Dr. James Henry Meriwether Henderson, 92, Son of Mary Ellen Henderson

Dr. James Henry Meriwether Henderson, Professor/Dean Emeritus of Tuskegee University and a Falls Church native, died Dec. 3 at age 92. He was a plant physiologist at Tuskegee for more than 50 years and was the son of Falls Church educator Mary Ellen Henderson.

Survivors include his son, Edwin B. (Nikki) Henderson II, of Falls Church.

A memorial service will be held at the Tuskegee University Chapel on Saturday, Dec. 12, at 11 a.m. A memorial service is also scheduled at Highland Beach, Md. on Aug. 10, 2010. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the James H.M. Henderson memorial scholarship fund established at Tuskegee University.

In 2001, Tuskegee News editor and publisher Guy Rhodes wrote a history of Dr. Henderson when he was 84. Excerpts (recently updated by Mr. Rhodes) appear below:

Dr. James HM Henderson has “retired” after more than 50 years as a plant physiologist at Tuskegee University.

During his half century of service to Tuskegee University, Dr Henderson held several administrative positions. However, his devotion to research and teaching that put him in personal contact with students is what he enjoyed most.

Dr. Henderson credits students with maintaining his ability to work into his 80s. “It has been this work with these youngsters that has kept me young beyond my chronological age,” Dr. Henderson points out.

A multi-faceted individual with many interests beyond education, Dr. Henderson certainly could serve as a role model for aspiring scientists. He has done research and presented papers in Europe, Africa, China and Russia. He has developed friendships with many of the top scientists of his day, including the late astronomer Carl Sagan.

In addition to professional activities, he has served as the Macon County Board of Education, fought for civil rights (a daughter was one of 12 students involved in the Lee v. Macon court case that integrated schools in Alabama), been a Boy Scout leader for more than 50 years, earned his pilot’s license in 1946 from the same instructors who taught the Tuskegee Airmen, and served as the conscience of the community for many years with letters to the editor of various newspapers.

Dr. Henderson credits his father, E.B. Henderson, for his quest for education and leadership roles — professionally and in civic affairs.

“I’ll admit my mother (Ellen Meriwether Henderson) contributed mainly to a basic spiritual background. She was a dedicated school teacher, but I idolized my father,” Dr. Henderson explains. “I guess that is not that unusual because of his leadership role, although I didn’t follow in his field of sports and athletics. However, I did follow his example as a letter writer. He had a reputation of having more than 2,000 letters published in the Washington Post and Washington Star. I must have written hundreds of letters (published in The Tuskegee News and Montgomery, Birmingham and Atlanta newspapers).”

Dr. Henderson was born Aug. 10, 1917 in Falls Church, Va., a small town located only six miles from Washington, D.C. His mother taught grades four through six at the “colored” school in Falls Church. A middle school in Falls Church is named for his mother.

Dr. Henderson and his brother, Ed, who died at 82, never attended their mother’s school in Falls Church. They went to school in Washington D.C. Because Dr. Henderson’s father was head of the Department of Physical Education and Athletics in the D.C. “colored schools,” they were allowed to attend school in the U.S. Capitol.

“My father was the first black American male in the field of physical education in the United States,” Dr. Henderson says with pride.

His father attended Harvard in the summers of 1904-06 to complement his “normal school” education.

E.B. Henderson, for whom Henderson Park in Tuskegee is named, introduced basketball to the D.C. area a few short years after the sport was invented by Dr. James Naismith. He was captain of the YMCA team that never lost a game in 1909-10. E.B. Henderson played his last game the day before he got married Dec. 24, 1910.

The elder Henderson was a pioneer in many areas. He was a founder of the Pigskin Club in Washington D.C. in 1937. A trophy that bears his name is presented annually by the Pigskin Club to the top high school coach in the D.C. area.

E.B. Henderson was also prominent in creating the first rural NAACP chapter in the United States. The NAACP emerged in 1909 under the leadership of W.E.B. Dubois and others. The Fall’s Church NAACP chapter’s application went forward to the national office in 1915 and it was chartered in 1918.  E.B Henderson was already a member of the NAACP chapter in D.C.

“They went to court to defeat an act by the local government to segregate Falls Church Negroes,”  Dr. Henderson said. “They defeated the act in court to keep it from happening. My mother was an ardent worker in getting membership for the NAACP.”

Another venture of E.B. Henderson was organizing the Colored Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA).

Being close to Washington D.C. had its rewards for Dr. Henderson, who marched as an ROTC cadet in Franklin D. Roosevelt’s first inaugural parade in 1933 and again in 1937 as a Howard University cadet.

By necessity, Dr. Henderson attended Howard University in Washington D.C. Financial concerns from the Great Depression meant going to college close to home. There was no doubt what he would study.

“I was born and raised in the country, working with animals and plants,” Dr Henderson recalls. “It was natural that I work with living organisms. When I first went to high school, I knew I wanted to go into biology. I had an aversion to cutting and watching animals bleed and scream. So I decided to go into the plant field.”

