Former NAACP president passes away in Ocala

TiAnna Harris poses with her adopted son, Jaxson, then 21 months old, at Jervey Gantt Park in Ocala on Nov. 20, 2021. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette file photo]

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Posted May 5, 2026 | By Susan Smiley-Height, [email protected]

Among her numerous professional accomplishments, including serving as president of the local Branch 5114 of the NAACP, TiAnna Harris was perhaps best known for the deep love she had for others, including the children she raised and those she mentored and supported.

After being diagnosed with endometriosis and having a hysterectomy at age 23, Harris, whose first married name was Greene, later became the mother of three children who were not biologically hers — Gerri-Ale Greene, Raykhia Thomas and ReJae Greene — and, in late 2021, she adopted Jaxson Greene.

A previous “Ocala Gazette” article from the time noted that she and her former husband had talked about adopting but didn’t follow through. After they divorced, she found fulfillment by helping friends and family members raise their three daughters.

Along the way, Harris served for more than 27 years with the Department of Juvenile Justice, obtained several higher education degrees, started a nonprofit and other organizations, and was a member of numerous boards within the community.

Harris passed away peacefully on April 28 in Ocala at the age of 51.

In February of 2025, Harris was inducted into the Black History Archives during the third annual Howard Academy Community Center Black History Awards Gala, along with Daniel Banks.

Davida Randolph, HACC program manager, introduced Harris and Banks. Their names were placed on a plaque in the Black History Museum of Marion County, located inside the community center at 306 NW 7th Ave., Ocala, and which is a program of Marion County Public Schools and is the home of the Black History Archives.

An “Ocala Gazette” article about the event noted that Harris served as 2018-2020 president of the NAACP of Marion County and was the third and youngest female to fill that role in the history of the organization. She also was the founder and CEO of Emerge2Solutions and worked with local youth and families for nearly three decades.

“She has been involved in aiding small businesses and founded the Marion County Black Business Network. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Florida and a master’s degree from Bethune-Cookman College and has served as a juvenile probationary officer supervisor for over 10 years,” the program detailed.

“She was my classmate. We graduated together in 1992; she from Vanguard High School and me from Forest High School. Ever since then, we have worked together in many capacities in our personal and professional lives. She wore so many hats,” Randolph said by phone on May 1. “The thing that we worked most closely on was working with our kids. She was an amazing person and when I tell you that my heart is broken by the fact that such a gem has been taken away is just… she was a gem… I don’t even know how else to put it.”

“We served on the Ocala Juneteenth Celebration Committee together and she was very instrumental in working with the Martin Luther King Jr. Day in the Park event, and the list just goes on. Wherever she could step in, she stepped in and did her part. It’s so much. She did everything she could to bridge the gap for youth in our community,” Randolph noted.

According to materials provided by Randolph, Harris was an Ocala native, “known to be an agent for change and advocating for collaborative efforts to benefit youth, families and the community in which she serves.”

Harris got her associate of arts degree from the College of Central Florida, a bachelor’s in sociology and a minor in education from the University of Florida and a master’s degree from Bethune-Cookman University. She served as vice president of student engagement for the UF Association of Black Alumni, Gainesville Chapter.

“TiAnna has served as the president of the Marion County Class of 1992, as a member of the State of Florida Probation Advisory Team and has been a juvenile probation officer supervisor for over 10 years. She is the founder of the Marion County Black Business Network. TiAnna has been recognized by various organizations in Alachua and Marion counties for her community involvement,” the material stated.

She also developed the countywide Young Ladies of Poise in 2015, which helped more than 200 girls in its three years of its existence and the Father’s of the Year Awards, spanning a period of four years.

In 2018, Harris became president of the local branch of the NAACP.

Sarah Greene, responding to a request to Branch 5114 officials on May 4, wrote via email that “Rev. Dr. Gamble, president, and all members of the NAACP branch, are saddened by her death.”

She also shared a letter written by Harris to the branch, dated Nov. 17, 2023, on the occasion of its 100^th anniversary.

“During my tenure as president of the branch, I served with pride, faith and commitment to the community as the third female president and the youngest of the three in the history of the branch. I accepted the role with these principals in mind, to educate ourselves and others on the historical works of African Americans to restore pride and dispel negative stereotypes, to maintain awareness about the issues that impact African Americans the most, bridge the gap in top areas that lack communication, especially between those who share a common goal of impacting our youth, and to never stop advocating for change and equality for all people to build a sustainable community with everyone in mind,” Harris wrote.

