Mary Ellen Henderson

Mary Ellen Henderson devoted her life to gaining access to quality education and facilities for African American children and civil rights for all.

In 1905, she graduated from Minor Teachers College, the school that trained African American teachers. This is where she met her future husband, Edwin B. Henderson, and they were married on December 24, 1910, a marriage that lasted for 66 years. When she married, Mary Ellen had to resign from teaching because the school system did not allow married women to teach school.

The couple moved to Falls Church and lived with Edwin’s parents. In 1911, they bought an acre of land and built a home. They raised chickens, cows, horses, and grew vegetables. She and her husband had two sons, Edwin Meriwether, born in 1912, and James Henry Meriwether, born in 1917. The oldest, Edwin, became a dentist. James became a scientist and taught at Tuskegee University in Alabama.

Mary Ellen agreed to reopen the Falls Church “colored” James Lee School, which had been closed because there was no teacher. The two-room frame school was overcrowded, had no indoor plumbing, running water, central heat, or janitorial services.

They had few supplies and used cast-off books, but despite those conditions, Miss Nellie provided an excellent education.

She lobbied the school board for a new building for more than twenty years. In 1936, after she completed a groundbreaking study that highlighted the disparity between black and white schools and mobilized an inter-racial group of supporters, she was finally able to convince the school administration to build a new school for African American students.

She taught and served as principal there for thirty-two years.

Her study became the basis for legal redress against inequality in the public schools throughout the state. A political activist, she was the first African American to join the Falls Church, VA. League of Women Voters, a founding member of the Women’s Democratic Club, volunteered for thirty years with the Girl Scouts, and was a dedicated community volunteer. She devoted her life to gaining access to quality education and facilities for African American children and civil rights for all.

In 1912, Mary Ellen joined her husband in forming a group called the Colored Citizens’ Protective League (CCPL) to protest ordinances that would provide for the segregation of the races which would have confined African Americans to a small section of Falls Church, even though they lived beside white neighbors at the time.

The town council eventually retracted the ordinance. The work of the CCPL continued.

Together, the Hendersons fought for a better school. In a study, titled “Our Disgrace and Shame: School Facilities for Negro Children in Fairfax County,” conducted by Mary Ellen and published in the 1940s, she drew attention to the racial gap in school resources for Black and white students. With help from her husband, who produced and distributed a flyer on the subject, the Hendersons and fellow activists were successful in convincing Fairfax County to build a new building for James E. Lee Elementary School, which included six rooms, as well as an auditorium, library, clinic, and cafeteria. 

The Hendersons fought for civil liberties together, but it wasn’t easy. Their activism made the Henderson family targets of threatening phone calls, letters, and a burning cross on their front lawn.

Mary Ellen’s mother was one of the first African American women to graduate from a University in America. Mary Ellen’s father practiced law, was a builder, and worked for the Internal Revenue Service.

Mary Ellen was called Nellie by her family and friends and later “Miss Nellie” by her students. She attended the M Street High School in Washington, DC, the first high school for African Americans.

Ms. Henderson’s contributions and accomplishments have not been widely recognized. Ms. Henderson has only recently begun to be recognized for her many outstanding accomplishments. To honor this great woman, the school board for the City of Falls Church decided to name its new middle school for Mary Ellen Henderson. The school opened this Fall and is a fitting tribute to her impact on the students of yesterday as well as today. Her poignant story demonstrates how one person can make a difference in the lives of young people.