Mary Ellen Henderson facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Mary Ellen Henderson
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| Born |
Mary Ellen Meriwether
September 18, 1885 |
| Died | February 4, 1976 (aged 90) |
| Occupation | Teacher |
| Known for | Local civil rights leader, NAACP organizer |
| Spouse(s) | Edwin Henderson |
| Parent(s) | James H. Meriwether Mary L. Robinson |
Mary Ellen Henderson (born September 18, 1885 – died February 4, 1976) was an important African-American teacher and civil rights leader in the mid-1900s. She is best known for her work to end racial segregation in housing in Falls Church, Virginia. She also worked hard to build better schools for Black students in Falls Church. Mary Ellen Henderson helped start the Colored Citizens Protective League (CCPL), which was the first rural branch of the NAACP.
Contents
Early Life and Family
Mary Ellen Henderson, whose maiden name was Meriwether, was born in Washington, D.C., on September 18, 1885. Her parents were Mary Louise Robinson Meriwether and James Henry Meriwether. Both of her parents had gone to college.
Her mother, Mary Louise, graduated from Oberlin College in Ohio. She taught at the first high school for Black students in Washington, D.C., which is now known as Paul Laurence Dunbar High School. She was also a social activist, working to make society better. Mary Ellen's father, James, graduated from Howard University. He became a lawyer in Washington D.C. and was on the board of trustees at Howard University until he passed away in 1906. Mary Ellen's sister, Sarah Meriwether Nutter, was also a teacher and an activist. She helped start the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated.
Career and Activism
Mary Ellen's students called her "Miss Nellie." She first taught grades four through seven at James E. Lee Elementary School. This was a segregated school with only two rooms for Black children. She took the job to keep the school from closing because there weren't enough trained teachers.
The school had no running water or cleaning staff. So, Henderson brought water from a neighbor's well and cleaned the classroom herself every day. The building also did not have a heating system or indoor bathrooms. White schools, however, had these important resources.
Henderson fought for a better school for African-American children. She wrote a report called Our Disgrace and Shame: School Facilities for Negro Children in Fairfax County. This report showed how Black and white schools in Fairfax County received different amounts of money. Because of her efforts, a new James E. Lee Elementary School opened in 1948. It was a six-room school with an auditorium, library, clinic, and cafeteria. Henderson became the principal of this new school and stayed in that job for thirty years. Her students were known for doing very well in their studies. Many of them later became important community members or even teachers themselves.
Fighting for Fair Housing
Henderson and her husband, E. B. Henderson, started the Colored Citizens’ Protective League (CCPL). They worked with Joseph Tinner to protest neighborhoods that were separated by race. In 1915, a law was passed in Falls Church that would force African Americans to live in a small part of town. This meant 32% of the population would have to live on less than 5% of the land.
The CCPL filed a lawsuit to stop this law from being put into action. In 1917, the Supreme Court said the law was not valid. It was officially removed in 1999. In 1918, the CCPL became the first rural branch of the NAACP in Fairfax County.
In 1960, the Fairfax County Council on Human Relations honored both Mary Ellen and E. B. Henderson for their fight against racial unfairness. In 2006, the United States House of Representatives also recognized them. Representative Jim Moran said they were "civil rights pioneers from Northern Virginia that worked for social justice for nearly 50 years."
Our Disgrace and Shame Report
In 1945, Mary Ellen Henderson wrote her study, Our Disgrace and Shame: School Facilities for Negro Children in Fairfax County. She wrote it to show the unfairness between Black and white schools in Fairfax County. She wanted more money for her school.
Children at white schools rode in warm buses to school. But students at Black schools rode in old, cold buses, if they could ride buses at all. Some children walked about five miles every day. In 1935, the total budget for all schools in Fairfax was $340,050. Most of that money, $330,750 (97.4%), went to white schools. Only $9,000 (2.6%) was spent on Black schools.
There was a similar money difference in the 1945–46 school year. White schools received $745,000 (about $13 million today) for building projects. Black schools received only a small part of that, $45,000. Many segregated schools did not get money for things like cafeterias. However, five white schools received between $10,000 and $50,000 for new additions. Henderson used the facts from her report to convince the Fairfax County School Board to build the new 6-room school and share money fairly in the future.
Personal Life
Mary Ellen Henderson went to the Normal School, which is now called D.C. Teachers College. There, she met Dr. Edwin Bancroft "E.B." Henderson, who would become her husband. He later became the first Black physical education director in a city school system. He also became the president of the Virginia Chapter of the NAACP.
Mary Ellen graduated in 1905 and Edwin in 1904. Both were top students in their classes. They got married on Christmas Eve, 1910. Nikki, the Hendersons' granddaughter-in-law, shared a story: "The year 1910 was a big year for the Hendersons. They married on Christmas Eve day... The bride and groom headed to New York City for their honeymoon. There, the groom played his last basketball game, winning the 1910 Colored World Basketball Championship on their wedding night!"
In 1911, Mary Ellen and E.B. moved to Falls Church. This area was later called an "all-white district." They had two children while living in Falls Church: Edwin Meriwether Henderson, born in 1912, and James Henry Meriwether Henderson, born in 1917.
Mary Ellen Henderson was very active in her community. She was a member of the NAACP, Girl Scouts, League of Women Voters, Falls Church Women's Democratic Club, Virginia Education Association, and National Education Association. She was also a lifelong member of the 15th Street Presbyterian Church. She taught Sunday school and played the organ at Second Baptist Church in Falls Church City.
In 1965, the Hendersons moved to Tuskegee, Alabama. They wanted to be closer to their son James, who was the director of the Carver Research Foundation of Tuskegee University. Even after moving, the Hendersons visited their summer home at Highland Beach near Annapolis, Maryland. Mary Ellen was also active in local community affairs there.
Death and Legacy
Mary Ellen Henderson moved to the Wisconsin Avenue Nursing Home later in her life. She passed away there on February 4, 1976, at the age of ninety. Her funeral was held on February 7, 1976. Henderson was cremated and buried in the Meriwether family plot at Woodlawn Cemetery in Washington, D.C.
Mary Ellen Henderson is remembered by the school named after her: Mary Ellen Henderson Middle School in Falls Church City, Virginia. The school was named in her honor on September 18, 2005. This was the 120th anniversary of her birth.
