Michael E. Haynes (May 9, 1927 – September 12, 2019) was an American minister and politician in the state of

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

. His parents, Gustavus and Edna, were immigrants from Barbados.The Reverend Dr. Michael E. Haynes
''

Twelfth Baptist Church The Twelfth Baptist Church is a historic church in the Roxbury neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. Established in 1840, it is the oldest direct descendant of the First Independent Baptist Church in Beacon Hill. Notable members have included ab ...

'', September 9, 2019. Retrieved March 9, 2023.

Education and career

He was educated at

Boston English High School The English High School in Boston, Massachusetts, founded in 1821, is one of the first public high schools in the United States. Originally called The English Classical School, it was renamed upon its first relocation in 1824.''Encyclopædia Bri ...

, graduating in 1944, and earned his bachelor's degree from New England School of Theology in 1949. He later completed graduate studies at

Shelton College Shelton College was a private, Christian college, Christian, liberal arts college that was located in Cape May, New Jersey, Cape May, New Jersey. It was involved in a landmark case requiring religious schools to acquire a state license to grant a ...

. He served in the

Massachusetts House of Representatives The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into ...

from 1965 to 1968, representing

Roxbury, Massachusetts Roxbury () is a Neighborhoods in Boston, neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Roxbury is a Municipal annexation in the United States, dissolved municipality and one of 23 official neighborhoods of Boston used by the city for ne ...

. Haynes was appointed to the state parole board by Governor

Francis Sargent Francis Williams Sargent (July 29, 1915 – October 22, 1998) was an American politician who served as the 64th governor of Massachusetts from 1969 to 1975. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 63rd lieutenant governo ...

. He was also a member of the Boston Mayor's Committee on Violence and the Attorney General's Advisory Committee on Drug Addiction. He was pastor at

in Roxbury from 1964 to 2004. During the 1960s and 1970s Haynes played an active role in the civil rights movement. In 1965, he helped plan

Martin Luther King Jr Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister, civil and political rights, civil rights activist and political philosopher who was a leader of the civil rights move ...

.'s entrance into Boston when he came to speak on

Boston Common The Boston Common is a public park in downtown Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest city park in the United States. Boston Common consists of of land bounded by five major Boston streets: Tremont Street, Park Street, Beacon Street, Charl ...

that spring. The major focus of King's speech on April 23 was

school desegregation In the United States, school integration (also known as desegregation) is the process of ending race-based segregation within American public, and private schools. Racial segregation in schools existed throughout most of American history and ...

in Boston. The Haynes Early Education school located in Roxbury was named in his honor. On November 9, 2006,

Northeastern University Northeastern University (NU or NEU) is a private university, private research university with its main campus in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was founded by the Boston Young Men's Christian Association in 1898 as an all-male instit ...

President Joseph E. Aoun met with members of the Black Ministerial Alliance of Massachusetts to discuss possible collaborations between Northeastern and Lower Roxbury clergy. During the meeting, Haynes suggested the university create a history of the African American community in Lower Roxbury. As a result, Aoun appointed Joseph D. Warren, at that time Special Assistant to the Director of Government Relations and Community Affairs, to oversee the Lower Roxbury Black History Project. Warren appointed an advisory board consisting of Haynes, Massachusetts State Representative Byron Rushing, Northeastern University Archivist Joan D. Krizack, and Northeastern University history professors.

Personal life

His older brother was jazz drummer

Roy Haynes Roy Owen Haynes (March 13, 1925 – November 12, 2024) was an American jazz drummer. In the 1950s, he was given the nickname "Snap Crackle" for his distinctive snare drum sound and musical vocabulary. He is among the most recorded drummers in ja ...

. Michael Haynes died on September 12, 2019.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Haynes, Michael E. 1927 births 2019 deaths African-American state legislators in Massachusetts Clergy from Boston Politicians from Boston Shelton State Community College alumni Baptist ministers from the United States Activists from Massachusetts Democratic Party members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives 20th-century African-American politicians 21st-century African-American people 20th-century members of the Massachusetts General Court

Education and career

Personal life

See also

References