Hoop dreams past and present
Washington Wizards essay contest aims to educate students about “the Grandfather of Black basketball,” Dr. E. B. Henderson.
By WP Creative Group
When the NBA’s Washington Wizards play home games under the bright lights of the 20,000-seat Capital One Arena, they are less than two miles from where Dr. Edwin Bancroft Henderson formed D.C.’s first Black basketball league.
In the early 1900s, when racial segregation prohibited Black athletes from participating in mainstream basketball games, Henderson championed the game within the Black community to challenge notions of racial inferiority. His efforts forming leagues, holding tournaments and coaching teams paved the way for integrated leagues and earned him the moniker of “the Grandfather of Black basketball.”
Dr. Henderson was also a social justice pioneer off the court. He fought segregation in housing and education, was a leader in the NAACP and penned thousands of letters to newspapers combating discrimination and promoting racial equality.
A second annual essay contest hosted by the Washington Wizards seeks to honor Henderson’s trailblazing legacy and educate students about his contributions. The team invites high school seniors in the D.C.-Maryland-Virginia area to submit a 350-word essay by Feb. 1 describing their passions and goals for the future, as well as one of the biggest challenges they face in pursuing those goals. All students who submit essays meeting the criteria will receive two free tickets to a select Wizards home game, and the top three winners will also receive monetary scholarships.
Becoming the “Grandfather of Black basketball”
Before there was the NBA, there were the Black Fives.
After basketball was invented in 1891, teams were often called “fives,” a reference to the number of starting players. Segregated facilities led early basketball pioneers in the African American community to form their own leagues, known as “Black Fives.”
E.B. Henderson was one of those pioneers.
Born in the alleyways of Southwest D.C., Henderson was formally trained in the art and science of athletics; during his postgraduate career, he received an M.A. degree from Columbia University and a Ph.D. in athletic training from Central Chiropractic College in Kansas City, Mo. Henderson also became the first Black certified instructor of physical education in the country.
But his contributions shone most brightly on the basketball courts. He first learned of the game, which had been invented just a decade prior, while studying physical education at Harvard in 1904. In 1907, he held the first known game between all-Black players, and in 1909-10, he led the 12th Street YMCA team to an undefeated season. The next year, Howard University adopted the 12th Streeters as its first varsity basketball team; the squad brought home the 1910-11 Colored Basketball World’s Championship title after a second undefeated season.
Henderson took even more strides to bring Black athletes into the game. He later formed the first Black athletic conference, the Interscholastic Athletic Association.
“He created the infrastructure so that African Americans could participate in athletics,” Edwin Henderson, the grandson of Dr. E.B. Henderson, said. “If you’re talking about the history of Blacks in athletics, it starts with E. B. Henderson.”
Dr. Henderson’s accomplishments show how Black contributions to basketball date back to the earliest days of the game, said Claude Johnson, the founder of the Black Fives Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving the history of pre-NBA basketball.
Stories of pioneers like Henderson dispel the notion that African American players “took over” or injected themselves into the game after it gained popularity, he said.
“[Black Americans] were there from the beginning,” Johnson said. “When you’re there from the beginning, it’s partly yours. That means you have a responsibility for the stewardship of the game. It’s not somebody else’s game. We were there, too.”
A legacy “larger than just basketball”
Henderson’s achievements were not limited to sports.
“My grandfather was a Renaissance man,” Edwin Henderson said. “His career was not just athletics — he had a very strong sense of right and wrong and a career in social justice.”
Indeed, in addition to his achievements in basketball, the elder Henderson was a trailblazer for racial and social justice causes. He founded the first rural chapter of the NAACP, fought against segregation at sporting venues and started the first public school athletic league for Blacks in the country.
Henderson was also an avid writer, authoring sports history books like “The Negro in Sports” and penning over 3,000 letters to over a dozen newspaper editors on a range of topics, including social justice issues.
“My grandfather was much larger than just basketball,” Edwin Henderson said.
More and more, sports communities are making efforts to recognize and celebrate Henderson’s legacy. His name now graces the University of the District of Columbia’s sports complex. The school’s foundation also created the Dr. Edwin Bancroft Henderson Memorial Fund to establish a scholarship endowment and build a permanent memorial on campus. Monumental Sports Founder and CEO Ted Leonsis donated $200,000 to the fund.
Wizards pay homage, offer opportunity
In 2021, to further Henderson’s legacy, the Wizards created the Washington Wizards E.B. Henderson Team Award. Forward Anthony Gill was the inaugural recipient.
This year, the team and Edwin Henderson have joined together to pay more homage to Dr. Henderson’s efforts with a second annual essay contest.
Hunter Lochmann, Chief Marketing Officer for Monumental Sports & Entertainment, which owns and operates the Washington Wizards, says continuing to highlight Henderson’s legacy in both sports and advocacy is at the core of the essay writing contest sponsored by the Wizards, in addition to supporting the memorial fund and the team award.
The contest is open to high school seniors in the D.C.-Maryland-Virginia area, who are invited to submit a 350-word essay by Feb. 1 describing their goals for the future, as well as one of the biggest challenges they face in pursuing those goals.
All students who submit essays meeting the criteria will receive two free tickets to select Wizards home games. In partnership with the Greater Washington Urban League and the Monumental Sports & Entertainment Foundation, the Washington Wizards will also award the three winners a monetary scholarship going towards their continued education route or college of their choice: Grand prize receives $3,000, second place receives $2,000, and third place receives $1,000. The top three winners will also be recognized at a Wizards home game, as well as on the team’s digital and social media channels.
While Henderson’s story will be featured during Black History Month, the team’s goal is to honor his legacy year-round. Future projects sponsored by the Wizards, Lochmann said, will also highlight more D.C. sports pioneers.
“We have a lot more stories to tell about what makes D.C. what it is,” he said.
Submit your essay for the Dr. E.B. Henderson Essay Content by Wednesday, Feb. 1st.
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