Sharon B. Grant-henry *90

A light shining for social justice has gone out. Sharon Grant-Henry, teacher, singer, and social visionary, died Feb. 3, 2004, in San Diego at age 54. The cause was a heart attack, triggered by complications of lupus.

In 1964, when she was only 14, Grant-Henry joined picket lines organized by the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) at San Diego banks and grocery stores to protest job discrimination against African Americans. Her experience convinced her of the need for social activism, which she later applied to the feminist movement and to higher education.

Grant-Henry earned a bachelor's in sociology from UC-San Diego, and master's and PhD in cognitive psychology from Princeton.

At San Diego State U, where she taught psychology, Grant-Henry headed a program that prepared students for cross-cultural counseling.

After a flare-up of lupus forced her to retire as a professor emeritus, Grant-Henry taught black history at MiraCosta College and planned a charter school, Fanno Academy, for children of color. She also sang with a swing orchestra. Her life mission was, as she said, to open people's minds, "to let just a little light in" wherever it was needed.

Grant-Henry is survived by her partner and two adult children.