The Honorable Henry McKinley "Mickey" Michaux

State representative H.M. “Mickey” Michaux Jr. was born on September 4, 1930 in Durham, North Carolina to William Thomas Henry McKinley Michaux Sr. and Isadore M. Coates. Michaux received his B.S. degree in biology in 1952 from North Carolina Central University in Durham, North Carolina, where he also played on the tennis team. In 1964, Michaux earned his J.D. degree from the North Carolina Central University School of Law.

After completing his B.S. degree in 1952, Michaux enlisted in the U.S. Army Medical Corps. He then served in the U.S. Army Reserves for six years beginning in 1954. During this period, Michaux was also actively involved with the civil rights movement and had a friendship with Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. In 1973, Michaux was elected to the North Carolina House of Representatives. Michaux was then appointed by U.S. President Jimmy Carter as a U.S. Attorney in 1977, making him the first African American U.S. Attorney in the South since the Reconstruction era. In 1983, Michaux returned to the North Carolina House of Representatives and served until 2019, making him the longest-serving member in North Carolina House of Representatives’ history. In 2020, Michaux was appointed as a temporary senator for the North Carolina State Senate.

Michaux served as a member of North Carolina Central University’s board of trustees, national president of the North Carolina Central University Alumni Association, director of the North Carolina Central University Foundation, Inc., and the fourth African American member to join the North Carolina Bar Association.

Throughout his career, Michaux received numerous awards and honors including an induction to North Carolina Central University’s Alex M. Rivera Athletics Hall of Fame in 1988, the Shepard Medallion from his alma mater, North Carolina Central University in 2010, an induction into the National Black College Alumni Hall of Fame in 2011, the John McNeill Smith Jr. Constitutional Rights and Responsibilities Section Award from the North Carolina Bar Association in 2019, the Distinguished Service Award from the Cook Society at Duke University in 2020, the North Carolina Award for Public Service from the State of North Carolina in 2022, and a Black History Month Honor from the North Carolina African American Heritage Commission in 2023. In 2007, the North Carolina Central University School of Education dedicated the H.M. Michaux, Jr. School of Education Building in his honor.

Michaux lives with wife, June Michaux, in Durham, North Carolina. They have two children and five grandchildren.

The Honorable H.M. “Mickey” Michaux Jr. was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on April 16, 2023, and April 22, 2023.