In this op-ed for Black History Month, writer and Harvard Law student Noah Harris reflects on his time as student body president at Harvard and the bridge-builders who helped get him there.
What is the bridge builder’s place in history? The annals of Black history are filled with these figures who began the work when the end goal seemed impossible. Jesse Jackson was one of history’s great bridge builders. While they themselves may not achieve the ultimate goal, bridge builders put their heads down and run their leg of the race, knowing someone else may cross the finish line. Bridge builders aren’t concerned with personal glory but are transfixed with the never-ending pursuit of change. This Black History Month, and all year round, we must all strive to build bridges, whether or not we stand to benefit.
In 2020, I became Harvard’s first Black male student body president in the school’s then-386-year history. As a student of government and history, not for a second did I think this accomplishment was due to any major racial progress I inspired: the first person to do anything stands on the foundation lain by bridge builders. The very school that elected me required W.E.B. DuBois to repeat his undergraduate classes because Harvard deemed inferior his 1888 degree from Fisk University. Instead of going elsewhere, DuBois became a bridge builder once he completed his undergraduate degree in two years and later became the first African American to earn a PhD from Harvard.
Breaking barriers requires the perseverance of bridge builders. Without the work of Charles Hamilton Houston, there would not have been a Thurgood Marshall to end school segregation. Without Constance Baker Motley, there would not have been a Ketanji Brown Jackson to serve on the Supreme Court. Without the late Jesse Jackson, who died on Feb. 17, 2026, there would not have been a Barack Obama to be elected President of the United States.
Jackson’s presence in Black history has been monumental. He was there in 1968 on the balcony of Lorraine Motel, pointing in the direction of the killer, after Dr. King’s assassination in Memphis. He was there in 2008 in Grant Park, tears running down his face, as he witnessed President Obama’s election in Chicago. Jackson has seemingly always been there at so many history-defining moments that are seared into the American consciousness.
There’s nothing flashy about bridge building. Many want to make history. Few want to build a bridge. Black History Month cannot simply be about those who made history: it has to honor those who made history possible. Harriet Tubman. Frederick Douglas. John Lewis. Bridge-builders open doors. They don’t shut them. These exceptional figures plan for those who come next: even when it’s not convenient.
Bridge building, by nature, is generational. The world is lacking bridge builders. The aging top CEOs and politicians who retire with the torch and never pass it are failing to build bridges for the next generation.
Bridge-building doesn’t require a social movement. Sometimes advocating for change to everyday issues can make all the difference. As I returned to Harvard for law school last year, it was fulfilling to see all the benefits students enjoy that our presidential administration fought for. Laundry is free. Double majors are allowed. Lyft is a procurement partner of the University. Female hygiene products are in every bathroom. The New York Times is free for all 20,000+ undergraduate and graduate students. Who are you paving the way for today? Are you only striving for your success? You can be a bridge builder if you fight for a better world for your children and your grandchildren. What problems are we leaving to the next generation? Choose to be a bridge builder. Choose to be like Jesse Jackson.
