The University of the District of Columbia (UDC) is now home to a monument honoring an alumnus many consider to be the person responsible for introducing basketball to African Americans.
Known as the “Godfather of Basketball,” Dr. Edwin Bancroft Henderson attended UDC and pioneered physical education programs in Washington’s segregated public schools throughout the 1900s, according to WTOP News. His focus became bringing the game of basketball to Black populations in the surrounding areas.
The school’s Van Ness campus houses the newly minted Dr. E.B. Henderson Sports Complex; the statue rests directly outside the building.
At the June 24, 2023 unveiling, EB Henderson II spoke about his grandfather’s legacy and the role he played in cementing basketball as a community staple. According to WTOP News, Henderson’s love for the game began at Harvard University and his desire to introduce it to Black people came through a realization that “it was uniquely adapted to people of the African American race.”
Added the younger Henderson, “He didn’t learn it just for himself. He learned it to spread to the generation after him and the generation after that. And he wanted to lay a foundation for spreading the game of basketball to African American youth.”
Basketball Africa League President Amadou Gallo Fall was also on hand and shared his gratitude for Henderson’s teachings. “
The idea of using sport as a tool—as a conduit to empower, to inspire youth—is what I have, over the years, come to realize was a calling,” Fall said. “Something we could definitely use in Africa to make sure we change the narrative.”
Henderson’s work as an educator included developing youth like Duke Ellington and Dr. Charles R. Drew while working in the capital’s school system. The moment was marked by a $200,000 donation to the memorial fund in Henderson’s name.