Honouring an Unparalleled Legacy

Photo courtesy of Jo-Anne Henry

The determined spirit of Violet King Henry, ’53 LLB, is just one of the qualities that places her among the most trailblazing alumni to ever emerge from the Faculty of Law.

In the 1950s, when gender and race were both significant obstacles for King Henry on her chosen path to a career in criminal law, she forged ahead undaunted. During her time on campus, she was one of only four women in law school, and when she finished her degree in 1953, she became the Faculty’s first Black graduate. Similarly, when she was called to the bar the following year, she became the first Black woman to practise law in Canada and the first Black lawyer admitted to the Law Society of Alberta.

Now, the legacy King Henry left at the Faculty— and for the practice of law in Alberta — is being celebrated with the creation of a substantial new award for students.

The Violet King Henry Law School Award will be awarded to a student in the Faculty of Law who is of African descent and who self-identifies as Black, African-Canadian, African-American, or of Afro-Caribbean or Afro-Latinx heritage. The $20,000 award, supported by Miller Thomson LLP, will be given annually based on academic standing, demonstrated leadership and commitment to the advancement of equity, diversity and inclusion.

“As part of our commitment to support diversity and inclusion, and to keep listening, learning and pressing for real progress on the road to achieving equality for all, Miller Thomson is proud to fund this award,” said Stewart Whittingham, the firm’s director of equity, diversity and inclusion.

“It’s really exciting that this award is going to facilitate students every year to be able to be at such a great law school — her law school,” said Jo-Anne Henry, King Henry’s only daughter. “The idea that it might be the difference between some students being able to go to law school at all would mean the world to her.”

A Bold Ambition

Jo-Anne, who holds degrees in both law and executive leadership, never had a chance to find out why her mother developed an interest in law early in life. She only recently discovered that King Henry’s grade 12 yearbook photo from Crescent Heights High School in Calgary was captioned with her goal to become a criminal lawyer. But she knows that her mother, who passed away in 1982 when Jo-Anne was 16 years old, always persevered in the pursuit of her goals.

“She was an unusual person — she was able to pursue and achieve meaningful progress on so many issues that she believed in strongly,” said Jo-Anne.

In law school, King Henry excelled, and she was one of four students to receive an executive “A” gold ring at the university’s annual celebration of students. This put her in the company of Peter Lougheed, the future premier of Alberta; Ivan Head, who would later be an advisor to Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau; and lawyer Garth Fryett, QC.

King Henry was also incredibly active outside of her studies. She joined the feminist Blue Stocking Club, served as vice-president of the Students’ Union and was the Students’ Union representative to the National Federation of Canadian University Students. She also represented Alberta at the International Student Services Conference in Hamilton in 1952 and served as class historian in her final year of law school.

King Henry accomplished all of this despite knowing there were people who believed she didn’t belong in law school in the first place.

“One of my favourite quotes is from when she was speaking to a sorority shortly after her graduation,” said Jo-Anne of her mother’s 1955 speech at the Beta Sigma Phi pledge banquet in Calgary.

In her remarks, King Henry acknowledged that many people had told her there was no place for a woman in law, especially a woman of colour. Rather than deterring her from pursuing her dreams, however, these attitudes fuelled her response: “So I continued.”

“I was so appreciative of that,” said Jo-Anne. “I feel very lucky to be the child of somebody who had that kind of clarity and perseverance.”

In that same speech, King Henry shed light on the inequalities faced by visible minorities in the workplace.

“It is too bad that a Japanese, Chinese or coloured girl has to outshine others to secure a position,” she said.

Forging Her Own Path

In the face of these challenges, King Henry was true to her words and continued. From campus to the courtroom and beyond, she far exceeded how she likely imagined her career would unfold.

After graduating from the Faculty, King Henry returned to Calgary to article with criminal lawyer Edward J. McCormick, QC, who she worked alongside on five murder trials.

Her call to the Alberta Bar in 1954 made headlines in several newspapers, including the Calgary Herald and the Edmonton Journal. King Henry then worked for several years at a local firm led by criminal lawyer A.M. (Milt) Harradence, QC.

King Henry’s next stop was Ottawa, where she accepted a senior administrative role with the federal department of Citizenship and Immigration. True to form, she was outstanding in her new role and was promoted twice during her seven years in civil service.

In the early 1960s, King Henry moved to New Jersey to work for the Newark YMCAs Community Branch. As executive director, her role involved assisting Black applicants who were looking for employment.

After moving to Chicago in 1969 to take on a different director role with the YMCA, she was eventually appointed executive director of the National Council of YMCAs Organizational Development Group in New York City. This made her both the first woman, and the first person of African descent, to ever hold a senior management position with the national YMCA organization.

Bringing A Legacy To Life

In recent years, King Henry’s achievements have received renewed public interest and recognition.

Last year, the Federal Building Plaza near the Alberta Legislature was renamed the Violet King Henry Plaza, and in February 2022, a plaque was mounted at King Henry’s childhood home in Calgary noting its historical significance. That same month, Jo-Anne was invited to Vancouver to speak about her mother at the inaugural Violet King Henry Women of Excellence Luncheon hosted by the Black Law Students’ Association of Canada.

Jo-Anne and her 13-year-old daughter also travelled to Montreal late last year to be interviewed for a CBC documentary about the legacy of influential African-Canadians.

All of these recognitions hold special meaning for King Henry’s family. “We’re incredibly humbled and honoured,” said Jo-Anne. “It’s wonderful for all of us to see her recognized and celebrated for achieving so many milestones, in spite of how bad the odds were.”

“Having a daughter, it means a lot to me — these are ways that my mom comes alive for her. I think she feels my mom’s presence around her, so that’s a beautiful thing.”

Now, the creation of the Violet King Henry Law School Award adds to her legacy in a way Jo-Anne thinks her mother would appreciate.

“She was really amazing at spotting other people’s potential and nurturing it, or helping people figure out which direction they wanted to go in and really accelerate down that path,” said Jo-Anne.

“I think she would be excited to see how the students who get this award launch themselves — what they do with this rocket base where they’re getting support and positioning themselves to take off from. That was something that brought her joy.”

Support From The Legal Community

The Violet King Henry Law School Award has been brought into being through the support of Miller Thomson LLP, a firm that has a longstanding history of supporting initiatives focused on student success.

Sixty Faculty of Law alumni currently practise at Miller Thomson and several of the firm’s lawyers serve as sessional instructors. The firm also sponsored the Miller Thomson Classroom in the Law Centre and endowed the Hon. Justice Russell Brown Law Lecture Series that is currently ongoing.

When Dean Billingsley discussed the idea for an award in Violet King Henry’s honour with Sandra Hawes, QC, ’91 BSc, ’96 LLB, managing partner of the firm's Edmonton office, she immediately saw the opportunity for a strong partnership.

“I recognized that the characteristics and values that were important to Violet King Henry align with the values celebrated in our existing equity, diversity and inclusion-focused student awards and programs — specifically the Miller Thomson LLP

Diversity Scholarship and Mentoring Program and the Miller Thomson LLP Indigenous Law Student Internship Program,” said Hawes.

Miller Thomson supports several programs and initiatives that promote equity, diversity and inclusion both within the firm and the external community. The firm hopes this new award will have an ongoing positive impact on representation, addressing barriers and positioning recipients for success in their law program.

“We also hope that recipients will continue to demonstrate the characteristics and values that were so important to Violet King Henry and that are important to the University of Alberta Faculty of Law and Miller Thomson LLP — helping to advance access to justice and promoting equity, diversity and inclusion at school, work and in the community,” said Akash Bir, Director of Legal Talent for Miller Thomson.