Aaron Henry was born on July 2, 1922, to a family of African American sharecroppers. He worked in cotton fields with his birth family until he served in the military during World War Two. After the war he opened a drugstore in Clarksdale, Mississippi. The store quickly became a meeting place for civil rights activists and Aaron "Doc" Henry was elected president of the Mississippi chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. He was also a member of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and worked with Martin Luther King, Jr. Despite attacks on his home and drugstore, Henry continued his part in the fight for civil rights, eventually winning a seat in the Mississippi State House of Representatives, which he held from 1979 until 1996.

Alongside the many political attacks he faced, Henry was found guilty of “disturbing the peace” for making homosexual advances on a young white hitchhiker named Sterling Lee Eilert in 1962. He decried the guilty verdict but nevertheless was arrested four more times on similar charges. During his time as a state legislator he was known to live with a man named "Pedro" Erwin. Erwin was often seen in the Mississippi House gallery when Henry was in office. Henry died on May 19, 1997, of congestive heart failure. For more about his life and accomplishments, visit “Profiles of Ten LGBT Activists for Social Justice,” by Rich Wilson.