Tribute to Founding Member of Women in Focus, Inc.
Sadly, Women in Focus’ founding member Dr. Virginia Henderson passed away at UW Hospital on April 27, 2019, from complications of pneumonia. Throughout her life, Dr. Henderson was a truly admirable and inspiring force for good in the Madison community. She was passionate about and worked tirelessly to improve the education and well-being of children in Madison. She will be greatly missed.
Dr. Henderson’s education was impressive: she received her B.A. from Spelman College, her M.A. in Psychology from Boston University and her PhD in Curriculum and instruction from the University of New Mexico. From 1976 to 1997, Dr. Henderson worked as a school psychologist for the Madison Metropolitan School District, where she also served as chair of the city’s Minority Student Achievement Initiatives and Special Assistant to the Superintendent for Equity and Diversity. After her “retirement,” she continued to serve as the Diversity Consultant to the School District, working to eliminate racial disparities and create equitable opportunities for all students.
Dr. Henderson was a founding member of Women in Focus in 1984. She was an instrumental voice in creating the focus of WIF: to encourage excellence in education for children and youth of color in our community. She took on leadership positions in the organization and was a role model and mentor to many of the younger women in the group. She was the catalyst for many of the excellent programs WIF brought to Madison in the first few years. She made sure that youth from the community attended these programs so they would be inspired by these outstanding role models of color. Through her work, WIF hosted programs by The Spelman College Glee Club in 1988 and 1991, the Morehouse College Glee Club in 1989, Dr. Jonnetta B. Cole, PhD, President of Spelman College in 1988, Gwen Jackson, National Chair of Red Cross Volunteers in 1989; Antionette Ford, President American Overseas Development Corp. in 1986; Mrs. Francis Hooks, NAACP in 1985.
Dr. Henderson was involved in the development and success of WIF’s signature event, the “I Have a Dream” Ball which began in 1986 to raise money for college scholarships for students of color. WIF hosts the “I Have Dream” Ball in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in January of each year. Thanks to the vision and tenacity and hard work of Dr. Henderson and all our sister WIF members, WIF has raised over $500,000 for scholarships through our annual Ball revenue and donations since 1986.
In 1993, Dr. Henderson founded the African American Ethnic Academy to supplement the education of youth of color and to increase their capacity to succeed. Virginia loved teaching the students on Saturdays! As part of giving to the community, Dr. Henderson served on numerous boards, and received many honors including Teacher of the Year for the Madison School District and the YWCA Woman of Distinction award. She was active with her husband Dr. Perry Henderson in the Madison Rotary and worked with him to advance many worthy causes.
Women in Focus, Inc. is awarding a scholarship in honor of Dr. Virginia Henderson to Lafollette High School senior Dija Manly. Dija has been accepted at Stanford and plans to study biomedical engineering.
Women in Focus, Inc. would like to express our enduring deep admiration and love for our late sister Virginia along with our sincere gratitude for all the effort and inspiration that she gave to our organization since its inception. As 2019 President of Women in Focus, Inc., Edith Hilliard, said:
“Virginia was a stellar member of WIF. She was instrumental in moving the organization forward to where we are today. In the early years, it was Virginia who brought the Morehouse & Spellman Choirs to Madison as a gift to the community. She was a mighty force not only in WIF but the Madison community. We will miss her, but we will never forget her and the mark she has left in so many venues and lives.”
