In 1955, Freddye and Jacob Henderson Sr. formed an Atlanta travel agency with a specific purpose: to encourage blacks to travel the globe, see the world, educate themselves.
It was a mission their children embraced, too, notably son Jake Henderson Jr. After serving with the Marines during the Vietnam War, the law school graduate returned to Atlanta. He joined the family business, Henderson Travel Service Inc., considered the nation's oldest black travel agency.
Mr. Henderson managed the agency as it pioneered tourism in West Africa. He became an expert, of sorts, on international travel to Africa.
"My brother's focus was on fostering business connections between African-Americans and people in the African diaspora," said his sister, Shirley H. Coleman of Atlanta. "He was involved in international business ventures and tourism development."
On Tuesday, Jacob Robert Henderson Jr. of Atlanta died at Emory University Hospital Midtown from complications of liver cancer. He was 66. The funeral will be held at 1 p.m. Monday in the Horizon Sanctuary at Ebenezer Baptist Church. Murray Brothers Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Henderson attended Turner High before his parents enrolled him in the New Hampton School in New Hampshire. The 1962 graduate enrolled at Lehigh University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in engineering. He also earned a law degree from Columbia University.
After law school, the Atlanta native was drafted into the Marines, where he served three years. Besides a tour of Vietnam, he was assigned to the judge advocate office, where he defended fellow soldiers.
In 1969, he came home. Under his management, the family agency promoted tourism in West Africa. Mr. Henderson co-founded the New World Festival of the African Diaspora, an event to raise the awareness of arts. As a young man, he helped his mother plan the travel itinerary for the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. when he accepted the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway, said a sister, Dr. Gaynelle Henderson-Bailey of Washington, D.C.
In 1996, he was a key player in the Goree Island Project, an economic development program. The Henderson agency was one of four Atlanta firms that worked with the Senegalese government; at the time, Mr. Henderson toured the island with a delegation led by Commerce Secretary Ron Brown.
Traveling abroad was nothing new for Mr. Henderson. The Henderson clan had learned to appreciate travel, diversity and culture at an early age. He traveled extensively to Africa, the Caribbean and Europe as a youngster.
"He experienced that kind of interaction and travel as soon as he was old enough," Dr. Henderson-Bailey said. "And as soon as we were old enough, we took tour groups all over the world. He led many tours to Mexico, Hawaii and South America."
In Atlanta, Mr. Henderson immersed himself in politics. He worked on the congressional campaign of Andrew Young and that of former Atlanta Mayor Maynard Jackson.
In 1991, the Henderson agency closed its Atlanta retail office and consolidated that part of the operation with its office in Washington, D.C. Today, Henderson Associates Inc., of Silver Spring, Md., specializes in consultancy and tourism development in Africa, said Dr. Henderson-Bailey, who oversees the operation.
Since 2002, Mr. Henderson had been working on a project with Bermuda tourism officials to market a heritage trail of the African diaspora.
"Jake was always thinking of new ways to stay involved in African tourism," said Dr. Henderson-Bailey. "He grew up with that international focus."
Additional survivors include his wife of 14 years, Solange Henderson of Atlanta; and another sister, Carole Henderson Tyson of Washington, D.C.
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