TAMPA, Fla. (WFTS) — On June 10, the City of Tampa announced Councilwoman Gwen Henderson died of natural causes.
Henderson, a Tampa native, was a teacher in the community. She was elected to city council in 2023, the same year that she opened her business, Black English Bookstore.
Watch full report from Jada Williams
We interviewed multiple people who knew Henderson. They shared what they'll miss about her.
Henry Washington
“This morning, when I got the call, my dad actually called and told me the news, and I couldn't believe it. Then my phone started blowing up because everybody knows I’m a good friend or whatever,” Washington recounted. “I just had to take a moment at work to get myself together.”
Washington spoke of his last conversation with Henderson just a day before her passing.
“We were on the phone yesterday for about an hour, just talking about FAMU and my daughter going to FAMU,” he said. “She was her regular, bubbly self, discussing what we needed to do to make sure my daughter got in. She was always passionate about FAMU and Jefferson High School. If you say something bad about those two schools, she’d probably meet you in the parking lot.”
Henderson became her coworker at Jefferson High School in 2000. They quickly became friends.
"We just hit it off. We had similar educational philosophies,” Washington stated. “She was always helping her students. She taught business, so it was in her blood. She was passionate about teaching and getting her students where they needed to be.”
Washington emphasized Henderson's commitment to the community, saying, “She always wanted to see her community better than when she found it. Everywhere she went, she left it better than how she found it.”
In addition to her role as a councilwoman, Henderson recently opened a bookstore, a dream she had long pursued.
“She had been talking about that bookstore forever. It finally came to fruition last year, and she was so proud of it.” He added, “We as a community are going to keep her legacy alive through the bookstore. I’m sure her daughter will probably run it."
Reflecting on what he would miss the most about her, Washington said, “Oh man, her voice, her funny little voice. She was just a nice lady who cared about everyone. Every time we saw each other, she would give me a big hug and ask about my family.”
Tampa Councilwoman Lynn Hurtak
Stepping into the city council chambers, Councilwoman Lynn Hurtak felt an overwhelming sense of sadness during our talk.
“Thursday will be hard,” she said, thinking of the next city council meeting. “She brought so much life and enthusiasm to what she did. I'm really going to miss that.”
The two councilwomen shared a unique bond, having dubbed themselves "15" and "16" due to their historic status as the 15th and 16th women to serve on the council since its inception in 1887.
“It was a lighthearted nickname, but it had importance and history behind it. It was important to Gwen that we not forget where we came from. That’s powerful," she said.
Hurtak says she'll always remember the lessons she learned from Henderson during their time together on the council.
“Watching her fight for what she believed in reminds me to continue to find my place and fight as a passionate advocate. Gwen would often say, ‘I didn't win the vote, so it’s over,’ and then she would dive into what was next, advocating for the people who would use whatever was being developed," she recalled.
Tampa Council Chair Alan Clendenin
"I received the call early this morning, and it just took the wind right out of me. It was quite unexpected and devastating to hear the news," Clendenin said.
Clendenin and Henderson were elected during the same cycle in 2023.
"We were the freshmen coming on council, and so I got to know her really well during the campaign,” he explained. “Being the new people on council, we were able to grow and understand things together. She was a fierce advocate, and when she was passionate about something, she fought for it with everything she had.”
Henderson’s commitment to her community was evident in her advocacy for various projects that aimed at improving the lives of residents in neighborhoods like Carver City, Ybor City, and East Tampa.
As chairperson of the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA), Henderson played a pivotal role in managing significant projects across Tampa’s neighborhoods. “She was instrumental in moving a lot of projects for all these neighborhoods that were part of the CRA,” Clendenin noted. He specifically mentioned the expansion of the Straz Center for the Performing Arts, saying, "What she really fought for was making sure there was a community benefit agreement that opened up the Straz to kids from these neighborhoods.”
The City will announce memorial plans in the coming days. You can hear from others remembering her here.
Pasco County woman trying to rebuild mobile home after hurricanes
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Welty's mobile home lost its roof during Hurricane Milton. She said it was the only one in the Buena Vista community to get totaled by a tornado.
