Henry Daniels
Henry Daniels was one of 21 Black boys who died in a fire on March 5, 1959, at the Arkansas Negro Boys Industrial School in Wrightsville, Pulaski County. The boys were in their dormitory when the blaze started. The Encyclopedia of Arkansas reports that the doors were locked from the outside. According to that account, seven of the victims, Daniels among them, were identified and buried separately. In 2019 the Arkansas Department of Correction dedicated a memorial listing each of the boys' names.
Cause of death, as reported: Died in an accident (neglect alleged). Officials attributed the death to a dormitory fire, and reports say staff locked the dormitory doors from the outside, trapping the boys inside.
Reported by: state officials; press accounts.