By Damion Boycott
Gus Heningburg died Monday October 15th of heart failure at the age of 82. As a small boy in Alabama his first job was picking up peanut shells for George Washington Carver. The Alabama native came north to New Jersey as a young man. He earned a reputation in Newark as a Champion for the less fortunate. Heningburg did an exceptional amount of work to integrate New jerseys' construction industry. He protested the airport in an effort to expose the fact that black contractors were being excluded from the airports expansion.
After graduating from Hampton University he spent time in the military as an Army Intelligence Officer- which caused him to travel the country and indeed the world. In 1971 Henningburg was called on to bring an end to a riot at Rahway Prison. He disscussed the living conditions in the prison with the inmates, and brought the situation under control in a matter of hours.
When NBC created "Positively Black" in the 1970's they hired Heningburg to host the weekly television program. He interviewed many luminaries from Nelson Mandela to James Baldwin. Gus Heningburgs' achievements are too numerous to mention in a short term article. He will however be missed by his family and associates.