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In Loving
Memory
Mrs. Freddye
Henderson Has Earned a Special Place in
the Hearts of Africa Travel Association
(ATA) Members Worldwide
We deeply
regret the passing of Mrs. Freddye
Henderson of Maryland, USA, one of our
first ATA members, well known and deeply
loved by the African American community
she served so well and by others in the
USA and worldwide. It seems like only
yesterday that the following article
appeared on our official website. It was a
happy occasion, being Host Country Day in
Ghana, and became one of the defining
moments of Mrs. Henderson's long and
outstanding life - as it was for all who
knew and loved her. Freddye Henderson
pioneered travel for African-Americans to
the continent of Africa . Her daughter,
Dr. Gaynelle Henderson-Bailey, President
of Henderson Travel, recently served as
First Vice President of ATA and is a
member of the board of
directors.
From
1999
 Freddye
Henderson honored a Ashanti Queen
Mother
During
the Africa Travel Association's 24th
Annual International Congress, Atlantan
Freddye S. Henderson was honored by the
Ministry of Tourism and the Government of
Ghana and 'enstooled' as an Honorary
Ashanti Queen Mother. She is now
respectfully to be referred to as Nana
Akwantu Hemaa which translates into 'Queen
Mother of Travel and Tours,"
The
traditional ceremony was a spectacular and
festive occasion complete with African
dancers and drummers, special rites and
celebrations. It was a truly unique and
rare cultural event that did not
disappoint those in attendance! It should
be noted that this custom is primarily
reserved for only those with the highest
level of respect amongst the Ashante
Nation. Freddye along with her deceased
husband Jake Henderson, pioneered the
promotion of travel and tourism to the
Continent of Africa very soon after they
started Henderson Travel Service, the
nation's first fully appointed
African-American owned travel agency,
based in Atlanta, Georgia in 1955. Since
that time Henderson Travel Service has
literally sent thousands of tourists to
West Africa and in particular to Ghana.
Today, Henderson Travel Service still
specializes in African Tours and operates
at 7961 Eastern Avenue, Silver Springs,
Maryland 20747.
ATA
Member messages to follow
...
From
Maryland
Thank you for your kind words and
support. The Atlanta Journal
Constitution newspaper in Atlanta did a
lovely obituary article on my mother, in
last Monday's newspaper, January 22 . Warm
Regards, Gaynelle
From
California
I first met Mrs. Henderson at an ATA
Congress many years ago. It was my
pleasure to be seated next to her during
dinner that rainy evening. My
everlasting first impression was of quiet
strength, resilience, acceptance of
others, refinement, dignity, and inward
beauty. It is impossible to
imagine what she must have experienced in
arranging tours to Africa in the early
days. It was her
determination, skill, and knowledge
that opened travel to Africa
for African Americans. We shall
forever be indebted to her as she
showed us how to think "I can".
Marlene Davis, oCal ATA Chapter
Freddye
Henderson, 89, let blacks travel en
vogue
By KAY
POWELL
The
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Freddye
Henderson had an eye for a business
opportunity as sharp as her eye for
fashion.
It didn't
take her but one trip to Europe in 1954 to
figure out that there was a market to
introduce African-American travelers to
first-class treatment overseas. Freddye
Henderson owned the nation's first fully
accredited black travel agency. Henderson
Travel Service, which she opened in 1955,
catered to the Rev. Martin Luther King
Jr., among others.
In other
words, in Europe they could ride in the
front of the bus, Mrs. Henderson said in a
1987 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
article.
By 1955,
she had opened Henderson Travel Service,
the first black-owned travel agency in the
Southeast and the nation's first fully
accredited black-owned travel agency,
designated by Black Enterprise magazine
one of the nation's top 100 black-owned
businesses.
"At first,
people in Atlanta thought she was crazy,"
said her friend Tom Houck of Atlanta.
"Here, they could not eat in a restaurant
or stay in a hotel. Freddye was very
strong in her efforts to have blacks get
out and see more of the world."
Mrs.
Henderson visited more than 100 countries,
danced with dignitaries and met with
monarchs. The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
asked her not only to plan his trip to
Oslo to accept the Nobel Peace Prize but
to travel with him to Norway for the
ceremony.
"She knew
she was more than lucky but very blessed
to be among Martin Luther King and world
leaders," said Congressman John Lewis of
Atlanta.
The
funeral for Freddye Scarborough Henderson,
89, of Atlanta is 11 a.m. Wednesday at
Ebenezer Baptist Church. She died of
complications from a neurological disease
Friday at Hospice Atlanta. Murray Bros.
Cascade Chapel is in charge of
arrangements.
Mrs.
Henderson's first trip to Europe was at
the invitation of the wife of French
ambassador Henri Bonet to view the
international press show of designer
Christian Dior. Mrs. Henderson had earned
a master's degree in fashion merchandising
from New York University and was president
of the National Association of Fashion and
Accessory Designers.
She
expanded the trip to visit Switzerland and
Italy, where she was greeted warmly. "I
was treated first-class, like royalty,"
she said. "Blacks couldn't travel in this
country with any ease. In Europe, blacks
could ride in the front of the
bus."
She wanted
others to share that experience and opened
the travel agency with her husband, the
late Jacob Henderson.
First,
though, she had to overcome the reluctance
of airlines to sponsor a black-owned
travel agency. Then, she had to convince
potential customers that she knew what she
was doing. Before long, the Southern
Christian Leadership Conference, the Rev.
King and his father were making travel
arrangements through Mrs. Henderson, and
her reputation was secured.
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