Mickey Michaux

Mickey Michaux
Member of the North Carolina House of Representatives from the 31st district
In office 1983 – present
Personal details
Born	September 4, 1930 (1930-09-04) (age 81) Durham, North Carolina
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	June
Residence	Durham, North Carolina
Alma mater	North Carolina Central University
Profession	attorney, real estate, insurance
Religion	Methodist

Henry M. "Mickey" Michaux, Jr. (born 1930) is a Democratic member of the North Carolina General Assembly representing the state's thirty-first House district since 1983. He previously served from 1973 through 1977. His district includes constituents in Durham County. As of 2008^[update], Michaux is the longest-serving African American 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]

Career

An attorney and businessman, Michaux is a native of Durham, North Carolina and an alumnus of Durham's North Carolina Central University.^[3] He served in the United States Army Medical Corps from 1952–1954 and in the Army Reserves from 1954 until 1960. He was an assistant district attorney before being elected to the North Carolina legislature in 1972. 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.^[4] Leaving that post at the end of the Carter administration, Michaux ran for Congress in 1982.

Runoff election threshold

Michaux polled the most votes in the first round of the Democratic primary, 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 in 1982, Michaux would have been the first African-American elected to Congress from North Carolina in the twentieth century.^[5]

In 1992, Michaux lost the Democratic primary in the new 12th congressional district to Mel Watt.^[6]

The School of Education at North Carolina Central University was renamed the H. M. Michaux, Jr. School of Education in his honor in 2007.^[7]

References

1. ^ Session 2001, House General Resolution 1470, General Assembly of North Carolina
2. ^ Michaux Committee assignments
3. ^ Civil Rights Greensboro: Henry M. Michaux, Jr.
4. ^ New York Times: "THE 1992 CAMPAIGN: Congressional Races; 2 Strangely Shaped Hybrid Creatures Highlight North Carolina's Primary"
5. ^ News & Observer: Michaux battles to seat of power
6. ^ OurCampaigns.com: NC District 12 - D Primary
7. ^ NCCU press release

External links

• North Carolina General Assembly - Representative Henry M. Michaux, Jr. official NC House website
• Raleigh News & Observer profile
• Oral History Interview with H. M. Michaux at Oral Histories of the American South
• Project Vote Smart - Representative Henry M. 'Mickey' Michaux Jr. (NC) profile
• Follow the Money - H M (Mickey) Michaux Jr
  • 2008 2006 2004 2002 2000 1998 1996 campaign contributions

Persondata
Name	Michaux, Mickey
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1930-09-04
Place of birth	Durham, North Carolina
Date of death
Place of death