As part of Homecoming Week at the University of the District of Columbia, an inspiring evening unfolded on Nov. 14, 2024, as Edwin Bancroft Henderson II gathered with community members to celebrate the legacy of his grandfather, E.B. Henderson—an iconic figure in sports and civil rights. The event, hosted by UDC’s College of Arts & Sciences, centered around Henderson II’s book, “The Grandfather of Black Basketball: The Life and Times of Dr. E.B. Henderson,” paying tribute to a trailblazer whose remarkable contributions helped shape the landscape of athletics for African Americans.
E.B. Henderson, an alumnus of Miner Teachers College—one of UDC’s predecessor institutions—was a pioneering force in the first half of the 20th century. He dedicated his life to opening doors for Black athletes in a segregated America. Among his many groundbreaking achievements, he became the first African American certified to teach physical education in the United States. He also founded the Eastern Board of Officials, an organization that aimed to enhance fairness and professionalism within sports officiating.
A League of Their Own
Despite facing discrimination from the Amateur Athletic Union, Henderson’s perseverance led him to establish the Interscholastic Athletic Association, the first African American athletic league. “When he tried to get his team into the AAU, they told him that his teams would not be able to play against the white teams because of segregation,” Henderson II recounted. “They encouraged him to start his own league, so he did.”
The book event highlighted the elder Henderson’s vital contributions to civil rights beyond just sports. A strong advocate for racial equity, he organized the first rural branch of the NAACP in Falls Church, Virginia, and documented the achievements of Black athletes through books, including “The Negro in Sports” and “The Black Athlete: Emergence and Arrival.”
“Sports were not separate from the fight for equality, and E.B. Henderson was at the forefront of that fight. My grandfather understood that achieving equity on the court was part of a larger struggle for equity everywhere. He knew that to be a leader in sports was to also be a leader in civil rights,” Henderson II emphasized.
In recognition of his monumental impact, E.B. Henderson was posthumously inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013. UDC continues to honor his legacy through the E.B. Henderson Sports Complex and a life-size statue.