TEXARKANA MAGAZINE
Henderson is a trailblazer and has never been restrained by a glass ceiling of fear. Undaunted by the prospect of being the only black woman in a specific field, she believed in herself and always trusted what she had to offer. With a prolific resume ranging from hot check collector, State First National Bank runner, loan teller, and five years at Lone Star Army Ammunition, Henderson was the first black woman at Louis Raffaelli’s District Attorney’s office and the first black woman to sell home and auto insurance in Texarkana. She recounts being asked in a conversation with a continuing education instructor if there was anyone else like her doing what she was doing. “We laughed about it,” Henderson said, “but I hadn’t seen anyone else like me doing [insurance] in this area. I never saw anyone of my color in these rooms.” She knew those could become very lonely rooms, or she could instead view them as a source of empowerment. She chose empowerment. “I felt I made my mother proud. She was proud to tell her sisters in California that her daughter was in the insurance business and that she worked for the district attorney’s office. My whole family felt an enormous sense of greatness knowing I was doing this. I really believe I made an impact.” While it can be scary to be the lone wolf, Henderson never allowed that thought to get in the way of her determination. “I had to make myself do it because I knew I belonged, and I knew I had earned my seat at the table,” she said. Henderson received her Accredited Customer Service Representative license from the State of Texas in December 1992. “I was a customer service rep, waiting on customers and talking to them about insurance, but I couldn’t sign any contracts until I became an agent.” In December 1995, Henderson went through the rigorous process of testing to become a licensed insurance agent in Texas and a non- residential agent in Arkansas. That is also the same year Henderson married her husband, Walter. As a young single mom, she had done what it took to make sure she and her children thrived. “I had a job where I cleaned a building at night, and Offenhauser asked me if I wanted to clean their building and work as well.” With her new marriage, the couple became
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BUSINESS & POLITICS
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