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Date: 11/17/2023
SPRINGFIELD — The City Council voted unanimously at its Nov. 13 meeting to honor the late E. Henry Twiggs with a street sign, a show of respect for the longtime activist, community leader and city councilor.
The sign will be placed on Westminster Street, the location of his longtime residence.
City Council President Jesse Lederman, who has long referred to Twiggs as a mentor, wrote and presented the petition, which was supported by a vote of 13-0.
“We meet a lot of folks in [public service], but every once in a while, we meet somebody who is truly special and E. Henry Twiggs for so many of us was one of those people,” Lederman said. “Not just for us — he was one of those people for thousands of people in the city of Springfield, one of those people for thousands of people across the commonwealth and even across the United States of America.”
Twiggs, who died in 2019 at the age of 80, was Ward 4’s representative on the City Council from his election in 2009 until his death, but his service in the interest of social justice and racial equality long exceeded that. Born in segregated Georgia in 1939 and spending his formative years in the South, Twiggs relocated to Springfield in the late 1950s. While making his home in Springfield, Twiggs was part of landmark moments in the Civil Rights Movement in the South, including marching with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during the Selma to Montgomery marches in Alabama and the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom at which King delivered his iconic “I have a dream” speech.
A longtime leader in the local and state Democratic Party, Twiggs was chief of staff for Ben Swann, chair of Springfield’s Ward 4 and Democratic committees and on the state level was part of the Massachusetts Democratic Committee. He was twice a delegate for the Massachusetts First Congressional District at the Democratic National Convention in support of former President Barack Obama. Twiggs was also a member of the Shriners and Freemason fraternal orders.
At the time of his death, U.S. Rep. Richard Neal (D-Springfield) called Twiggs “a man of dignity, compassion and conviction.”
Lederman noted, “What so many people remember Councilor Twiggs for in addition to what he did in office is what he did out of office. I think a lot of people don’t realize that Henry Twiggs wasn’t elected to office until he was 70 years old. He wasn’t elected to office when he walked across the Pettus Bridge with Dr. Martin Luther King, he wasn’t elected to public office when he fought for housing for individuals here in the city of Springfield, he wasn’t elected to public office when he campaigned alongside changemakers in the city of Springfield. But he understood the role that every single one of us had to play in our democracy. He understood that our democracy was a tool for justice.
Lederman, whose term on the City Council will end at the end of the year following an unsuccessful mayoral campaign, went on to encourage not only present council members but the community at large to take that example to heart and follow Twiggs’ example.
As part of a statement issued by Lederman prior to the meeting, Twiggs’ widow Karen said, “I am overjoyed that the Springfield City Council and citizens have chosen to honor my husband in this manner. It is a testament to his life work in civil rights, housing development, advancement of Democratic principles, and his last decade of life representing Ward 4. I am thrilled, and he would be almost speechless. Thank you from the entire Twiggs family.”
Twiggs’ son, Antonio Delesline, appearing before the council, said, “If I could be half the man my father was, I would be grateful for that.” He went on to describe the honor such a gesture from the council was for his family.
City Council Vice President and Ward 3 representative Melvin Edwards, who presided over Lederman’s presentation of the petition, said in his public service, he “stood on the shoulders of giants” and Twiggs was among them. He called it “awe-inspiring just to be in his presence,” a sentiment echoed by several councilors including at-large representative Kateri Walsh and Ward 7 Councilor Tim Allen.
Edwards added Twiggs would always offer him “a sympathetic ear, good advice and sound counsel.”
Reflecting on Twiggs, current Ward 4 City Councilor Malo Brown characterized him as a mentor and role model and “a person who told it how it was and was a fighter.”
“Now, some people might not have liked the things he might have said once in a while, but I can assure you his heart was still just fighting for the community,” he added. “When it came to the community, the community loved him.”
Brown, who won the Ward 4 seat in a race against Jynai McDonald in 2019 after Twiggs announced he would not seek reelection, stressed that his predecessor’s commitment to his constituents never wavered. “I believe Henry, if health would have permitted him, he would have continued to serve.”
Ward 5 City Councilor Lavar Click-Bruce called Twiggs “a real gem to the Click-Bruce family” and a “giant of a man.”
Continuing the theme, Ward 2 Councilor Michael Fenton referred to Twiggs as a mentor during his initial foray into city politics in his early 20s.
“He was always a gentleman in every context and incredibly smart and astute on every issue,” he said, admitting he often finds himself wondering what Twiggs would have to say during council deliberations.
Allen added that beyond his work on the council, Twiggs was “a first-class, top-notch human being” while Councilor at Large Tracye Whitfield noted she wished he was still present to help with the continued issue of homelessness in the city.