Aaron Henry of Mississippi

Morrison presents a comprehensive biography of Aaron Henry (1922–97), a civil rights activist, organizer, and elected representative from Dublin, MS, who began agitating for change after his military service in World War II. What sets Henry’s life apart from the traditional narrative, however, is the interplay of his personal and pragmatic grassroots leadership, especially when contrasted with the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) strategy of voter registration and focus on court wins along with other federal legal efforts.

What this work aims to accomplish, and does so in the best tradition of historical biography, is to detail Henry’s trajectory at the intersection points of the various local and national efforts of the civil rights era. The reader is shown the powerful effects of the grassroots efforts in Mississippi and the courage required of individuals to sustain such efforts.

VERDICT Essential for readers interested in and for collections focusing on the civil rights movement.

—Jim Hahn, Univ. Lib., Univ. of Illinois, Urbana
Library Journal, May 15, 2015

 

For more information, visit the Aaron Henry of Mississippi book page.