Special to the Tri-State Defender

On a crisp, sunny Monday morning, several hundred people gathered in Batesville, Miss., for the renaming of the Batesville Job Corps Center to the Finch-Henry Job Corps Center.  Among the guests speakers for the event were Sen. Roger Wicker, Dr. Benjamin L. Hooks, chairman of MINACT Inc.’s board of directors, and Walt Hall, the Atlanta Regional Director of Job Corps.

Dr. Benjamin L. Hooks, chairman of MINACT Inc.’s board of directors, addresses an audience during the renaming of the Batesville Job Corps Center to the Finch-Henry Job Corps Center in Batesville, Miss. (Courtesy photo)

A welcome banner with the likeness of former governor Charles “Cliff” Finch and former representative Dr. Aaron Henry was on display at the entrance to the Job Corps Center.  In the gym where the program was held, mums and Easter lilies adorned the front of the stage and large portraits of Finch and Henry were placed nearby.

Colleagues and friends of Finch and Henry shared fond memories of the men with an audience of Job Corps students, staff and guests.  Finch, an attorney, served as governor of Mississippi from 1976 to 1980 and was known as the “working man’s friend.”  Henry, a pharmacist, was the state president of the NAACP for 33 years and a Mississippi legislator from 1979 to 1991.

Finch and Henry grew up within 50 miles of each other in Pope and Clarksdale, Miss., respectively.  Both men, known for their determination, endless work hours and commitment to improving the lives of Mississippians, forged an alliance to bring Job Corps to Mississippi at a time when southern governors would not sign legislation to do so.  

During the ceremony, Sen. Roger Wicker, who was instrumental in supporting the center’s name change, praised Finch for his hard work and dedication to any challenge he undertook.     

Wicker said, “Opponents might beat him, but they could not out-work him.”  

Finch’s former law partner, Atty. Charlie Baglan of Batesville, talked about how Finch always brought his lunch to work and the long hours he put in to keep up with the former governor’s boundless energy.  

Robert Clark, the first African American to win a seat in the Mississippi House of Representatives since reconstruction, said, “Finch always had an open door policy.  He was available to the people he served.  You didn’t need an appointment.”  

Derrick Johnson, state president of the NAACP, traveled throughout Mississippi with Dr. Henry and other members of the organization as a youth leader for the NAACP. Johnson said it was Dr. Henry who educated him about civil rights and gave his life purpose and meaning.  

Dr. Edwin King, a retired doctor and faculty member at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, who was injured during a Freedom Ride, said Dr. Henry educated him about the plight of African Americans in the South and talked about their lifelong friendship.  

Mayo Wilson, executive director of Coahoma Opportunities, Inc., who knew Henry well, and Mike Amis, former executive director of the Mississippi Agricultural and Industrial Board in the Finch Administration, spoke about the two men.   

Booker T. Jones, president of MINACT, Inc., expressed his excitement about renaming the center after “these two giants.”  MINACT is under contract with the Department of Labor to operate the Finch-Henry Center.  

Dr. Henry served as chair of MINACT’s board of directors.  Jones expressed his appreciation for the Mississippi delegation’s support in the renaming effort.

Dr. Hooks closed the program by talking about the bravery of Finch and Henry.  He said it was not politically expedient for Finch to support bringing Job Corps Centers to Mississippi.  The civil rights icon said it was only former President Jimmy Carter and former governor Finch who supported Job Corps.  

Dr. Hooks also spoke about Dr. Henry’s courage after being arrested 33 times as a civil rights leader and how Dr. Henry was forced to work behind a garbage truck while people laughed shortly after Jackson NAACP President Medgar Evers was assassinated.  

He said it was Dr. Henry’s unwavering faith in God that kept him focused on helping others despite the odds.  Speaking to the students, Dr. Hooks said, “it’s your turn now” to make a difference in the lives of others. The audience roared.

Finch passed away in 1986 and Dr. Henry died in 1997. Members of the Finch and Henry families received plaques recognizing their loved ones devotion to improving the lives of young people in Mississippi through their support of Job Corps.

The first Job Corps center in Mississippi was built in 1976 in Crystal Springs.  Finch wanted a Job Corps center near his home, so workers broke ground for the Batesville (now Finch-Henry) Job Corps Center in 1979.  There also is a Job Corps Center in Gulfport (operated by MINACT) that will reopen after suffering heavy damage from Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

The North Panola High School Concert Band, the South Panola High School High School Choir and the South Panola Junior ROTC participated in the ceremony.