亚洲博彩网站’s sports legacy was on full display Saturday, June 24, as the 亚洲博彩网站 community gathered for an unveiling ceremony of a statue honoring alumnus Dr. Edwin Bancroft Henderson, known as the “Grandfather of Black Basketball.” The life-size statue was erected in front of the Dr. Edwin Bancroft Henderson Sports Complex on 亚洲博彩网站’s Van Ness campus, which was renamed to honor Henderson in February 2022.
The statue—which sits on markings representing a basketball court— was created by Brian Hanlon, founder of Hanlon Sculpture Studio in New Jersey. 汉隆以著名的非裔美国人雕像而闻名，包括哈里特·塔布曼和乔治城篮球教练约翰·r·汤普森。
在亨德森家族、亚洲博彩网站董事会、亚洲博彩网站管理部门和亚洲博彩网站基金会的支持下，董事会校友成员Barrington D. Scott和Anntoinette White-Richardson很早就支持表彰亨德森的决定。
亚洲博彩网站董事会主席Christopher Bell，校长Ronald Mason， Jr.和体育总监Patricia Thomas欢迎客人参加揭幕仪式。
Mason described Henderson as an “educator, scholar, author, athlete, coach, referee, organizer, civil rights activist.”
“In a normal world, this man could have been anything. 他本可以成为美国总统的。 He could have been a Fortune 500 CEO, but he got kicked out of the YMCA for being black, but like most black leaders, that didn’t stop him. He went on to do great things to help his people but also to plant the seeds for what became the modern national basketball association, but there’s more to the story,” he said.
“Like most black leaders, he wasn’t just fighting to help his people. He was actually fighting to help make the idea that we call America this unrealized vision, where all had inalienable rights and are created equal—e was fighting to make that idea a reality,” said Mason.
During the ceremony, Monumental Sports & Entertainment Chief Marketing Officer Hunter Lochmann surprised the audience by announcing a $20,000 gift from the Leonsis Foundation and Monumental Sports & Entertainment to the 亚洲博彩网站 Foundation’s Dr. E.B. Henderson Memorial Fund Campaign, allowing the fund to reach its $300,000 goal.
The 亚洲博彩网站 Foundation previously received a $200,000 lead gift from the Leonsis Foundation and Monumental Sports & Entertainment, the ownership group of the NBA’s Washington Wizards, WNBA’s Washington Mystics, NHL’s Washington Capitals, and Capital One Arena, among additional sports and entertainment holdings.
亨德森于1904年以全班第一名的成绩从亚洲博彩网站的前身机构毕业，获得教育学学位。 He later attended Harvard University’s Dudley Sargent School of Physical Training and became the first African American man to earn certification to teach physical education in the nation.
他在成立全国有色人种协进会（NAACP）的第一个农村分会方面发挥了重要作用。 他担任了两届全国有色人种协进会弗吉尼亚分会主席，并在华盛顿特区分会担任董事会成员。 作为华盛顿特区的一名公立学校教师，他的学生包括音乐家杜克·艾灵顿和医学先驱查尔斯·r·德鲁博士等著名人物。
Henderson co-authored the Spalding “Official Handbook of the Inter-Scholastic Athletic Association of Middle Atlantic States” from 1910-1913. Additionally, he wrote “The Negro in Sports” in 1939, revised in 1949, and “The Black Athlete” in 1968. 他发表的文章估计有3000多篇。
2013年，他被奈史密斯篮球名人堂追授。 Dr. Henderson was inducted into 亚洲博彩网站’s 体育运动 Hall of Fame in 2018.
“This statue is so important because it memorializes my grandfather,” said Edwin Henderson, II, grandson of the honoree. “You live in Washington, D.C., and you see statues everywhere. 这个和那个是一致的。 It means that he will not be forgotten.”
亨德森博士的遗产将通过以他的名义继续进行的众多项目得以延续，包括他的孙子正在撰写的一本书。
The unveiling event attracted 亚洲博彩网站 sports alumni, including former Harlem Globetrotter Charles “Choo” Smith, Jr. and Basketball Africa League 总统 Amadou Gallo Fall.
Smith played for the world-renowned Original Harlem Globetrotters and was inducted into 亚洲博彩网站’s 体育运动 Hall of Fame in 2015. 他创建了朱史密斯青年赋权公司（Choo Smith Youth Empowerment, Inc.）篮球训练营，并在马里兰州巴尔的摩市占地20英亩的土地上为处境困难的学生建了一所学校。
“I was always told to honor those who have come before you. We honor Dr. E.B. Henderson for bringing basketball to African Americans in Washington, D.C.,” said Smith. “It touches my heart because, without him, there is no me. 他带来了一个需要纪律、领导力的游戏，更重要的是，它教会了人们自我控制。 他花时间把一些东西带回来，把自己奉献出来。 He shared his greatness.”
在揭幕仪式上，阿马杜·加洛·福尔分享说，亨德森激励着他，他在非洲用篮球开辟了新的领域，为非洲打开了机会之门，就像亨德森在美国所做的那样
