Mourning Henry James Evans, Sr.

Here at Delaware Humanities we were deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Henry James Evans, Sr. last month.

Evans was a well-respected member of the Delaware community, having served in the Philippines and Japan during World War II and later returning to Delaware to work as the Graphic Art Director and technical illustration instructor at Delaware Technical Community College. He went on to establish his own graphic arts and silk screen printing business in Milton known as ESSA (Evans Silk Screening Association). You can read more about his incredible life story here.

We are fortunate that part of his legacy has been immortalized in the following “Black Voices of Delaware” video produced by one of our grant recipients, Berkana, Center for Media and Education. In the video he and his brother George, who were both from Smryna, discuss what it was like for African Americans growing up in segregated Delaware during the mid-20th century: