March 27th, 2025

NAACP Linn Benton Branch members gather March 22 to dedicate the Dr. Cal Henry Memorial Fountain in Corvallis Waterfront Park. From left are Albany Mayor Alex Johnson, Albany City Councilor Ramycia McGee, Branch President Barry Jenkins, 1st Vice President John Phillips IV, Deidre Green and Renee Merritt.

NAACP dedicates waterfront fountain
in honor of civil rights leader Dr. Cal Henry

Dr. Cal Henry

   CORVALLIS — The nice new drinking fountain in Waterfront Park has a plaque listing a few of the many accomplishments of its namesake, Dr. Cal Henry. It notes that he co-founded the local NAACP chapter — now known as the NAACP Linn Benton Branch — in 1971. And he served as his its first president. He earned a doctoral degree in education at Oregon State University and taught in OSU's College of Education. He was an Oregon civil rights leader, and in 2015 received an NAACP national "History Maker" award.
   A number of branch members and friends gathered by the fountain Saturday to remember Henry, who is in declining health and couldn't be there, and to dedicate the fountain in his honor. Branch 1st Vice President John Phillips IV of Albany received a plaque for his work with Steve McGettigan, Corvallis Parks Operations coordinator, to make the fountain a reality.
   Henry, a Democrat, was involved in civil rights in Oregon since the 1960s. In 1977 he started the Oregon Assembly of Black Affairs. This non-partisan, non-profit political organization focused on educating the Black Community and the public. In 1983 he helped start the Oregon Commission on Black Affairs, a governmental commission working on economic, social, legal, and political equity. Henry also served on the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industry, the Oregon Council on Civil Rights, and the Oregon Governor's Task Force on Equality.

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