Mickey Michaux

Henry McKinley "Mickey" Michaux Jr. (born September 4, 1930) is an American civil rights activist and Democratic member of the North Carolina General Assembly. He represented the state's thirty-first House district from 1983 to 2019 and previously served from 1973 through 1977. The district included constituents in Durham County. Upon his retirement, Michaux was the longest-serving member of the North Carolina General Assembly.[1] In the 2007-2008 session, Michaux served as senior chairman of the House Appropriations Committee and chairman of the House Select Committee on Street Gang Prevention.[2][3]

Henry M. "Mickey" Michaux
Member of the North Carolina Senate
from the 20th district
In office
January 13, 2020 – March 31, 2020
Preceded byFloyd McKissick, Jr.
Succeeded byNatalie Murdock
Member of the North Carolina House of Representatives
from the 31st district
In office
2003–2019
Preceded byRichard T. Morgan
Succeeded byZack Forde-Hawkins
Member of the North Carolina House of Representatives
from the 23rd district
In office
1985–2003
Preceded byGeorge W. Miller Jr.
W. Paul Pulley, Jr.
Kenneth B. Spaulding
Succeeded byJoe P. Tolson
United States Attorney for the Middle District of North Carolina
In office
1977–1980
PresidentJimmy Carter
Preceded byBenjamin H. White, Jr.
Succeeded byKenneth W. McAllister
Member of the North Carolina House of Representatives
from the 16th district
In office
1973 – July 18, 1977
Preceded byBobby W. Rogers
James D. Speed
Succeeded byA. J. Howard Clement, III
Personal details
Born
Henry McKinley Michaux

(1930-09-04) September 4, 1930
Durham, North Carolina
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseJune Michaux
ResidenceDurham, North Carolina
Alma materNorth Carolina Central University (BS, JD)
ProfessionAttorney, real estate, insurance

In 2020, at age 89, Michaux was appointed to fill a seat in the North Carolina Senate temporarily, following the resignation of Sen. Floyd McKissick, Jr.[4]

Personal life

Henry M. Michaux Jr. was born on September 4, 1930, to Henry M. Michaux and Isadore M. Coates in Durham, North Carolina, United States.[5]

Representative Michaux and his wife June have two children, Jocelyn and Cicero. He and his wife currently reside in Durham, North Carolina.[6]

Education

In 1948, Michaux attended Alice Freeman Palmer Memorial Institute in Sedalia, North Carolina. He later went on to attend North Carolina Central University in Durham, North Carolina, where he received both his Bachelor of Science in Biology in 1952 and his Doctor of Jurisprudence (JD) in 1964. Representative Michaux also did some graduate work in physiology and biochemistry at Rutgers University in New Jersey and in Business Administration and Economics at North Carolina Central University. He holds an Honorary Doctor of Laws from North Carolina Central University as well.[7]

Career

An attorney and businessman, Michaux is a native of Durham, North Carolina, and an alumnus of Durham's North Carolina Central University.[8] He served in the United States Army Medical Corps from 1952 to 1954 and in the Army Reserves from 1954 until 1960. In the 1950s, Michaux became involved with the civil rights movement, and established a close friendship with Martin Luther King Jr.[9] After serving as an assistant district attorney, he was elected to the North Carolina House of Representatives in 1972, having gone into politics at King's suggestion. In 1977, Michaux became the first black United States Attorney in the South since Reconstruction when he was appointed to head the office in the Middle District of North Carolina.[10] Following the confirmation of his appointment, Michaux resigned from the House of Representatives on July 18, 1977.[5] Leaving the attorney's office at the end of the Carter administration, Michaux ran for Congress in 1982. He returned to the state legislature in 1983.

He is currently still a practicing attorney and is partner at Michaux and Michaux Practicing Attorneys which was established in 1970.[7] Michaux is the current Vice President of Union Insurance and Realty Company and has held this position since 1955.[7]

Runoff election threshold

Michaux polled the most votes in the first round of the 1982 Democratic primary for Congress, but because no candidate received more than 50 percent of the vote, he was forced into a runoff with Tim Valentine. Valentine won the runoff, and Michaux returned to the state legislature. There, he pushed for the elimination of primary runoffs, and eventually the law was changed to lower the threshold to winning 40 percent to avoid a runoff. Had that law been in place and Michaux won the general election in 1982, he would have been the first African-American elected to Congress from North Carolina in the twentieth century.[11]

In 1992, Michaux lost the Democratic primary in the new 12th congressional district to Mel Watt.[12]

Awards and accolades

Representative Michaux was inducted into the Black College Alumni Hall of Fame in 2011.[7] His contributions have also been recognized by North Carolina Central University, which renamed its School of Education in his honor in 2007. Michaux has served three terms as the National President of the NCCU Alumni Association as well as terms as a member of the Board of Trustees and the Board of Directors of the NCCU Foundation, Inc.[13]

In November 2022, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper awarded Michaux the North Carolina Award, the highest civilian honor given by the state, for his public service.[14]

Memberships

Michaux holds memberships in the National Bar Association, North Carolina Bar Association, and the North Carolina Association of Black Lawyers.[7] While obtaining his undergraduate degree at North Carolina Central University, Michaux was a member of the Lampodas Club of Omega Psi Phi fraternity where he served as treasurer in 1949.[15]

References
  1. "H1470 [Edition 1]". www.ncleg.net. Retrieved Apr 4, 2021.
  2. Michaux Committee assignments
  3. "Primary Winner Murdock Appointed to North Carolina Senate". U.S. News. Associated Press. April 1, 2020. Gov. Roy Cooper formally appointed Natalie Murdock the day after Durham County Democratic activists meeting online chose her to succeed Sen. Mickey Michaux, who resigned from the seat earlier in the day.
  4. "Retired Rep. Michaux joining North Carolina Senate briefly". AP NEWS. Jan 13, 2020. Retrieved Apr 4, 2021.
  5. Cheney 1977, p. 413.
  6. "The Voter's Self Defense System". Vote Smart. Retrieved Apr 4, 2021.
  7. https://www.pollvault.com/polls/candidate/55334/mickey-michaux
  8. "Civil Rights Greensboro". libcdm1.uncg.edu. Retrieved Apr 4, 2021.
  9. https://www.heraldsun.com/news/local/counties/durham-county/article199194364.html
  10. Smothers, Ronald (May 3, 1992). "THE 1992 CAMPAIGN: Congressional Races; 2 Strangely Shaped Hybrid Creatures Highlight North Carolina's Primary". The New York Times. Retrieved Apr 4, 2021.
  11. News & Observer: Michaux battles to seat of power Archived 2008-06-29 at the Wayback Machine
  12. "Our Campaigns - NC District 12 - D Primary Race - May 05, 1992". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved Apr 4, 2021.
  13. "NCCU News | North Carolina Central University". www.nccu.edu. Retrieved Apr 4, 2021.
  14. "North Carolina Awards | NC DNCR". www.ncdcr.gov. Retrieved 2022-11-22.
  15. "The Maroon and Gray". Durham, N.C.: North Carolina Central University. Apr 4, 1949. Retrieved Apr 4, 2021 – via Internet Archive.

Works cited
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