LeRoy W. Henderson, Jr., born in Richmond, Virginia, in 1936, is a celebrated American photographer renowned for his documentation of social and political movements from the Civil Rights era to the present. Growing up in the Washington Park neighborhood, he was influenced by his experiences working odd jobs for local artists, including Adele Clark, a prominent painter and suffragist, whose studio inspired his creative pursuits. At the age of twelve, he purchased a Brownie Hawkeye camera, which he used to photograph model airplanes he had built. After graduating from Maggie Walker High School, he continued his studies at Virginia State University, where he received a bachelor's degree, and continued his studies at the Pratt Institute, where he earned a master’s degree. He also attended the School of Visual Arts to study photography and film.
In the 1960s, Following military service in Germany, where he worked as a cryptographer, Henderson returned to the U.S. and dedicated himself to photojournalism. Influenced by photographers like Gordon Parks and Walker Evans, he sought to produce work that not only represented events but also told the stories of the individuals involved. Throughout his career, Henderson captured key moments in Black history, such as the Poor People’s March on Washington and antiwar protests in New York City, and photographed influential figures such as Stokely Carmichael and Muhammad Ali. With these and other images, Henderson often provides a unique perspective that highlights the human experience.
Henderson’s work gained wider attention when he contributed work to The Black Photographers Annual in the 1970s. Since then, his work has been widely published in magazines such as Black Enterprise, Essence, Jet, Newsweek, and New York magazine. Henderson’s work has been shown in many one-person and group exhibitions, including the landmark exhibition Road to Freedom: Photographs of the Civil Rights Movement, 1956-1968, organized by the High Museum of Art in Atlanta. His photographs are held in several prestigious collections, including the Art Institute of Chicago, the Brooklyn Museum, the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.
Henderson’s career spans over five decades, and his work continues to offer a nuanced reflection of American society’s struggles, hopes, and resilience. His images reflect his dedication to visual storytelling, embodying the spirit of the era and the stories of those often overlooked. As he has said, “Most of us, we’re not looking for photographs as we walk around. But my motivation as a photographer and an artist is to be able to see the things that other people don’t see.”
LeRoy Henderson, Self-Portrait, c. 1965. © LeRoy Henderson.
LeRoy Henderson, Brooklyn, New York, 1965. © LeRoy Henderson.
LeRoy Henderson, Spanish Harlem, New York, 1965. © LeRoy Henderson.
LeRoy Henderson, Summer Day Camp, New York, 1965. © LeRoy Henderson.
LeRoy Henderson, Sister Noralita, New York Public Library Reading Program, Harlem, New York, 1967. © LeRoy Henderson.
LeRoy Henderson, Dining Car, 1967. © LeRoy Henderson.
LeRoy Henderson, Civil Right Rally, City College of New York, 1967. © LeRoy Henderson.
LeRoy Henderson, Anti-War Rally, New York, 1967. © LeRoy Henderson.
LeRoy Henderson, First Anti-Vietnam War Marchers on Madison Avenue, New York, 1967. © LeRoy Henderson.
LeRoy Henderson, First Anti-Vietnam War Rally, Madison Avenue, New York, 1967. © LeRoy Henderson.
LeRoy Henderson, Bayard Rustin being Interviewed by Gil Noble, Judge Bruce Wright, New York, 1968. © LeRoy Henderson.
LeRoy Henderson, Mourners of Bobby Kennedy, St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York, 1968. © LeRoy Henderson.
LeRoy Henderson, Residents of Resurrection City Solidariuty Day, Poor People's Campaign, Washington, D.C., 1968. © LeRoy Henderson.
LeRoy Henderson, Solidarity Day, Poor People's Campaign, Washington, D.C., 1968. © LeRoy Henderson.
LeRoy Henderson, Coretta Scott King and her Children, Yolanda, Nartin III, Bernice, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, Solidarity Day, Poor People's Campaign, Washington, D.C., 1968. © LeRoy Henderson.
LeRoy Henderson, Residents of Resurrection City, Solidarity Day, Poor People's Campaign, Washington, D.C., 1968. © LeRoy Henderson.
LeRoy Henderson, Cornelius "Cornbread" Givens, Eugene McCarthy Presidential Campaign / Poor People's Campaign, Former Lewisohn, 1968. © LeRoy Henderson.
LeRoy Henderson, Andrew Young with his Family at Solidarity Day, Poor People's Campaign, Washington, D.C., 1968. © LeRoy Henderson.
LeRoy Henderson, Solidarity Day, Poor People's Campaign, Washington, D.C., 1968. © LeRoy Henderson.
LeRoy Henderson, Solidarity Day, Poor People's Campaign, Washington, D.C., 1968. © LeRoy Henderson.
LeRoy Henderson, Vice President Hubert Humphrey, Jacob Javits, and others on the Steps of Lincoln Memorial, Solidarity Day, Poor People's Campaign, Washington, D.C., 1968. © LeRoy Henderson.
LeRoy Henderson, Solidarity Day, Poor People's Campaign, Washington, D.C., 1968. © LeRoy Henderson.
LeRoy Henderson, Solidarity Day, Poor People's Campaign, Washington, D.C., 1968. © LeRoy Henderson.
LeRoy Henderson, Harlem, New York, 1970. © LeRoy Henderson.
LeRoy Henderson, Protest against Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., Abyssinian Baptist Church, New York, 1970. © LeRoy Henderson.
LeRoy Henderson, Big Brown, Washington Square Park, New York, 1970s © LeRoy Henderson.
LeRoy Henderson, Student Strike, New York University, New York, 1970s. © LeRoy Henderson.
LeRoy Henderson, Senator Edward Brooke, Nancy Wilson, Jesse Jackson, Mayor Tom Bradley, Mayor Walter Washington, Congressional Black Caucus, Washington, D.C., 1970s. © LeRoy Henderson.
LeRoy Henderson, Muhammad Ali and Calvin Lockhart at Ali's Training Camp, Deer Lake, Pennsylvania, 1971. © LeRoy Henderson.
LeRoy Henderson, Coretta Scott King and Richard Hatcher at the Black Political Convention, Gary, Indiana, 1972. © LeRoy Henderson.
LeRoy Henderson, Rosa Parks at the Black Political Convention, Gary, Indiana, 1972. © LeRoy Henderson.
LeRoy Henderson, Bobby Seale and Jesse Jackson at the Black Political Convention, Gary, Indiana, 1972. © LeRoy Henderson.
LeRoy Henderson, Betty Shabazz at the Black Political Convention, Gary, Indiana, 1972. © LeRoy Henderson.
LeRoy Henderson, Richard Roundtree at the Political Convention, Gary, Indiana, 1972. © LeRoy Henderson.
LeRoy Henderson, Angela Davis Madison Square Garden, New York, 1975. © LeRoy Henderson.
