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Leader of civil rights movement’s lobbying arm to step down

FILE - In this Aug. 28, 2010 file photo, Wade Henderson, of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, speaks at a commemoration of the 47th anniversary of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous "I Have a Dream" speech at Shiloh Baptist Church in Washington. Henderson, who will have been the president and CEO of the Leadership Conference for 20 years next year, says he will leave his post on December 31, 2016. There will be a nationwide search for Henderson’s replacement. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)
FILE - In this Aug. 28, 2010 file photo, Wade Henderson, of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, speaks at a commemoration of the 47th anniversary of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous "I Have a Dream" speech at Shiloh Baptist Church in Washington. Henderson, who will have been the president and CEO of the Leadership Conference for 20 years next year, says he will leave his post on December 31, 2016. There will be a nationwide search for Henderson’s replacement. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)

By Associated Press 2 min read

WASHINGTON (AP) – The longtime head of an organization considered the lobbying arm of the civil rights movement announced Wednesday that he will step down at the end of 2016, citing a generational shift within the movement and saying it’s time for make room for new leaders.

Wade Henderson will have been president and CEO for 20 years of what is now known as the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.

“What is really driving this effort is my desire to make sure that the institution that I helped build will have the leadership that is suited for the challenges it faces not just today but into the future,” Henderson said in an interview with The Associated Press.

There will be a nationwide search for Henderson’s replacement.

The Leadership Conference was founded in 1950 by Roy Wilkins of the NAACP, A. Philip Randolph of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters and Arnold Aronson of the organization now known as the Jewish Council for Public Affairs. In 2010, the Leader Conference on Civil Rights adopted its current name.