Wade J. Henderson (born April 22, 1948) is an
African-American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...
advocate, community leader and governmental activist. He has served as president of the
Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights (LCCHR) and counsel to the
Leadership Conference Education Fund. He is a graduate of
Howard University
Howard University (Howard) is a Private university, private, University charter#Federal, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, classifie ...
and the
Rutgers University School of Law, and a member of the bars of the District of Columbia and the Supreme Court of the United States. He is the founder and president of Wade J. Henderson, LLC, which gives strategic advice on civil and human rights issues, a former Joseph L. Rauh, Jr., Professor of Public Interest Law at the
David A. Clarke School of Law
The University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law (UDC Law) is the law school of the University of the District of Columbia, a public historically black land-grant university in Washington, D.C.
It is named after David A. ...
, University of the District of Columbia and a prominent commentator on civil rights and race relations in the United States
Mr Henderson was the Washington Bureau director of the NAAChttps://ir.frontyardresidential.com/board-directors/wade-henderson P from 1991 to 1996, where he directed the organization's government affairs and national legislative program].
Henderson's public activities have included participation in social justice coalitions to developing strategies regarding domestic and international civil and human rights policy. During his tenure as president, LCCHR policy initiatives included reauthorizing the Voting Rights Act and lobbying for passage of the Help America Vote Act, the Fair Sentencing Act, the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, the ADA Amendments Act, the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr., Hate Crimes Prevention Act, and the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. He also supported the confirmations of U.S. Supreme Court Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, and U.S. Attorneys General Eric Holder and Loretta Lynch.
During Mr Henderson’s tenure as president of the
Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights
The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights (The Leadership Conference), formerly called the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, is an umbrella group of American civil rights interest groups.
Organizational history
The Leadership Co ...
the organization grew from 170 to 230-member organizations and was active in the public discussion of local and international civil and human rights. He has attended human rights conferences in Geneva, Switzerland, Germany, South Africa, Israel, and Chile. In 2015, Wade testified before the U.N. General Assembly to call for an international response to the global rise of anti-Semitism and other hate crimes.
From 2007-2011 Henderson served on th
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Advisory Committee on Economic Inclusion which was created in 2006 to provide the FDIC with advice and recommendations on access to banking services by underserved populations. He also advocated for fair-chance hiring practices at banks to give ex-offenders a chance at securing work.
As of February 2021, Henderson's volunteer activities focused on improving educational and financial opportunities for disadvantaged populations. He is a member of the Board of Directors and a pro bono advisor at th
Center for Responsible Lending a member of the Board of Trustees of the
Educational Testing Service
Educational Testing Service (ETS), founded in 1947, is the world's largest private nonprofit educational testing and assessment organization. It is headquartered in Lawrence Township, Mercer County, New Jersey, Lawrence Township, New Jersey, b ...
and a member of the Foundation Board of Directors of the District of Columbia School of Law (DCSL).
Before his role with The Leadership Conference, Henderson directed the Washington Bureau of the
NAACP. He directed the organization’s government affairs and national legislative programs; and served as associate director of the Washington office of the
American Civil Liberties Union
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". T ...
Awards
*Honorary Doctorate, Queens College School of Law, City University of New York
*Honorary Doctorate, Gettysburg College
*Member,
Kappa Alpha Psi
Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. () is a historically African American fraternity. Since the fraternity's founding on January 5, 1911 at Indiana University Bloomington, the fraternity has never restricted membership on the basis of color, creed ...
fraternity
References
External links
*
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1948 births
Living people
Activists for African-American civil rights
Howard University alumni
Kappa Alpha Psi
Rutgers University alumni
Social justice activists