February 2, 2024
by Rosalin Grace
Jeanette Harris
Choices with Jeanette
Jeanette Harris
Jeanette Harris and I met through a mutual friend who recognized that we had some similar interests and thought it would be good for us to collaborate with each other. Although my work was strictly internet-based, Jeanette’s field of expertise included radio and television broadcasting, which gave her a wider perspective on how to reach and captivate audiences. It was Jeanette Harris who persuaded me to make The Mississippi Club my primary focus instead of another avenue that I was considering. That piece of advice proved to be right on target, and I will be forever grateful to her for that. Her experience and insight not only helped me but numerous others who needed someone to steer them in the right direction.
Being a former Xerox employee and former
owner of a small business incubator initiative were stepping stones to
her later success as
Executive Producer and host of Choices with Jeanette.
In 1998, Choices with Jeanette debuted as a weekly
five-minute radio airing and grew to six 30-minute slots each week on
television. After moving to
television broadcasting, she continued her radio broadcasts with another
show, Business Week.
Choices with Jeanette has been on radio for over 15 years and on
television for over 12 years.
Jeanette has proven herself to be a leader in the industry.
She was dedicated to the community and helping to promote local
business owners. Her many
interviews with local entrepreneurs, artists, popular celebrities,
politicians, sports professions, health professionals, community leaders
and religious figures can be seen on her YouTube channel at
https://www.youtube.com/@CwithJ/videos.
One
of the things that Jeanette was very proud of, was being the daughter of
Early “Soul Man” Wright.
Although Early Wright was never married to Jeanette’s mother, Jeanette
felt certain that he was her biological father.
She based this belief on what her mother had told her at an early
age. She was born in
Clarksdale, Mississippi, and spent her early childhood there.
Mr. Wright became the first black disc jockey in Mississippi and
worked for Clarksdale’s WROX Radio, where he interviewed celebrities
such as Elvis Presley, Muddy Waters, B. B. King, Ike and Tina Turner and
Charley Pride. Jeanette
gives credit to Early Wright for her interest and pursuit of a media
career. She included lots of
information about Mr. Wright’s life and career on her Choices with
Jeanette website at
https://choiceswithjeanette.com/.
One
of the things I most admired about Jeanette Harris was her ability to
“make it happen”. She was a
go-getter that was always on the hustle to bring in the business that
would not only support her livelihood, but to also help her community.
It was never just about the revenue, but it was also very much
about helping people to succeed.
Her client’s success was very important to her.
Jeanette was also a woman of great faith.
She was very in tune with God and her Christian faith.
This is very evident in some of her published videos.
One of her videos, Forgiveness, can be seen at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClLxzGAyKR8.
She was not only concerned
about the community’s business success, but also their walk with God and
the saving of souls. Her
walk with God was very much intertwined with her business dealings.
Jeanette Harris’ passing will certainly be mourned and missed by the
community that she served over the years.
She provided a way for many to be heard and seen that would not
have had that opportunity otherwise.
Rest well, dear lady.
--Rosalin Grace
The Mississippi Club
February 2, 2024