By University of the District of Columbia,
Edwin B. Henderson set the tone and created the infrastructure for African American participation in athletics by creating leagues and associations for black athletes and referees when no such thing previously existed.”
Edwin B. Henderson II, 2008 (Grandson of the late EB Henderson)
A special fund has been established at the UDC Foundation in honor of legendary UDC alumnus Dr. Edwin Bancroft Henderson. The purpose of the fund is to receive donations to support the establishment of an EB Henderson scholarship endowment, renaming the University sports complex after Dr. Edwin Bancroft Henderson, and establishing a permanent memorial in his honor on campus.
Herald the “Grandfather of Black Basketball”
Dr. Henderson was an American educator, pioneering athlete, referee, basketball organizer, recreation worker, physical fitness advocate, and civil rights activist. Dr. Henderson graduated at the top of his class in 1904 from Miner Normal School (which was an early building block of the University of the District of Columbia). He went on to earn a bachelor’s degree from Howard University, a master’s degree from Columbia University, and a Ph.D. in athletic training from Central Chiropractic College in Kansas City, Missouri. Henderson became the first black man to receive a National Honor Fellowship in the American Association for Health, Physical Education and Recreation, and was inducted posthumously by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013. Dr. Henderson was inducted into the UDC’s Athletics Hall of Fame in 2018.
We invite you to consider a gift to support the University’s efforts to honor Dr. Henderson and his legacy to the sports world, with a permanent memorial on the campus of UDC.