Henry O. Mayfield

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Henry O. Mayfield
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Born1907
Florida
NationalityAfrican American
CitizenshipUnited States of America

Henry O. Mayfield was born in 1907 in Florida as an African American citizen of the United States.[1] Being born as a Black man in this time period set him up for a life of activism fighting for himself and others in a similar situation to himself. His last known place of residence was in Jefferson County, Alabama. The only source of formal education for Mayfield was grammar school, which was common for most Black Americans in the early 1900s.[2] He was enlisted in the military on January 8, 1943 and was a part of the Army branch. At the time of his enlistment, World War II had been raging. Mayfield was enlisted for the rest of the duration of the war and for six months after.[3]

For work, Mayfield was a labor worker and, specifically, worked as a miner. After the passage of the National Labor Relations Act 1935|National Labor Relations Act of 1935 many labor workers, regardless of race, rushed to join various labor unions. After 1935, 50,000 workers, with over 67 percent of them being Black, had joined a union including Mayfield. The union that Mayfield was a member of was the United Mine Workers (UMW or UMWA).[4]During his time as a member of the UMW he had the privilege of gaining a leadership position where he had the opportunity to represent his union in different workshops with similar labor unions.[5] Mayfield later became an active organizer of the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) along with other powerful union members.

Mayfield was one of the key Black workers who helped form the new Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO). He worked alongside Hosea Hudson, Asbury Howard, Lewis Tarrant, and Abe Blackman, who were other labor workers with key roles in the CIO.[6] In the founding stages of the CIO support from people was crucial and Mayfield was one of the Black organizers who went out to seek support wherever it could be found. Mayfield stepped up into a leadership position, many other Black workers resented due to fear of judgement, and went around to the mines, churches, and any event going on to gain people’s backing of the CIO.[7]

Henry O. Mayfield was one of the initial founders and eventual chairman of the Southern Negro Youth Congress (SNYC). Mayfield focused his efforts in SNYC towards the group’s concern for getting young, Black WWII veterans the right to vote after serving their country and continuing to face restricted voting rights.[8] He was invited as one of the original leaders as a representative of the United Mine Workers of America as a way to broaden the audience SNYC was appealing to for “political and economic democracy in the South.”[9] With the help of a fellow Birmingham representative of the SNYC, Hosea Hudson, Mayfield was able to draw specific attention from the group to the events in Birmingham which eventually led to the city becoming the new SNYC headquarters following the 1939 convention there.[10]

Although Mayfield is often overlooked in Black history, he is most noted for his early involvement with the Communist Party. He was recruited into the CPUSA, again, by his friend Hosea Hudson to attract “radical black workers” from the South to the political group.[11] During his time with the CPUSA, the party created CPUSA-led trade unions that were much more successful than the typical business unions backed by institutionalists of the time who barred Black workers from entering.[12] Henry O. Mayfield was responsible for delivering the party’s messages to prospective members in the south as Hosea Hudson advocated for his extraordinary rhetoric and understanding of the party’s principles and goals.

Overall, Henry O. Mayfield dedicated his career as an activist to achieving equal voting rights for Black Americans. In one of his most famous events, Mayfield led former WWII veterans on a march in Birmingham, Alabama to protest their inability to vote after winning the war for America.[13] Mayfield is famously known for his appearance in a picture taken at the march where he is holding a sign telling other Black WWII veterans to bring their discharge papers and join the group to receive their voting rights. “Individuals such as…Henry O. Mayfield…urged union members to join the anti-poll-tax campaign, register to vote, read the New South and the Daily Worker, and attend non-union political functions”.[14] Mayfield went on with others in Birmingham to found the Right to Vote Club which pushed for voting rights for all races without financial barriers; this marked the first time the Communist Party created a program with the main focus on equal voting rights that included Black Americans and poor whites.[15] Along with others fighting for the enfranchisement of Black Americans in the South, Mayfield’s efforts were often curbed by the efforts of the FBI thanks to Alabama politician Bull Connor|“Bull” Connor who tasked them with upending the southern movement for equal voting rights.[16]

