History of Women in Utah

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Alberta Hill Henry was born in 1920 Hosston, Louisiana, to James and Julia Ida Hill. Her father worked as a sharecropper while her mother was a mathematician and kept the books.  In order to provide better educational opportunities for their children the family moved to Topeka, Kansas, when Alberta was 3.  As a teenager, Henry was in a car accident and needed stitches. After encountering only white physicians at a hospital, she demanded that a Black doctor treat her; there was only one Black doctor on staff. This opened Henry's eyes to how few Black people received an opportunity to pursue higher education. ^[1]

This awareness peaked when she moved to Salt Lake City in 1949. While attempting to find work, she saw that no one would hire a Black woman for a professional position, often hearing explicitly from employers that they refused to hire people of color. Because domestic service work was the only option open to women of color, Henry took a job as a housekeeper. While visiting the Porters and Waiters Club in Ogden with a friend she met Harold Henry, whom she would marry in 1950. The two later adopted two children, Julia and Wendell. ^[2]

After seeing how few Black students attended and graduated from the University of Utah, Henry established the Alberta Henry Scholarship.  A grassroots movement among the community gathered the initial funding for the scholarship, which provided much needed resources for Black students of every level in Salt Lake City, such as school supplies, instruments for band, and equipment for sports. ^[1]

In 1970 an incident occurred at West High School in which music teacher James D. Maher called four African American students the n-word.  In response the teacher and the four students were suspended and the incident was investigated.  Maher was suspended with full pay while the school conducted an investigation, and he was eventually reinstated after apologizing to the students. The Black community in Salt Lake City were vocally dissatisfied with this result,^[3]  so in 1972 Henry was hired as a "minority consultant" to work as an intermediary between teachers, administrators, and the parents of students of color. She was the first Black person to be employed by the school district.  ^[1]

Although Utah never legally mandated race-based segregation in public schools, practices such as redlining, which restricted individuals from being able to buy homes and property in certain areas unless they were white, led to de-facto racial segregation.   Many school administrators used the lack of legal segregation as proof that Utah schools weren't racist; however, according to the NAACP, before 1954 there were no Black teachers in the state of Utah, and only one Black physician and lawyer.  Legal discrimination based on race was only outlawed in 1964 with the passage of the Civil Rights Act, while redlining remained legal until the 1968 Fair Housing Act. ^[4]

Henry’s first and primary concern was the lack of Black teachers and councilors in the district.  Throughout her time at the school district Henry worked to hire more teachers and counselors of color, providing mentorship throughout their tenure. She also worked to improve recognition of Black student accomplishments, establishing a Black Honor Society for high school students.  She recognized the need to include other students of color, later expanding the organization and renaming it to the Rainbow Honor Society.  ^[2]

When describing her work in Salt Lake City public schools Henry recalled:

They just called and said they was going to hire me to come because the black community was up in arms because the Mormon teachers were not teaching the black kinds.  The black kids was coming out of school with 0.1 and 0.8 point average...That's all they hired me to do. Black kids. Then I would go in there and look at the teacher's books and I'd have the kids take tests and I'd say, give me your test paper before you hand it in so I can make a copy of it because one of the teacher's claims was that they didn't hand their papers in.  She couldn't read it.   So I would approve it before they handed it in. ^[5]

Henry was the President of the Salt Lake City NAACP from 1980-1992, serving on over 100 boards and committees ^[6] including Utah State Advisory committee to the US Commission on Civil Rights, the Black Advisory Board to the University of Utah, the Utah Commission on Civil Rights and the Governor’s Black Advisory Council ^[7].  Henry earned her Bachelor of Science degree in 1982 from the University of Utah as well as an honorary doctorate degree in 1971, ^[6] making her the first Black woman to receive one. ^[8]  She is also the first Black woman to be elected to the Utah Women’s Hall of Fame. ^[1]

Alberta Henry passed away on May 11th, 2005 at the age of 84 after living with cancer for a year.  She is remembered as a pillar of the community and a strong advocate for civil rights. ^[6]

Alberta Henry Papers Finding Aid

Digitized Records

Alberta Henry Photograph Collection Finding Aid

^[1] Alberta Hill Henry: Stories of Utah Women | Utah Division of Archives and Records Service. (2020). Utah.gov. https://archives.utah.gov/2020/02/06/alberta-hill-henry/

‌^[2] Alberta Henry - Utah Women’s History - Better Days. (2023, December 23). Utah Women’s History - Better Days. https://utahwomenshistory.org/the-women/alberta-henry/

‌^[3] Wordpower | 1970-06-24 | School Board Issues Contradictory Decision Page 6. (2025). Utah.edu. https://newspapers.lib.utah.edu/details?id=30528545

^[4]  News, D., & Bulkeley, D. (2004, May 17). Brown set the tone for change in Utah. Deseret News. https://www.deseret.com/2004/5/17/19829283/brown-set-the-tone-for-change-in-utah/

‌^[5]  Interviews with African Americans in Utah, Alberta Henry, Interview 1 | Interviews with African Americans in Utah. (2016). Utah.edu. https://collections.lib.utah.edu/details?id=893658

‌^[6]  News, D., & Bulkeley, D. (2005, May 12). Activist Alberta Henry dies at 84. Deseret News. https://www.deseret.com/2005/5/12/19891931/activist-alberta-henry-dies-at-84/

‌^[7] Alberta Henry papers - Archives West. (2018). Orbiscascade.org. https://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:80444/xv88217

‌^[8]  Alberta Henry – Utah Women’s Walk. (2025). Utahwomenswalk.org. https://utahwomenswalk.org/Honorees/alberta-henry/

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