the first African American woman to serve on the Detroit City Council, died today at age 92.

[ccharles000]

Longtime former Detroit City Council President Erma Henderson has died at the age of 92, the Free Press has learned.

Ms. Henderson was the first African-American female elected to the council, in 1972. She served as the first African-American female council president for 12 years, leaving in 1989.

“There is no one – no one – who has done more for the defense of the innocent and for the advocacy of Detroit’s citizens,” said Ron Scott, a Detroit activist who has known Henderson for nearly 50 years. “She was truly a servant of the people, and I loved her as much as I loved my own mother.”

Ms. Henderson has long been considered one of Detroit’s most powerful female political forces, yet over the years she balanced her authority with a gentle maternal influence.

Aside from city politics, Ms. Henderson accomplished a myriad of firsts, including becoming the first African-American port secretary on the Great Lakes and the first female trustee of Wayne County Community College.

http://freep.com/article/20091214/NEWS01/91214016/1319/Erma-Henderson-dies-at-92

[GreenPartyVoter]

1. How does this get no replies? Rest in peace after a job well done, Ms. Henderson.

[EFerrari]

2. In her debt. Peace to her family.