The Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change
Henry, Aaron
b. 1922 - d. 1997
Aaron Henry was a Mississippi civil rights leader. A pharmacist by training, he joined the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in 1954 and became the state president in 1959. He helped found the Council of Federated Organizations (COFO) and the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP). In the mock Mississippi Freedom Vote of 1963, Henry ran for governor of Mississippi with Tougaloo College Chaplain Ed King running for lieutenant governor. In 1964, 1968 and 1972, Henry led public challenges at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) to the all-white delegations from Mississippi. He was part of an integrated delegation from Mississippi to the DNC in 1976. In 1982, Henry was elected to the Mississippi House of Representatives and served in that position until 1996.
Associated Archive Content : 8 results
Article Regarding New Head Start ProjectHead Start is Shifted to College and Politics Behind OEO's Cutoffs.The two articles depicted provide details on the relationship between the Office of Economic Opportunity and the funds being cut off from the Child Development Group to be given to a small Mississippi college. |
How Much Head Start for Mississippi's Children?Kay Longcope describes the current status of the Child Development Group of Mississippi following the decision to pull funding for the program made by the Office of Economic Opportunity. |
Letter from Bill Kunstler to MLKFamed civil rights attorney William Kunstler states that this was the first time a federal court enjoined prosecution of contempt cases under a state injunction. He would like to use the same procedures in Mississippi. |
Letter from Matthew Schechter to MLK Regarding NAACPMr. Schechter encloses correspondences between hm and the NAACP regarding Dr. King's comments on the Vietnam War and the civil rights movements. Mr. Schechter is returning his membership card due to the NAACP's "uncalled for commentary" concerning Dr. King. Mr. Morsell, Assistant Executive Director of the NAACP, informs Mr. Schechter that the NAACP took a position on the issue because of numerous requests they received from local members and leaders. |
Letter from MLK to Wesley FisherDr. King expresses his appreciation for the kind letter from Mr. Fisher. He also informs him that Aaron Henry has been absent and will probably reply about some donated clothing upon his return. |
New York Post: A Poor ShowThe Child Development Group in Mississippi (CDGM) was a head start project created in 1965 with the help of a federally funded grant. The program not only specialized in child development, but sought to increase community involvement. In late 1966, Mississippi Senator Stennis "opened fire" on the program, charging those involved with malpractice. Consequently, Sargent Shiver, Director of the Office of Economic Opportunity, formed a "more respectable anti-poverty unity" called Mississippi Action for Progress to takeover CDGM. |
People to People: Something Happening in MississippiIn this article for the New York Amsterdam News, Dr. King discusses the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, a group of Negroes from Mississippi who displayed the power of nonviolence by challenging the seating of the state's all-white regular Democratic delegation at the 1964 Democratic Convention. |
Telegram from Charles Evers to MLKThis telegram, from board members of MAP, expresses their dissatisfaction with Dr. King's comments regarding refunding efforts of the Child Development Group of Mississippi. |