Jo Comerford, Executive Director of the 
James Harney, 1940–2008
Portrait of Jim Harney by Robert Shetterly
We received this notice from Kelly Bellis this morning, and wanted to pass it along to you.
Our beloved compañero Jim Harney died at 10:45 PM Friday, December 26, 2008.
James William Harney
1940–2008
Like a cool breeze against your cheek or the sculpting power
of torrential waters, Jim Harney was a force of nature. His
intense reverence for the sanctity of life catapulted him from
the priesthood to prisoner to prophet, and over time and
space, took him to the violence and victims in El Salvador to
the starving in a Haitian landfill and to so many other places
where, as he termed it, the crucified of this world reside. He
always returned home with riveting stories of their struggle, of
their indomitable spirits, and thanks early on to sisterly
advice, he returned with powerful images of the people he
met along this remarkable journey. Jim’s long career as a
photojournalist was secondary to his love for humanity and
his efforts of educating Americans through countless talks he
gave in living rooms, schools and churches across this
country about the harrowing lives of people crushed by war
and poverty. Through his stories spoken in a strong
passionate voice, or his penetrating photographs of souls laid
bare, Jim sought unendingly to help bring about justice, and
in particular, to those upon whose backs, hands and throats
Mammon has so brutally trodden. The last vestiges of Jim’s
vitality were spent walking from Boston to West Warwick,
Rhode Island in support of the undocumented while drawing
attention to the suppressive economic forces that compel the
marginalized of society to risk literally life and limb in coming
to America. Though the cancers in his throat, lungs and head
prevented him from completing the walk to Washington, D.C.
and that ultimately claimed his life, his work through
Posibilidad, the organization that he helped create, is sure to
continue.
Jim Harney, PRESENTE!
Jim Harney collage thanks to Kelly Bellis
Posted
on
Saturday, December 27th, 2008 at 2:33 pm under
