Clyde Harris Sr., one of the seven black men who broke the race barrier at the Vicksburg Police Department in the 1960s, was remembered Tuesday as being fair, dedicated, loyal and a mentor to younger officers.

“He was very instrumental in guidance,” said Bobby Stewart, who signed on as a patrolman in 1989. Harris was captain in charge of patrol.

“He would tell you when you did right and he would tell you when you did wrong,” said Stewart, today a captain and chief of investigations for the department.

Harris, who died Sunday at University Medical Center in Jackson at 75, joined the VPD in August 1968.

He was among the group of black officers who referred to themselves as The Lucky Seven, which members described as sort of a fraternal organization. Only one member, James “Boo” Chiplin, is still alive. He lives in Jackson.

They were not allowed to write tickets to whites, frequently were treated poorly in the community and all had to use the same patrol car, members said in later years.

“You want to know the truth? It was hell,” Harris said in 2004. “They called us all ‘VP-4’ because we all drove the same car.”

For Harris, it would have been easy to quit, but he persevered and turned his passion for police work into a career spanning three decades. He retired in 1999 as captain of the patrol division.

In 2000, he became the first retired police officer to join the City of Vicksburg’s Civil Service Commission.

Two members of The Lucky Seven — Herman “Billy” Redick and Roosevelt Bunch — were hired in 1962, two years before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed and required integration, said former Chief A.J. “Buddy” Holliday.

“Vicksburg was fairly progressive as far as when they hired them,” said Holliday, who joined VPD in 1968 and today is a deputy with the Warren County Sheriff’s Department.

Sheriff Martin Pace was an intern at VPD while in college, and Harris was his watch commander.

“He was just a very dedicated professional peace officer,” Pace said. “He was always ready and able to support his fellow officers.”

Though he recently had become ill, Harris continued to serve on the civil service board, said his wife, Mattie Harris.

“He was very faithful to this city,” she said.

Former Alderwoman Gertrude Young recommended Harris for the Civil Service Commission in 2000.

“We thought he had such a wealth of knowledge and great leadership, and everybody knew him to be fair,” Young said.

Harris also served 25 years in the U.S. Army Reserves and “was at Old Miss when they brought in James Meredith,” his wife said.

When he wasn’t serving the community, family members said, he was cooking, spending time with his family or serving as a deacon at Holly Grove M.B. Church.

“He was the best father a man could ever ask for,” said Clyde Harris Jr.

Funeral services for Clyde Harris Sr. are pending with Lakeview Funeral Home.