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Freddye Scarborough Henderson
View on WikipediaFreddye Scarborough Henderson (February 18, 1917– January 19, 2007) was an American business woman and travel agent known for pioneering travel agencies geared towards African-Americans.[1] She created the first accredited black-owned travel agency in America called Henderson Travel Service in Atlanta, Georgia.[2] Henderson was born in Franklinton, Louisiana, on February 18, 1917[3] She earned a B.S. in home economics from Southern University in 1937 and was the first African American to earn a degree in fashion merchandising from New York University in 1950[4] and went on to teach fashion and textiles at Spelman College.[5] She married Jacob R. Henderson in Georgia in 1941. From 1944 to 1950 Henderson owned a dress shop in Atlanta. In 1950, Henderson became a fashion editor for the Associated Negro Press and had a fashion column which was syndicated in many black newspapers in America. In 1954, Henderson was the president of The National Association of Black Fashion Designers, a leading organization for women in the industry of fashion.[6] From 1957 to 193, Henderson wrote a syndicated weekly column, “Travel by Freddye,” which ran in the Pittsburgh Courier.[5]
In 1955, Henderson and her husband created the Henderson Travel Service located in Atlanta. It was the first African American travel agency in the Southeast[7] and the first fully accredited black travel agency in America.[8] She planned Martin Luther King Jr's trip to Oslo to accept his Nobel Peace Prize and accompanied him on the trip.[5]In 1957, she notably coordinated the first group of American tourists to West Africa for the celebration of Ghana's independence from the U.K., when Kwame Nkrumah had just been elected the country's first president. Before commercial airlines had begun flying to Africa, Freddye flew the group to Paris and chartered a plane to Africa.[9]
Freddye was also a member of Zeta Phi Beta sorority.[10]
She died on January 19, 2007, after a lengthy illness and was buried at Atlanta's South-View Cemetery.[11]
References
[edit]- ^ Jordan, Casper L (1996). "Freddye Scarborough Henderson (1917-)". In Smith, Jessie Carney; Phelps, Shirelle (eds.). Notable Black American Women. Detroit: Gale Research. pp. 284–287. ISBN 9780810391772. OCLC 24468213. Retrieved July 24, 2020 – via Gale In Context: Biography.
- ^ Mack, Dwayne (2013-04-24). "Freddye Scarborough Henderson (1917-2007)". BlackPast.org. Retrieved 2025-11-30.
- ^ "Henderson, Freddye Scarborough (1917–2007) | The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed". www.blackpast.org. 23 April 2013. Retrieved 2017-11-18.
- ^ "Obituary for Mrs. Freddye Henderson – ATLANTA, GA". www.murraybrothersfuneralhome.com. Retrieved 2017-11-18.[dead link]
- ^ a b c Taylor, Candacy A. (2020). Overground railroad: the Green Book and the roots of Black travel in America. New York. ISBN 978-1-4197-3817-3. OCLC 1086339267.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ History. "How a Black Female Fashion Designer Laid the Groundwork for Ghana's 'Year of Return'". Bunk History. Retrieved 2025-11-30.
- ^ Powell, Kay (January 22, 2007). "Freddye Henderson, 89, travel agency pioneer". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. p. B6. Retrieved June 20, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ Taylor, Candacy (2020). Overground Railroad. New York: Abrams Press. p. 156. ISBN 978-1-4197-3817-3.
- ^ "The first Black travel agency flourished, overcoming immense challenges". www.travelweekly.com. Retrieved 2025-11-30.
- ^ Georgia, Digital Library of. "Atlanta daily world. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1932-current, May 13, 1951, City Edition, Image 1". ISSN 1528-6142.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ "Henderson, Freddye". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. January 23, 2007. p. D7. Retrieved June 20, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
External links
[edit]- Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library, Emory University: Freddye Scarborough Henderson papers, circa 1940-1992
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