CSI: NY star Harper '88 goes beyond the screen
Allison Wentz
Issue date: 2/13/08 Section: Campus News
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"It's much better and cooler to say, 'I went from the corner to the limo overnight,'" Harper said during the speech, video footage of which is posted on the Internet.
Harper is best known for his lead role in CSI: NY on CBS, several roles in Spike Lee films and an appearance on the Oprah Winfrey Show. But he hasn't limited himself to his acting career. The actor is also a philanthropist, business man, author and friend and supporter of presidential candidate Barack Obama.
Harper's philanthropic work provides mentoring for young men and women. He launched the MANifest Your Destiny Foundation, a non-profit organization that provides mentorship, grants and scholarships to disadvantaged young men.
A Brown alum with two advanced degrees from Harvard, Harper said he had access to certain "trade secrets about life, happiness, success, achievement" that others may not.
"Should someone's ability or resources stop them from getting certain information that many of us take for granted?" Harper said.
Harper said he also believes that literature can mentor troubled youth. Harper received many books from friends while he was growing up and in college that he found motivational, he said. He based his book partly on "Letters to a Young Poet," by Rainer Maria Rilke. He said he found Rilke's work particularly inspiring.
In the future, Harper and the MANifest Your Destiny Foundation plan to build a retreat center for inner city youth. Harper stated that often, for youth, "Your neighborhood becomes your experience." He said it is surprising how many kids living in the Bronx have never been to Manhattan.
"Taking someone out of their normal environment can often help open them up to new ideas," Harper said, adding that much of the material he covers with youth is not new. "Hearing (the same lessons) with different ears, that's the goal."