Welcome! Thank you for visiting my website! I hope your visit here inspires you to embrace “Good Trouble,” famously said by our late Congressman, John Lewis!
Welcome! Thank you for visiting my website! I hope your visit here inspires you to embrace “Good Trouble,” famously said by our late Congressman, John Lewis!
I have had my share of personal and professional situations where I took a stand against injustice first-hand. When I joined the Hammond (IN) Police Department, I was the second Black female officer hired on the police force, 23 years after the first. During my tenure in the department, I was often the only Black female patrolling the streets. This experience taught me strength, endurance, and the importance of trusting my judgment.
In many other situations throughout my life and career, I often found myself to be the first, the only, or one amongst a few. I stood firm in my expectations of being treated equally, having a voice and exercising my God-given right to take up space unapologetically. My service and advocacy that everyone be treated fairly, regardless of race, gender, religion, disability or other differences did not come without a price; but I knew there was God. I know that God did not allow my tribulations to happen in vain. He was preparing me for my assignment.
You, too, have a platform – your voice. Allow yourself to be a vessel for positive change and utilize your gifts for useful, impactful transformation within you and transcend the possibilities you dare to imagine. Let your light shine!
“Let your light so shine before men that they may see your moral excellence and your praiseworthy, noble and good deeds and recognize and honor and praise and glorify your Father who is in heaven,” Matthew 5:16 [AMPC].
About Rita La Terese Harper
Rita La Terese Harper, CEO and Owner of Square Root Justice, is a consummate professional passionate about the pursuit of justice. Her peers describe her as a “woman of unquestionable integrity,” a “tenacious investigator,” someone “who deeply cares for people and the welfare of others,” and a person “never giving up – willing to go the extra mile.” Rita is a native of Gary, Indiana, and received her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science with a Criminal Justice Option from Purdue University-Calumet (PUC), Hammond, IN. Rita was a PUC student-athlete earning NAIA All-American and NAIA Academic All-American accolades during her career and was inducted into the PUC Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2011.
With a heart to serve others, she became the 2nd Black female Police Officer at the Hammond Police Department where she served years in the Patrol Division. Rita advanced her law enforcement career to the federal level when she became a Special Agent/Criminal Investigator with the United States Government. Rita enjoyed pursuing justice for others with a career in government service spanning twenty years.