Hill Harper '88 doesn't believe Diddy's rags-to-riches story. On a tour promoting his book, "Letters to a Young Brother: MANifest Your Destiny," Harper told an audience that the successful rapper, whose real name is Sean Combs, rarely mentions his time at Howard University in Washington, D.C., and as an unpaid intern with a major record label.
"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."
Harper's present work focuses mainly on the mentorship of young men because "young men are suffering in many urban areas," Harper said. "A lot of young men don't know how to ask for help either," he added.
Harper wrote his second book with young women in mind. Gathering many contributions from women he knows, Harper wrote "Letters to a Young Sister: DeFINE Your Destiny," which is due in stores June 3.
Harper's interest in mentoring began early, according to friend and business partner Sean Cummings '87.
"Hill has always had a keen interest in mentoring, and, in fact, we were both Big Brothers when we were in Rhode Island," Cummings said. "We spent a lot of time particularly using sports as a way to teach and mentor a couple of kids in the Providence area." Now, Harper and Cummings co-own two hotels in New Orleans.
Harper's acting credits include appearances in independent films, off-Broadway productions and TV shows such as the Sopranos.
Harper attributes most of his multi-faceted resume to his experience at Brown.
"The curriculum is wonderful because it allowed me to try so many different things I was interested in and that's why, ultimately, I was able to pursue so many diverse interests," he said.
"Brown introduced me to theater," Harper added. He recalled taking a theater arts class for the first time at the University.
"If it wasn't for Brown, I probably wouldn't even be an actor now," Harper said.
