Introducing Mr. Robert Harper

Robert Harper, MPP

Meda is Minnesota's largest CDFI and works to eliminate the disadvantages that minority businesses face in access to capital, management, and markets.

Ascend Twin Cities' newest leadership, Director of Supplier Development

by Martha Flores Perez

Ascend Twin Cities has a new leader in garnering support and opportunities for businesses owned by people of color: Robert Harper. His task is to quintuple Metropolitan Economic Development Association's (Meda) dollar impact on its businesses. Almost two years ago, George Floyd and, in turn, Minneapolis became the national spotlight. Every television channel kept reshowing the last minutes of Mr. Floyd's life. What happened to Minnesota? Mr. Harper says, "After the murder of George Floyd, here in the Twin Cities, social justice is on the forefront of many business transactions. It is a public pledge that many of our corporations are making. My responsibility now is to call on those corporations to help them align their business strategies with their espoused intent for racial equality." In other words, Mr. Harper's job centers around accountability. 

Robert Harper says that Supplier Diversity is a politically divisive topic. Its opposition is rooted in passive-aggressiveness, which is an indifference to the suffering of specific communities. It is Officer Chauvin's knee on Mr. Floyd's neck. Mr. Harper has a steep hill to climb in reaching Meda's goal. Nevertheless, he is optimistic, "I am really going to rely on allyship to outweigh the disadvantages and barriers that we face." He knows that this work can only be done through collaboration with networks like Ascend. He is eager to learn from other Ascend Cities and share best practices.

With a Master's degree in Public Policy from the University of Minnesota's Humphrey School of Public Affairs and a Bachelor's degree from Augsburg University in Sociology and Criminal Justice, Mr. Harper is a first-generation graduate. His upbringing in South Chicago and identity are what inspire his work daily. He walks by Professor Eddie Glaude's words. "Our task is not to save them (the opposition) or to convince them to give up their views that White people ought to matter more than others. Our task is to build a world where such a view has no quarter to breathe.” With that wisdom, Mr. Harper approaches his work in Supplier Development.