Alumni Spotlight
Michael Haynes, ’44:
“The Heart and Soul and Conscience of Boston”
Throughout his life, Michael Haynes, ’44, embodied the very spirit of The English High School and lived up to its motto – to be a person of ‘Honor, Achievement and Service to Humanity.’ Like many of today’s EHS students, he was a first-generation immigrant, coming with his family from Barbados in search of education and opportunity.
The Rev. Michael E. Haynes held a photo of himself and Martin Luther King Jr. during a celebration of King’s life in Weston in 2014. Photo: Boston Globe
An important leader in the black community, early on he worked with Martin Luther King Jr. during the civil rights movement. He represented Roxbury in the Massachusetts House of Representatives, and for decades served as pastor of the Twelfth Baptist Church where Dr. King had been a member while he pursued his doctoral degree at Boston University.
Through his own work as a youth counselor, preacher, state representative, and Parole Board member, Michael Haynes helped to shape and guide generations of young people struggling to overcome poverty and racial discrimination.
Rev. Haynes joined the Twelfth Baptist Church’s ministerial staff in 1951 along with Rev. King who delivered guest sermons while Haynes, a 24 year-old seminary student, served as youth minister. He became pastor in 1965 and served the congregation for 40 years.
Years ago, asked about his friendship with Rev. Haynes, community activist and mayoral candidate Mel King said, “We felt privileged to have been that close to him, knowing he was that close to Dr. King.” Former Boston Mayor and Vatican Ambassador Ray Flynn said, “Michael was really the heart and soul and conscience of Boston.”
After two terms in the House, Rev. Haynes served for 16 years on the state Parole Board. He earned a bachelor’s degree in theology from the New England School of Theology, a graduate degree from Shelton College in New York, studied at Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary, and was awarded multiple honorary doctorates. Among other honors, he was the first black invited to serve on the Berkshire Christian College Board, the first to address the Evangelistic Association and New England Annual Conference, and the only black American elected as a full delegate to the Lausanne Committee on World Evangelization.
He had a lifelong passion for helping young people stay on a productive path. The Haynes Early Education Center in Roxbury, a Boston Public School serving children from pre-K through first grade, is a fitting tribute named for him.
‘The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members.’ CORETTA SCOTT KING
Rev. Jeffrey Brown, an associate pastor at Twelfth Baptist, told the congregation upon Rev. Haynes’ death in 2019 at age 92, “It’s a moment in which we ought to reflect upon the richness of Roxbury, and the richness of the city of Boston in its diversity, because in terms of the progress of this city, he was one of the people who helped to make it what it is… He kept a focus on the value and uplift of youth in the city. There are tons of people who say, ‘If it wasn’t for Dr. Haynes, I wouldn’t have been able to make it this far.’”
In 2009, the University of Massachusetts Boston named a distinguished professorship in Urban Studies in his honor.
Michael Haynes’ brother, Roy Owen Haynes, now age 97, is a jazz drummer and is among the most recorded drummers in jazz. He was nominated for and won several Grammy Awards.
Eustace “Mike” Haynes in the 1944 English High School yearbook.
Tuskegee Airman Enoch ‘Woody’ Woodhouse II, ’44, Recalls His Friendship with Classmate Rev. Michael Haynes
When you ask Roxbury native Enoch ‘Woody’ Woodhouse II, now 96, about his early memories of growing up in Boston, he smiles and a distinctive lilt automatically appears in his voice.
The 1944 EHS graduate used to walk from the family home on Shawmut Street to the old EHS location on Montgomery Street. He says, “I was friendly with Michael Haynes in high school. We weren’t neighbors – he lived on Haskins St. near Ruggles when we moved to Seaver Street near Franklin Park – but we were among only 15-20 blacks at EHS in those days, and both of our fathers were ministers. My dad was a Methodist and Michael’s dad was a Baptist.
“I played basketball. Michael was quiet and didn’t do sports. But we were friends because we were both in orchestra and drum corps, and everyone was in compulsory military drill – 2-3 hours each week. You had to buy your own khaki uniform and you earned patches that had the EHS blue and blue colors.
“Of special interest,” Woody says, “I attended law school while Michael became a State Rep and served on the Parole Board. There were times when I would recommend to Michael people for parole – but I always kept a ‘respectable distance,’” he smiles.
