Notable New Orleanians: A Tricentennial Tribute

C HINK
H ENRY
(1910-1974)
Clarence “Chink” Henry spent his working life on the docks of New Orleans. An African-
American, he was an important mid-twentieth century force in the International Longshoremen’s
Union, with a legacy of pride and community involvement. “Chink” Henry started working on the
docks in 1927 and became president of the African-American Local 1419 in 1954.
The port depended on the longshoremen who stowed or unloaded cargo. Before container ships
and their successors, the local cargo was mainly “break bulk.” Bales of cotton, stalks of bananas,
bags of coffee beans and sugar: muscle power filled ships’ holds and workers’ pockets. New
Orleans longshoremen, from before World War II into the 1970s, were well paid and respected in
their own communities.
After the Civil War, newly freed African-American and white waterfront workers marched
together for higher wages. Although they worked together during 1892 and 1907 actions, for most
of the twentieth century there were two longshoremen union locals, racially divided. Henry’s Local
1419 was larger than the white local. Besides presiding over his membership, Henry oversaw their
community involvement. The I.L.A. Union Hall at 2700 South Claiborne Avenue was built by
Local 1419 at a cost of $500,000. New Orleans architects Laurence and Saunders designed the
building in 1959. The building, now gone, was clad in green marble with white markings and had
an elaborate truss system on its top that resembled the super structure of a cargo ship.
The African-American longshoremen felt a special responsibility to their community. Their
extensive membership boasted both family and friendly ties throughout the city. Henry’s grand
union hall hosted political activities, civil rights organizations (including the Southern Christian
Leadership Conference), and provided a venue for groups unable to find or afford other places in
the city: gay Mardi Gras balls and African-American high school proms were welcomed.
“Chink” Henry died in 1974 after a brief illness. By then he was part of the city’s establishment and
had been the first African-American appointed to what was then called the Domed Stadium
Commission. From his election as president of Local 1419 in 1954, he won every subsequent election
and was serving his Local 1419 at the time of his death. In 1980, U.S. District Court Judge Frederick
J. R. Heebe ordered the merger of the white and black ILA Local unions. He is memorialized by the
“Chink” Henry Truckway, the heavily trafficked truck route behind the flood walls along the
Mississippi River docks.
—Carolyn G. Kolb
Troy (Chink) Henry.
COURTESY OF HIS SON, TROY HENRY.
For further reading see Dave Well and Jim Stodder, “Short History of New Orleans Dockworkers,” Radical America,
January-February, 1976., Philip S. Foner, Organized Labor and the Black Worker, 1619-1981. Chicago: Haymarket Books,
2017 edition reprint.
Eric Arnesen, Waterfront Workers of New Orleans: Race, Class, and Politics, 1863-1923. New York: Oxford University Press,
1991. The Times-Picayune, May 2, 1974; obituary, May 3, 1974.
New Orleans Item, June 20, 1945.
J. SKELLY W RIGHT
(1911-1988)
United States District Court Judge James Skelly Wright issued the orders that integrated much of New
Orleans, notably the public schools. His reward was opprobrium from a large part of the white community,
but his orders led to the integration of the city’s public institutions. Besides opposing segregation, he
defended consumers, labor unions, and in the case of the Pentagon Papers, freedom of the press.
BIOGRAPHIES
111