Center to bear names of former governor, activist

Published 5:32 pm Wednesday, October 14, 2009

The Job Corps center in Batesville will be renamed for the late Mississippi Gov. Cliff Finch and Aaron Henry, a former legislator and civil rights activist.

The Department of Labor and MINACT, Inc., will host a dedication ceremony Monday. MINACT spokeswoman Desare Frazier says Finch and Henry both worked to bring the first corps center to the state in 1977.

Finch was elected governor in 1976 after a campaign centered on helping the working class.

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Henry was president of the state NAACP for 33 years. Frazier says Henry pushed for the law that led to the creation of the Job Corps, which is still the largest residential education and training program for young adults.

MINACT, Inc., is a contractor that supports the Job Corps program in several states.