She noted that during her tenure, the branch worked with educators in the community, formed the #iGNITEthe MarionVote initiative and that she served as community committee chair for the 2020 census. The branch also increased its digital footprint and invited community organizations to meetings to discuss the services they provide.

JUNETEENTH CONNECTION

Sharington Houston, chair of the Ocala Juneteenth Celebration Commission, said by phone on Monday that this year’s event is set to take place on June 20 and that the annual scholarship will be renamed in honor of Harris.

“TiAnna was our vice chair. It’s a lot right now because I knew her with Juneteenth and also on a personal level. Everybody on the committee is kind of going through it but we are honored to be able to honor her as much as she supported this community. There are no words to describe how she impacted my life as a mentor and friend. She often coined me as her little sister,” Houston said.

“TiAnna was one of the original committee members who started the Ocala Juneteenth Celebration Committee and she was on board with the idea of being part of a group to educate the community as a whole about Juneteenth. She was an integral part of the scholarship committee and in addition to her many roles, especially that of being a mother and wife, the impact she had on at-risk youth was phenomenal,” she added. “She poured her heart into our at-risk youth not because it was part of her job with the Department of Juvenile Justice, but because she had a heart to do it.”

A DAUGHTER REMEMBERS

Speaking by phone on May 4, Gerri-Ale Greene had many fond memories of her mother, who she said raised her from infancy.

“Her and my mom were friends before I came about, and I ended up going to stay with her. She raised me and a family member’s daughter and one of my cousins, so she raised three of us, and then my little brother that she adopted, Jaxson. We’ve been through a lot all together,” Greene shared.

“From childhood on up, she made sure that I was in cheerleading. She made sure that everything I wanted was done. And she spoiled me, just the same way she did Jaxson and Raykhia and ReJae. It was times of laughter, we talked, she was here during my own process of adopting two children, Kalina and Koriona, so she does have two grandbabies that she loved,” Greene said.

“She taught me to hold my own. And that regardless of what anybody might tell me, that I am beautiful inside and out. She taught me how to be a woman; how to walk in my own turf,” she added.

In the midst of continuing to make preparations for her mother, Greene said, “Even preparing this service for her, it’s been hard, but I know that’s what she would have wanted, me to stay strong and endure and make sure about everything. She taught me about organization.”

“She raised me to be who I am today. And I am proud of who I have become. She was really strict on me, and it didn’t make sense at the time but now it does. How she was with me is how I am with my girls. I get it. She taught me a lot, to be who I am and not to be anybody different, not to let others change who I am,” Greene offered.

Greene also said that her mother “went back to school for us.”

“After she got her associate degree, she wanted us to know how to accomplish things, to conquer things regardless of what was going on. So, she went back to school for us. She wanted to show us that we could do it. She wanted to be a leading example. If I’m telling you to go college, she used to say, then I need to do it too. She proved that to me, that what I’m telling you to do, I’ve done it. She completed her bachelors and masters,” Greene explained.

Greene noted that her mother “had a lot accomplishments” and also was involved with Jack and Jill of America, Inc., along with Jaxson. According to its website, the organization, founded in 1938, has been committed to stimulating children’s growth and development through educational, cultural, civic, health, recreational and social opportunities. That dedication remains today as we work toward improving the quality of life for all children, particularly African American children. Greene said that Jaxson will now “stay with my grandmother, Audrey Clark.”

THE SERVICES

In addition to her children and grandchildren, Harris is survived by her husband Jonathan Harris and many other family members, as well as fur-babies Cairo, a miniature schnauzer, and Nylah, a Yorkie, Greene noted.

In announcing services, Greene wrote via social media: “We invite family and friends to join us in honoring and remembering a life so deeply loved. A wake and viewing will be held as we come together to share memories, offer comfort and celebrate the moments that will always stay with us.”

The wake and viewing will be held from 5:30-7:30 p.m. May 7 at Covenant Missionary Baptist Church, 606 SW Broadway St., Ocala.

The funeral will begin at 10:30 a.m. May 9 at The House of God, 2830 NW 27th Ave., Ocala.

“TiAnna Harris, also known in the community as TiAnna Greene, will be deeply missed by all who knew and loved her,” Greene wrote. “She was a source of love, strength and kindness, and her absence leaves a space that can never be filled.”