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Today we feature one of the most successful men in Black History who built his fortune through his masterful skills with scissors and a razor.
Alonzo Herndon (1858-1927), Barber, Insurance Company Founder, Civil Rights Financier
An African American barber and entrepreneur, Alonzo Herndon was founder and president of the Atlanta Life Insurance Company, one of the most successful black-owned insurance businesses in the nation. At the time of his death in 1927, he was also Atlanta‘s wealthiest black citizen, owning more property than any other African American. Admired and respected by many, he was noted for his involvement in and support of local institutions and charities devoted to advancing African American business and community life.
The firm grew rapidly in the 1920s, expanding its operations into a half dozen new states, including Florida, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee, and Texas. Herndon also sought to save other failing black enterprises. Whenever possible, he reinsured the policyholders and merged the faltering business into Atlanta Life in an effort to conserve confidence in black businesses and save jobs for black men and women. Despite several crises in the industry and lean times generally, Atlanta Life under Herndon’s leadership survived and progressed into the next decades as a secure and prosperous business.
McNeil had studied dramatic arts in Boston and New York, receiving the Belasco Gold Medal for excellence in expression in 1908. Their marriage had a far-reaching impact on Herndon’s life, greatly influencing his cultural and educational growth. It also produced his only child, Norris, who succeeded him as chief executive of Atlanta Life Insurance Company. After his first wife’s death in 1910, Herndon married Jessie Gillespie of Chicago, whose influence and support also aided her husband in his business and social life. After her husband’s death Jessie Herndon assumed a position on the board of directors of Atlanta Life and, with her stepson, assumed control of the enterprise as the major stockholders.