Shelley Berkley: “Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1279 is a bill to designate the Federal building in Clarksdale, Mississippi, as the Aaron Henry…”

“Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1279 is a bill to designate the Federal building in Clarksdale, Mississippi, as the Aaron Henry Federal Building and United States Courthouse. Dr. Aaron Henry was a civil rights pioneer, a thoughtful mentor, scholar, and great humanitarian. He led an active, committed, exemplary life. After attending local public schools, he joined the Armey in 1942 and was a veteran of World War II. After the war, he attended and graduated from Xavier University in New Orleans. In 1953, Dr. Henry organized the Coahoma County Branch of the NAACP, and served as the State NAACP president from 1960 to 1993. During the 1960s, he participated in the Freedom Rider Movement and in the Mississippi Freedom Summer's nonviolent campaigns of public protest. Dr. Henry served on numerous boards, such as the Executive Committee of the NAACP, the Federal Council on Aging, and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Acknowledging his contributions as a civil rights leader in 1979, the citizens of Coahoma County elected him to the Mississippi House of Representatives, where he was reelected in 1983 and 1987. Dr. Henry was instrumental in securing passage of legislation that created the Office of Economic Opportunity, and was a strong advocate and spokesman for the Job Corps and Head Start.”