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Margaret Rose Henry speeches
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Held at: University of Delaware Library Special Collections [Contact Us]181 South College Avenue, Newark, DE 19717-5267
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the University of Delaware Library Special Collections. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.
Overview and metadata sections
The Honorable Margaret Rose Henry, elected in 1994 as the Delaware State Senator for the 2nd Senatorial District (Wilmington East), was born on June 20, 1944, in Rayne, Louisiana. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Texas Southern University in sociology and psychology and a Master of Arts degree from Springfield College in community leadership and development. She was the first African American woman to serve in the Delaware State senate.
In addition to serving as a Delaware State Senator, Margaret Rose Henry was an administrator at Ingleside Retirement Apartments in Wilmington, Delaware. Previously, she held the positions of the executive director for Girls, Incorporated, and senior allocations associate at the United Way of Delaware.
She has served on a number of committees in the Delaware Senate, including Bond Bill; Children, Youth & Their Families; Health & Social Services; Labor; and Public Safety. Her affiliations include serving on the boards of trustees of the Medical Center of Delaware and Wesley College (Dover), as a former chair of the Delaware State Arts Council, and as a former president of the Wilmington Chapter of Links, Inc. She has also been a member of the Governor's Commission on Families, the State Human Relations Commission, the Delaware Agency to Reduce Crime, the City of Wilmington Civil Rights Commission (chair), and the Board of Directors for Child, Inc.
In 1996 Senator Henry was in the news because of her decision to change political parties. Elected in 1994 as a Democrat running on the Republican ticket, she subsequently affiliated with the Republican Party. However, in 1996 Senator Henry returned her political allegiance to the Democratic Party.
Biographical information derived from the articles and clippings in F19.“State Senator Margaret Rose Henry Second Senatorial District, Wilmington, DE,” Blacks in Delaware http://www1.udel.edu/blacksindelaware/Henry.htm
The Margaret Rose Henry speeches comprise eighteen short political addresses delivered between 1994 and 1995 by the Delaware Senator to various constituent groups, primarily in Wilmington. These speeches clearly reflect Senator Henry's attention to issues of equity, civil rights, crime prevention, social services, and education for minority populations. Henry's speeches also reveal her strong understanding of and commitment to Black history and heritage. In addition to these typescript manuscripts the collection includes a folder of memoranda, articles, clippings, and programs; all of which are related to Margaret Rose Henry or her speeches.
The articles and clippings found in F19 chronicle aspects of Senator Henry's work in the Delaware State Senate, as well as providing material for speeches, such as poems by Paul Laurence Dunbar and Langston Hughes or information on the inner city. Also found in this folder is a memorandum from Margaret Rose Henry to Kim Burdick, a legislative research assistant in Dover, thanking her for her previous assistance and mentioning speeches for the Rotary Club (F9) and the National Council of Negro Women, Inc. (F10).
The speeches provide a sampling of addresses made by Margaret Rose Henry during her tenure as a Republican in the Senate and reflect her political concerns for equal justice and benefits for all citizens.
Records in this collection are arranged by date and subject of speech.
- Box 1: Shelved in SPEC MSS manuscript boxes (1 inch)
Gift of Kim Rogers Burdick, November 1996
Processed by Anita A. Wellner, 1996. Encoded by Katherine Riley, January 2018.
People
Subject
- African Americans--Education--Delaware--History--20th century
- Community development
- Political participation
- Women in community organization--Delaware--History--20th century
- Women legislators--United States
- African Americans--Delaware
Place
- Publisher
- University of Delaware Library Special Collections
- Finding Aid Author
- University of Delaware Library, Special Collections
- Finding Aid Date
- 2018 January 9
- Access Restrictions
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This collection is open for research.
- Use Restrictions
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Use of materials from this collection beyond the exceptions provided for in the Fair Use and Educational Use clauses of the U.S. Copyright Law may violate federal law. Permission to publish or reproduce is required from the copyright holder. Please contact Special Collections Department, University of Delaware Library, https://library.udel.edu/static/purl.php?askspec
Collection Inventory
This speech differs from the one found in F10.
This speech differs from the one found in F9. Completely different speech from the speech in F9. Delivered at the Wilmington Section, National Council of Negro Women, Inc. program, "Reflections and Visions: A Tribute to Our Founder Mary McLeod Bethune," in Wilmington, Delaware. Includes draft of the program and information.
This brief speech was delivered to University of Delaware graduates.
Similar to the speech found in F15
Margaret Rose Henry's remarks after she received an award from Girls, Inc.
Photocopies, tear sheets, and clippings of articles about Margaret Rose Henry and her service as a Delaware State Senator, 1994-1995. Also includes a list of the "Christina School District Parent Advisory Board," a copy of Paul Laurence Dunbar's poem "Black Samson of Brandywine," copies of poems by Langston Hughes, an article on the inner city, and a memorandum from Henry to Kim Burdick regarding her speeches.