The David V. Harris papers are now available to researchers

The David V. Harris papers (M2918) have been processed and are now available to researchers. Documenting Harris’ anti-Vietnam War activism while a student at Stanford, his arrest and prison sentence for draft resistance, and his later career as an author and journalist, the collection connects to and supplements countless other holdings at Stanford. The collection was acquired in 2023 by Benjamin Lee Stone, the Curator for American and British History, with Josh Schneider, University Archivist. 

David Victor Harris (1946-2023) was born in Fresno, California, to Clifton Gordon Harris Jr. and Elaine Jensen Harris. After graduating as the Fresno High School Boy of the Year in 1963, Harris enrolled at Stanford University. There, he began to get involved with the civil rights movement and demonstrations against the Vietnam War. He was elected President of the Associated Students of Stanford University in 1966 on a so-called radical platform that included equal rights for male and female students and an end to the University’s cooperation with the Vietnam War. He made national news after a group of fraternity members at Stanford ambushed him and forcibly shaved his head. As he became more involved in the anti-war and resistance movements, Harris dropped out of Stanford. 

From Harris’ time as a student at Stanford, collection highlights include correspondence between Harris and his parents throughout his first semester, as well as freshman registration materials. Harris had considered joining the football team at Stanford and the collection includes a packet of information about freshman football with legendary coach Bill Walsh, who went on to coach the San Francisco 49ers and was the subject of Harris’ book, The Genius. The collection also includes newsclippings meticulously kept by Elaine Harris documenting David’s activism, his election as President of ASSU, and his involvement with draft resistance.

After Harris left Stanford, he was drafted and ordered to report for military duty in January 1968. He refused and was indicted on felony charges. Following a trial, he was sentenced to three years in federal prison. He was arrested in July 1969 and imprisoned in Safford, Arizona, and La Tuna, Texas. Prior to his imprisonment, Harris had married folk singer Joan Baez and their son, Gabriel, was born five months into his imprisonment. Harris was released from prison in March 1971. The collection includes posters and pamphlets distributed by the Resistance regarding peace and information about draft resistance, as well as pictures from rallies and demonstrations. One of the highlights of the collection from this period is the rich correspondence between Harris and his friends and family while he was incarcerated. In addition to his own writing, his parents kept much of the mail that they received in support of their son’s activism against the draft, as well as against his activities.

Harris went on to have a long career as an author and journalist, writing ten books and numerous articles for magazines including Rolling Stone and The New York Times Magazine. The bulk of the collection covers his writing activities and includes research conducted for the books, drafts with edits, annotated copies of sources, and extensive notes from interviews Harris conducted. Harris’ books spanned a number of topics, including reflections on the Vietnam War; Manuel Noriega and the US invasion of Panama; the fall of the Shah and the Iran Hostage Crisis; debates in the timber industry over California’s redwoods; and the San Francisco 49ers under Coach Bill Walsh during the 1980s. 

For as much as Harris wrote and researched stories, what is equally apparent in the collection is how much work went into stories and books that were never published or never written. These projects are in various states of completion: some include drafts of chapters and extensive research files, while others include only an initial survey of what resources on a topic were available. His final book, published in 2020, was a compilation of pieces he wrote for magazines spanning from the 1970s through the 1990s. He passed away from cancer in 2023.