References

  1. ↑ "Henry O Mayfield: PERSON, pictures and information - Fold3.com". Fold3. Retrieved 2021-11-30.
  2. ↑ Sept. 24, 2013. https://www.ancientfaces.com/person/henry-o-mayfield-birth-1907-united-states/155735872
  3. ↑ https://www.fold3.com/record/88152700/henry-o-mayfield-wwii-army-enlistment-records
  4. ↑ Feldman, Glenn. Politics, Society, and the Klan in Alabama, 1915-1949. 1999. https://books.google.com/books?id=giv2CAAAQBAJ&pg=PA239&lpg=PA239&dq=Henry+O+Mayfield+United+Mine+Workers+of+America&source=bl&ots=iRFGHfyjYG&sig=ACfU3U3A4bc3B1X7lJCwhBAKW1mxrtSQ7Q&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiVuu7q7670AhWjTjABHTa9BIoQ6AF6BAgVEAM#v=onepage&q=Henry%20O%20Mayfield%20United%20Mine%20Workers%20of%20America&f=false
  5. ↑ Lau, Peter. Democracy Rising: South Carolina and the Fight for Black Equality since 1865. May 12, 2006. https://books.google.com/books?id=tUYoEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT230&lpg=PT230&dq=Henry+O+Mayfield+United+Mine+Workers+of+America&source=bl&ots=WtNiEE656U&sig=ACfU3U3lsUYXMxlr4GZGo-SvVMthbyyalg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiVuu7q7670AhWjTjABHTa9BIoQ6AF6BAgQEAM#v=onepage&q=Henry%20O%20Mayfield%20United%20Mine%20Workers%20of%20America&f=false
  6. ↑ Hope, Barbara Jean. “The Story of Hosea Hudson: Lessons of a ‘Black Worker in the Deep South’ Still Loom Large.” People’s Weekly World. Feb. 4, 1995. http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/45a/019.html
  7. ↑ Hudson, Hosea. Black Worker in the Deep South: A Personal Record. Mar. 16, 1973. https://assets.ctfassets.net/xfu8r0n4zgvn/4rdUYwPBufFgNrnbatyr2y/88d136c41244aab292ee356f28c14c70/hosea-hudson-black-worker-in-the-deep-south-a-personal-record-1.pdf
  8. ↑ https://snccdigital.org/events/snyc-organizes-march-of-veterans-demanding-the-vote-in-birmingham/
  9. ↑ Lau, Peter. Democracy Rising: South Carolina and the Fight for Black Equality since 1865. May 12, 2006. https://books.google.com/books?id=tUYoEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT230&lpg=PT230&dq=henry+o+mayfield+voting+rights&source=bl&ots=WtNiDx732U&sig=ACfU3U0XWeGO7yRA-4G4bRyP-KSeckOwFQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiD45-u-an0AhXwSzABHTnVAgAQ6AF6BAghEAM#v=onepage&q=henry%20o%20mayfield%20voting%20rights&f=false
  10. ↑ Hudson, Hosea. Painter, Nell Irvin. The Narrative of Hosea Hudson: His Life as a Negro Communist in the South. 1979. https://www.fulcrum.org/epubs/g445cd342?locale=en#/6/544[xhtml00000272]!/4/4/1:0
  11. ↑ Hudson, Hosea. Painter, Nell Irvin. The Narrative of Hosea Hudson: His Life as a Negro Communist in the South. 1979. https://www.fulcrum.org/epubs/g445cd342?locale=en#/6/62[xhtml00000031]!/4/4/1:0
  12. ↑ Devinatz, Victor G. “INTERPRETING THE COMMUNIST PARTY USA'S HISTORICAL ROLE IN THE US TRADE UNIONS: INSIGHTS FROM THE EARLY INSTITUTIONALIST THEORY OF INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS.” https://library.villanova.edu/Find/EdsRecord/asn,142906625
  13. ↑ Norris, Michelle. “Grace Notes: A Veteran’s Day Remembrance.” https://michele-norris.com/grace-notes/grace-notes-a-veterans-day-remembrance/
  14. ↑ Kelley, Robin D. G. Hammer and Hoe: Alabama Communists During the Great Depression. 1990. https://books.google.com/books?id=amC0CAAAQBAJ&pg=PA182&lpg=PA182&dq=henry+o+mayfield+black+voting&source=bl&ots=ONxVre19zJ&sig=ACfU3U28z1yRTOyCNgYZ59C1VH2W_sDPJA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiF_ozJ_Kn0AhUyRDABHdauAl8Q6AF6BAgkEAM#v=onepage&q=henry%20o%20mayfield%20black%20voting&f=false
  15. ↑ Kelley, Robin D. G. Hammer and Hoe: Alabama Communists During the Great Depression. 1990. https://books.google.com/books?id=amC0CAAAQBAJ&pg=PA182&lpg=PA182&dq=henry+o+mayfield+black+voting&source=bl&ots=ONxVre19zJ&sig=ACfU3U28z1yRTOyCNgYZ59C1VH2W_sDPJA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiF_ozJ_Kn0AhUyRDABHdauAl8Q6AF6BAgkEAM#v=onepage&q=henry%20o%20mayfield%20black%20voting&f=false
  16. ↑ Hudson, Hosea. Black Worker in the Deep South: A Personal Record. Mar. 16, 1973 https://assets.ctfassets.net/xfu8r0n4zgvn/4rdUYwPBufFgNrnbatyr2y/88d136c41244aab292ee356f28c14c70/hosea-hudson-black-worker-in-the-deep-south-a-personal-record-1.pdf

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