Henry Espy

Former Clarksdale Mayor, Henry Espy.

Henry Espy was the Mayor of Clarksdale, Mississippi.  He was elected for four-year terms in 1989, 1993, 2001, 2005, and 2009.  He is the brother of former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Mike Espy and father of Mississippi State Representative and Clarksdale Mayor, Chuck Espy.

Espy is the son of Henry Espy, Sr. and Willie Jean Huddleston of Yazoo City. Espy’s grandfather, T. J. Huddleston, Sr., created the first hospital in Yazoo City, MS for African Americans.  He was the first African American appointed to the school board, the first African American to serve as a city commissioner, and first African American mayor in Clarksdale. He also served as President of the US Conference of Black Mayors.

Espy is an owner of Century Funeral Home and Burial Association in Clarksdale and Yazoo City, MS.

Sign location:  Corner of Delta Ave and E. 2nd St.
Sign Production:  digital art by Richard Bolen
Source image: photograph from Clarksdale Press Register