Henderson's family line includes enslaved Africans from the Fitzhugh and Williamsburg plantations, Algonquians descending from Chief Mimetou and Chief Logan of Williamsburg, and Ridogruiz, a Portuguese soldier in the Confederate Army.

Henderson spent most of his childhood living in an integrated neighborhood with his playmates, Al Jolson and Kate Smith.

Summers were spent with his grandmother, who owned a general store and a small farm. He learned to work hard, learning the serious differences between life in a cosmopolitan city and a rural southern town.

During the school year, he enjoyed visiting Congress and studying at the Library of Congress. At an early age he learned about the issues of the day, including civil rights.

In 1904, he taught at Bowen Elementary School, in Washington, D.C. In the evenings, he attended Howard University Medical School until the University dropped the night school program.

That summer and for the following two summers, he attended Harvard University to become the first African-American male to be certified as a teacher Physical Education in public schools.

Harvard educated and civic minded, Henderson introduced his Washington, D.C. to basketball in 1907. The game was still less than two decades old and was largely a segregated enterprise in those days.

He knew early on that basketball and other sports might open doors that were otherwise closed to his race, so, in 1904, Henderson helped establish the Interscholastic Athletic Association to foster high school and college athletics in Washington’s black community.

From 1904 until his death in 1977, Henderson was perhaps the nation's leading figure during the 20th century in establishing equal rights and opportunities for Black athletes.

In 1906, Henderson organized and, with five others, personally financed the Interscholastic Athletic Association for black schools. Henderson was also captain and star player of the Twelfth Street YMCA, known to this day as the legendary Washington 12th Streeters for further information on this team). They went undefeated in 1909 and 1910 and captured the national championship among black basketball teams. Henderson also initiated the Inter-Scholastic Athletic Association of Middle Atlantic States, the Public School Athletic League, and the Eastern Board of Officials for Black Athletics. Each of these organizations was the initial organizing bodies for African-American sports.

Henderson devoted his professional career to the promotion of athletics in the African-American community. He believed that through the disciple of athletics that African-Americans could break down the barriers of intolerance. Many people attribute the rise of organized African-American sports during the 20th century to the work of E.B. Henderson. Read Bob Kuska's Hot Potato by University of Virginia Press.

Henderson's first foray into the legal aspect of civil rights came right after he moved to Falls Church. His father was forcibly removed from a railroad car in Falls Church bound for D.C. by a white segregationist who wanted his seat. Henderson secured the legal services of Jacob DuPutron, a prominent white Falls Church lawyer, who had been present during the expulsionHenderson and DuPutron successfully won the court case. Later, DuPutron was hung in effigy from a light pole in East Falls Church.

Perhaps the defining moment in Henderson’s life-long civil rights career was the response and organization of the first rural branch of the N.A.A.C.P. branch in the United States. Ultimately winning that case, Henderson devoted his time off work to promoting the work of the N.A.A.C.P. both locally in Falls Church, in surrounding rural Northern Virginia, Washington, D.C. and ultimately as state President of the Association. His work in equal access for African-Americans in transportation, athletics, education, and all aspects of the social forum is well documented in many publications.

He is best known for his letters-to-the-editor. In his lifetime he had over 3,000 letters to the editor published. The Washington Post claimed that he was the most published letter writer in their history. Most of his letters considered the civil rights issues as they related to African-Americans. His tone was always dignified, but forceful. Before civil rights became a popular movement, Dr. Henderson was the voice for change for African-Americans in the entire metropolitan region. His letters were also published in newspapers throughout the eastern United States. To honor his work and achievements in this area and to inspire youth to follow this same path, the Tinner Hill Heritage Foundation, along with the Washington Post and Diener and Associates, CPAs, sponsor the annual E. B. Henderson, "Dear Editor" Contest for high school students in Northern Virginia.

Henderson is known as the "Grandfather of Black Sport History." In 1910, he published the first in a series of four books titled: "Official Handbook: Inter-Scholastic Athletic Association of Middle Atlantic States" which describe athletic organization within the segregated African-American community. His 1939 book "The Negro in Sports" was the first compendium ever written about African-American athletics and still stands as the basis for all research in the field. The book was commission by Carter G. Woodson. His second edition, published in 1949, appeared along with a growing national interest in the subject, due to the beginnings of integration of professional sports. In 1968, he wrote "The Black Athlete: Emergence and Arrival." In addition, he wrote many publications that are all documented by Henderson scholar David Wiggins. The value of these books to the African-American community at the time can not be underestimated. The books and publications provided a sense of pride and academic distinction that had previously been missing. In 1974, Henderson was inducted as a charter member into the Black Athletes Hall of Fame, along with Muhammad Ali, Joe Louis, Jackie Robinson, Jesse Owens, Althea Gibson, Henry Aaron and Satchel Paige.

Henderson fought for civil rights on many other fronts. He was instrumental in integrating the entertainment business in Washington, D.C., particularly the Uline Arena in 1944. He also worked with Eleanor Roosevelt on the famous Marian Anderson performance that was banned at the D.A.R. Auditorium and ended at the Lincoln Memorial. In 1937, Henderson began a 10 year battle to integrate the Golden Glove Boxing Tournament. By 1947, Henderson pressured the Washington Post to stop sponsoring the event as a segregated event. When the Post agreed, integration occurred.

In Falls Church, local police brutality in the African-American community was a concern for Henderson. By fighting such injustices on a local level, he again put his own safety on the line.

His letter writing on civil rights continued up to his dying day of February 3, 1977 at the age of 93.

His work has been honored and written about by many. In 1982, Fairfax County commmorated the Providence Recreation Center in his name. In 1993, the City of Falls Church designated his home as a historic resource. In 1999, a plaque honoring his achievements was placed at the Tinner Hill arch. In 2000, the Falls Church Community Center gym was commemorated in his name.

E.B. Henderson Founded the Eastern Board of Officials Y. M. C. A. 12th Streeters (1910-1911 Colored World Basketball Champions) He petitioned Howard University to take the YMCA 12th Streeters, as Howard’s, first varsity Basketball Team. Howard accepted the team, that went on to win the Colored World Basketball Championship!