Charles L. Harper understands disadvantage. It was his personal drive and love for learning that pushed him to leave inner-city Detroit in the early 1950s, join the U.S. Navy, earn degrees in psychology from Wayne State University and the University of Detroit, and enjoy a successful career as a clinical psychologist. When growing up in Detroit, Michigan that served as a “way station” for many Blacks migrating from the south to the north in the United States, the young Charles always had the desire to “Finish Well.” This life motto for success has also obviously been adopted by his son and countless others.

Living up to his life’s motto wasn’t always easy for Charles Harper. He dropped out of high school in Detroit at the age of 17 to join the navy. According to his son, “He left high school because he felt he was mentally wasting away without academic choices in school beyond wood shop, metal shop, and machine shop. In fact, he had been encouraged by his teachers to get a job at the post office.” Charles was raised by his Uncle Hop, who had very high expectations for his young nephew, hoping he might someday become a doctor. “However,” Jeffrey said, “the family was trapped living in inner-city Detroit without options for a quality public or private education.” Charles’s career with the navy and coast guard spanned 20 years, during which a few interactions altered the course of his life, providing him with unexpected opportunities. Jeffrey explained, “Stationed on the U.S.S. Coral Sea, Midway, and Hancock aircraft carriers, my dad faced the normal segregation and discrimination for that time, and it didn’t take long for him to get fed up with how he was treated. As a result of one incident, he ended up in the Hancock commander’s office facing disciplinary action. But contrary to what was expected, the commander was impressed by my dad, and he assigned him to an aircraft maintenance group, where he learned to tear down and build aircraft engines. Eventually, he had an opportunity to join Coast Guard Aviation.” In the Coast Guard, Charles was stationed in New York City, and he passed Brooklyn College every day on the way to work. One day, according to Jeffrey, he walked into the school and met with the president. He explained that even though he had dropped out of high school, he knew he would be a success at college. Jeffrey said, “The president gave him a chance to take four classes—two math classes, an English class, and a writing class. If he passed those classes, the president would allow him an admission. The rest is history.” Charles began his higher education in Brooklyn, finishing his undergraduate studies and, ultimately, became the first black person to earn a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Detroit.

Charles has served as a strong role model for his son Jeffrey, who is an entrepreneur and international energy executive. The Harper men have many things in common. According to Jeffrey, “Both my dad and I share a common self-motivation and a love for learning, but the most critical thing we share is the continual quest for opportunity, which led us both to moments of predestination that changed our lives.” And now, in honor of his father, the younger Harper has used these qualities to found Charles Harper Charities (CHC) with the aim of introducing disadvantaged youth to the world of nuclear engineering.