THE VFA PIONEER HISTORIES PROJECT
Erma Henderson
1917 – 2009
“Opponents tried to tell me who I was and why I would not win. I replied to them that ‘I may be poor, and I am African American, and I am a woman, and I am going to win this election.’ So think carefully about who you are.”
Politician, social activist, author. Executive Director of the Equal Justice Council, 1968. First African American to serve on the Detroit City Council, 1972. Elected President of the Detroit City Council by fellow members in 1977, serving 12 years in that role. As councilwoman, she lobbied for equal rights, especially targeting discriminatory loan and insurance practices, called redlining, in which minority recipients were given less favorable rates, terms and conditions. In 1975 she organized the Michigan Statewide Coalition Against Redlining, which led to comprehensive state legislation that outlawed the practice.
Photo 1. Erma Henderson announces her run for Mayor in 1989 (photographer John Collier). Photo 2. Down Through The Years: The Memoirs of Detroit City Council President Emeritus Erma Henderson, 2004
More About Erma:
- Governor Jennifer M. Granholm Statement on the Passing of Erma Henderson, December 14, 2009
- The Passing Of The Matriarch Erma Henderson, The Michigan Chronicle, December 2009
- Erma Henderson is highlighted in the film Passing the Torch, a documentary produced by Michael Rose Productions, Inc. – a behind the scenes look at the role Michigan women played in one of the most profound social movements of the 20th Century.
- Michigan Women Forward
- Down Through the Years, the Memoirs of Detroit City Council President Emeritus, by Erma Henderson, 2004
- The Detroit Historical Society
- Detroit African-American history project Wayne State University. Walter P. Reuther Library
- Erma Henderson – First Black Woman Elected To Detroit City Council, Click on Detroit
- 1989 Detroit Black Journal Interview: Erma Henderson