Mike Levin: “Mr. Speaker, I first saw Aaron Henry in action in the 1960s, in the battle within the Democratic Party, and at the…”

“Mr. Speaker, I first saw Aaron Henry in action in the 1960s, in the battle within the Democratic Party, and at the convention of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party for Equality and for Integration. In the early 1970s, I had the opportunity to work with him in Mississippi as part of what we called the Mississippi-Michigan Alliance. It was an effort to spark registration within Mississippi, and to try to make sure that all voices there were heard. During those joyful days that I spent with him at his home with his beloved family and at his drugstore on Fourth Street, I had the chance to come to know him firsthand. Aaron Henry had a dream, a dream of an integrated America, a dream where everybody counted. He lived to achieve that dream. He lived a life of good works. He was instrumental in the founding of the NAACP in Mississippi. He also, as we know, as we have heard, ran for office in Mississippi and was elected to the House of Representatives, which was a proud day for Mississippi. Aaron Henry came a good long way in his life, and America has come a considerable way on that path of an integrated America because of the likes of Aaron Henry.”