Speakers remember Henry's good works

The Rev. France Davis remembers the first phone call he received from Alberta Henry.

She wanted his help on a project after he had spoken on civil rights at the Ogden Branch NAACP, shortly after he arrived in Utah in 1972.

"Every time I looked around, she continued to call, until just the other day," Davis said.

Alberta Mae Hill Henry, 84, died of cancer Wednesday, May 11, 2005. She was laid to rest Tuesday, but her legacy lives on in the lives she touched as a longtime educator and president of the Salt Lake Branch NAACP.

Davis told hundreds of mourners at Calvary Baptist Church Tuesday that Henry "never, never, never gave up."

Those who spoke at Henry's funeral challenged mourners to honor Henry's legacy by continuing to work toward an equal and just society.

"I suggest to you we are better off today, because she kept the faith," Davis said.

Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson said, "Alberta Henry's life is an example for all of us.

"Her huge heart and brilliant smile . . . inspired us," Anderson said. "She never chose the safe road. . . . She was unafraid to fight for justice, even if the cause was highly controversial."

Michael Styles, director of the Utah Office of Black Affairs, said Henry "turned a rebel-without-a-clue into a soldier-with-a-cause. . . . I just want Mrs. Henry to know we'll continue to stand and to fight the good fight."

Henry never intended to stay in Salt Lake City when she moved here from Topeka, Kan., in 1949 to recover from an illness, Davis said. But he remembers she often said, "God wouldn't let me leave here."

A few of Henry's contributions since then include:

• She led the the Salt Lake Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People for 12 years.

• She started the Alberta Henry Education Fund in 1967, which still helps disadvantaged students pay for college.

• She created the Opportunities Industrial Center, which for 11 years helped retrain workers and lift people from dead-end jobs.

• She fought for fair housing and worked for a Martin Luther King Jr. holiday and street.

• She challenged the death sentence of William Andrews, who was executed in 1992.