Mickey Michaux

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Henry McKinley "Mickey" Michaux Jr. (born September 4, 1930) is an American

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

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

Works cited

• Cheney, John L. Jr. (1977). North Carolina Manual. Raleigh: North Carolina Secretary of State.
  OCLC 1245537
  .

• Official state Senate page
• 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