 'old' Harbert, and 'aunt' Christy; all enslaved persons on Turner's plantation who took a liking to young Harris. These stories had their roots in African folklore but had been modified after years of being passed down among the enslaved population. These stories where often told at night as a form of escapism from the life of labor the slaves typically led. Though it was more importantly a way to preserve their cultural roots under the conditions of slavery. Most of these where morallity tales while others spoke of the origin of natural phenomenons with animals serving chiefly as characters. Harris latched onto these stories but also the storytellers. He saw a connection in regards to how he was treaties for his appearance and speech in school and how they where being treated for the color of thier skin and manner of speech. After the war Harris would go on to write for numerious other publications, most notably the Atlana Constitution in 1876 where he used his articles to press for racial reconceliation and he soon obtained a reputation as a progressive writer. Most notably he wrote the 'Uncle Remus Tales'; a series of short stories published in the paper centered around a fictional Uncle Remus with each issue having it's own short story. He based Uncle Remus on the storytellers he had become familiar with on Turner's plantation and used the paper to bring wider awareness of plantation folklore. They would prove popular enough for Harris to publish in book form via such publications as the 1880 'Uncle Remus: His Songs and His Sayings' as well as 1883's 'Nights with Uncle Remus' which where in a sense a memorium to the nights he shared listening to the story tellers back at Turner's plantation. These two publications became national successes and solidified Harris's notoriety in the 19th century. In 1908 Harris would pass away at 59 years of age.