After Howard, it was off to graduate school at the University of Wisconsin.

Dr. Henderson’s choice of Wisconsin came after he applied for admission to the University of Virginia. The law at the time prevented his acceptance at Virginia, but he could not be turned down for lack of academic qualifications. Virginia allowed him to receive a scholarship to a university of his choice outside of Virginia — as was the practice of Southern states at the time. He majored in plant physiology and double-minored in chemistry and bio-chemistry.

Because he had flat feet and poor eyesight, Dr. Henderson wasn’t eligible for the military draft or flight training for which he volunteered during World War II. Instead, he was accepted as a junior chemist at Baraboo, Wis. at the Ordinance Works (BOW), to work on a military mission. Dr. Henderson remained there until May 1943 when he resigned to receive his Ph.D in June. From there, he moved to the University of Chicago Toxicology Lab (UCTL), working again on research for national defense.

His first contact with then Tuskegee Institute came in 1945 when Dr. Russell W. Brown and Dr. Clarence T. Mason offered him a teaching and research position. Dr. Brown was head of the recently-established  George Washington Carver Foundation (GWCF) and Dr. Mason director of research for GWCF. During the next two years, Dr. Henderson taught chemistry and biochemistry, as well as courses in the field of botany and plant physiology.

From 1945 to 1948 while Dr. Henderson was at Tuskegee, he made the acquaintance of Dr. Charles Gomillion, a noted leader in the local civil rights movement.

“When I first came to Tuskegee, I was a little of an upstart,” Dr. Henderson admits. “Dr. Gomillion, I and others tried to get a teachers union. I guess I was a little brash about it. Dr.Gomillion was quiet about doing what he did, but his influence was great as we all know. I was the one who almost got kicked out. I went to the trustees and gave them some sort of petition. I was only 28 years old. I left Tuskegee in 1948 when my contract had ended. I thought that was the end of my career at Tuskegee.”

Dr. Henderson believes his role with the teachers union effort probably led to his contract not being renewed. But his separation from Tuskegee was only temporary. His life was about to change dramatically as it appeared it would be only a matter of time before Dr. Henderson and Betty Alice Francis would marry.

“I actually met her when she was a baby. Our families were close friends and we shared a summer resort in the small town of Highland Beach near Annapolis, Md. Betty and I met almost at birth and were married 30 years later,” Dr. Henderson said.

The couple had four children – Ellen Wimbish, Dena Sewell, Jay, and Ed. Ellen lives in Ohio where she is a nurse, Jay is a veterinarian (since deceased) in Tuskegee, and Dena and Ed live in Falls Church where they are educators.

There are eight Henderson grandchildren. Betty Henderson died in 1992 after 43 years of marriage to Dr. Henderson.

The newly-wed Hendersons headed to Pasadena , Calif. to the California Institute of Technology (CalTech) in 1948 where he was a postdoctoral fellow. Dena’s name was derived from Pasadena as she was born while the Henderson were at CalTech. Ellen was also born in California.

After two years at CalTech came an irresistible offer to return to Tuskegee — a $10,000 grant from the American Cancer Society. Dr. Henderson was to do research in his field of plant physiology, particularly as it related to plant cancer.

In 1957, Dr. Henderson was named head of the Department of Biology and in 1968 was appointed Director of the George Washington Carver Foundation. He served in that capacity until 1973.

From 1953 to 1955, Dr. Henderson assisted  Dr. Brown in the production of HeLa culture to be used in the development of polio vaccine. By June 30 of 1954, Tuskegee University laboratories shipped nearly 600,000 cultures to 23 cities in the United States. In 1955, the first effective vaccine against polio was used, thanks in part to the efforts of research at Tuskegee University.

Dr. Henderson believes in the value of research: “I don’t denigrate medical doctors. They are fine and we need them,” Dr. Henderson explains. “Because of my background in research, my main push is to have students go to graduate school and then go on to a M.D. Most of the students I’ve mentored have gone to medical school. That is because of their interest and the fact that you are never going to get rich as a Ph. D.

“I always make this analogy: Doctors can do great things. Famous heart surgeons may see 100 people in a year, but if you take someone like Jonas Salk, he has influenced millions of people. Of course he did research that is rare.”

Dr. Henderson has been involved in attracting quality people to visit and teach – even in limited roles — at Tuskegee. Such is the case with the famed astronomer Carl Sagan who died two years ago. Dr. Henderson first invited Dr. Sagan to a summer program in 1963.

If the past is any indication, Dr. Henderson won’t soon fade away, after being an institution at Tuskegee for half a century.

“Some say I’m an institution, I guess,” he laughed. “I do greatly respect the personnel at Tuskegee University and it’s vice-versa. They are very cooperative. I’ll admit there are times when getting things done that my voice has helped.

“I’m persistent. I don’t quit easily, nor give up easily. It has worked well.”