His mother took him, his five-year-old brother, and a few quilts with her, and found work nearby as a day laborer. From a very young age, Herndon worked as a laborer, and a peddler, to help support his family, as only his mother could work in the early years. Forego a bottle of soda and donate its cost to us for the information you just learned, and feel good about helping to make it available to everyone. Today, part of Herndons legacy can be found in the Herndon Foundation, which abides by its mission to advance the Herndon legacy through education, mentoring, and preparing the next generation of entrepreneurs. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19192-1550 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. } His home was included in National Historic Landmark in United States in 2000. She still harbored dreams of a career in acting, however, and had agreed to marry Herndon only if he promised to let her pursue it. In 1922 the company was reorganized as the Atlanta Life Insurance Company and achieved legal reserve status, a position enjoyed by only four other Black insurance companies at that time. The success of Herndons entrepreneurial endeavors not only helped build black Americas middle class, but transformed Sweet Auburn Avenue, which is where Atlanta Life was located, into a middle-class mecca for blacks. Tweet. With Herndon playing a pivotal role as president and chief stockholder, the small association expanded its assets from $5,000 in 1905 to more than $400,000 by 1922. At his death in 1927, his real estate was assessed at nearly $325,000. His son took over his businesses and . Alonzo Franklin Herndon was an African American entrepreneur who founded and was the first president of Atlanta Life Insurance Company. A small donation would help us keep this available to all. } His son, Norris B. Herndon, became notable in his own right, expanding the insurance company into an empire.[6]. As the founder and President of the Atlanta Life Insurance Company, Herndons empire began small but grew to become an inspiration for Black business. Retrieved Jul 14, 2020, from https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/business-economy/alonzo-herndon-1858-1927/. Alonzo Herndon was born on the 26th of June, 1858. .header-wrap-top .top-social-icon li a:hover{color:#f4c85e;} You can visit it in Vine City at 587 University Place NW. At the time of his death in 1927, he was also Atlanta 's wealthiest Black citizen, owning more property than any other African American. On that day in 1878, he walked all the way to Jonesboro, Georgia, but his first stop was a town that had telegraph wires running overhead, something he had never before seen and which unsettled him. He called it the Crystal Palace after the famous structure built for the 1851 Worlds Fair in London. background:rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.95); } He was even a delegate to the first conference of the National Negro Business League organized by Washington in 1890, and was involved in Du Bois's 1905 Niagara Movement, a conference held in Fort Erie, Ontario that eventually led to the formation of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). It also was in 1905 that Herndon made the significant decision to enter the world of insurance finance, and purchased the struggling Atlanta Benevolent and Protective Association, which had been founded by a local African American pastor. Now he was a great deal businessman. Warren, New Jersey 07061 In 1915, he ventured into Alabama, and the acquired another Georgia insurance company, Union Mutual, the largest black-owned insurer in the state. In addition to serving as a role model and inspiration to generations of African American entrepreneurs, Herndon left a significant family legacy. Despite several crises in the industry and lean times generally, Atlanta Life under Herndons leadership survived and progressed into the next decades as a secure and prosperous business. Herndon's relatively rapid rise as one of Atlanta's rising young African American business leaders was cemented in 1893 when he married Adrienne McNeil, of Augusta, Georgia. 2019Encyclopedia.com | All rights reserved. In 1922, the name was changed to the Atlanta Life Insurance Company and expanded to several states in the south such as Florida, Kansas, Kentucky and other states. Copyright 2023 Interactive One, LLC. 3. Born into slavery, he became one of the first African American millionaires in the United States, first achieving success by owning and operating three large barber shops in the city that served prominent white men. Herndon bought the business for $140 in 1905, and when he deposited the sum according to the new state regulatory rules, his company became the first in the state to meet the new requirement. Facts about Elias Howe make us talk about the American inventor. (Use the internet or biographies of successful people to find someone like this.) .upcoming-events li span { Civil Rights Movement Mid- to Late 20th Century Topics . Five years later he was one of the original members of the W.E.B. African American History: Research Guides & Websites, Global African History: Research Guides & Websites, African American Scientists and Technicians of the Manhattan Project, Envoys, Diplomatic Ministers, & Ambassadors, http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/business-economy/alonzo-herndon-1858-1927, https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/atlanta/her.htm, Foundation, Organization, and Corporate Supporters. color:#f4c85e; .slider-wrapper .flex-slider .fs-caption-overlay{ Herndon saved other failing insurance companies by merging their company with Atlanta Life Insurance, claiming his efforts were designed to build confidence in black businesses and save jobs for African American men and women. Get facts about Alan Sugar here. Employees: 32,000 Though Herndons successful businesses and investments made him a wealthy man, they did not protect him from the negative effects of racism. background:#494bbc; Famous for founding and heading the successful Atlanta Family Life Insurance Company, he is also remembered as the . "Significantly, Alonzo chose field labor rather than barbering to depict his critical path to success." background:#f4c85e; background:#f4c85e; At the time, she was teaching drama and elocution at Atlanta University, from which she had only recently graduated, and was the sole African American woman on its faculty. FUN FACTS. Therefore, that information is unavailable for most Encyclopedia.com content. .simplesocialbuttons.simplesocialbuttons_inline .ssb-fb-like { 56. However, the date of retrieval is often important. Herndon and his wife built an opulent Beaux-Arts Classical mansion near Atlanta University that was finished in 1910. } In 1910, Herndons wife died unexpectedly. He also became the president of this company. At that time, he was 7 years old. Do you know that he was born into slavery? Twice Herndon's businesses were destroyed by fire: once in 1896 after a gas stove across the street from the Markham ignited its building and leveled the hotel, and again in 1902 when his new place on Marietta Street ignited in a fire that destroyed an entire city block. } U.S.A. She was the decorator. Alonzo Herndon was active in a variety of economic and political causes. .last-btn #menu >li:last-child > a { In 1905 he purchased a failing mutual aid association, which he incorporated as the Atlanta Mutual Insurance Association. Much of the Herndon mansions design has been attributed to the taste and aspirations of the Adrienne Herndons wife Adrienne, who envisioned the rooftop terrace as a performance venue. @media screen and (max-width: 550px){body,p{ Herndon set out to make the Atlanta Benevolent and Protective Association into a leading provider of life insurance for African Americans in the South. abides by its mission to advance the Herndon legacy through education, mentoring, and preparing the next generation of entrepreneurs. } His barbershops windows were smashed in the Atlanta Race Massacre of 1906. background:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.18);} [4] Herndon and his family attended the First Congregational Church in Atlanta. } font-size:38px; letter-spacing:0.4px; The Herndons were very proud to be African Americans. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); List choice {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod? The publicity materials for the event claimed she was from an old French and Creole family in South Carolina, mentioning nothing about her race, and though she earned good reviews for a recital of Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra, no other roles came her way. .flex-slider li .caption-content a{color:#fff;} Carole Merritt, The Herndons: An Atlanta Family (Athens: University of Georgia Press, 2002). } Tragically, Adrienne died the same year the house was completed after a bout with Addison's disease, a glandular condition. Herndons business thrived. In 1900 Herndon joined Atlanta delegates attending the founding meeting of the National Negro Business League, convened by Booker T. Washington in Boston. Telephone: (908) 903-2000 . .header-wrap-top .top-menu .top li a:hover{ -webkit-box-shadow: 0 14px 26px -12px rgba(255,255,255,0.42), 0 4px 23px 0 rgba(255,255,255,0.12), 0 8px 10px -5px rgba(255,255,255,0.2);box-shadow: 0 14px 26px -12px rgba(255,255,255,0.42), 0 4px 23px 0 rgba(255,255,255,0.12), 0 8px 10px -5px rgba(255,255,255,0.12)} Like so many newly emancipated African Americans, the Herndons engaged in sharecroppinga system that kept them only a short step from slavery for many more years. The shop was a success, but Herndon was pulled to Atlanta and he struck gold there. Herndon also used his wealth to support local institutions and causes, such as the Young Mens Christian Association (YMCA), Atlanta University, the First Congregational Church, the Southview Cemetery, and the Atlanta State Savings Bank. He was considered. Herndon soon opened his first business, a barbershop, in Jonesboro. Take a virtual tour of Georgia's museums and galleries, Fashion and politics from Georgia-born designer Frankie Welch. Herndon died in Atlanta on July 21, 1927 at the age of 69. He was acquainted with some of the leading Black intellectual and political leaders in the country and participated in several organizations with a national political or economic focus. Alonzo Herndon, a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, died in Atlanta on July 21, 1927 at the age of 69. He was a founding member of Booker T. Washingtons National Negro Business League in 1900. What Is The Herndon Foundation? )- (Los Bros Hernandez, a collective pseudonym), Herndon, Nancy 1934- (Elizabeth Chadwick, Nancy Fairbanks), National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/herndon-alonzo-franklin, The Mixed Legacy of the Reconstruction Era. Holla:CJ@AtlantaFi.com. An extended European honeymoon was partly spent gathering furnishings to refit his Crystal Palace. Henderson, Alexa. The New Georgia Encyclopedia does not hold the copyright for this media resource and can neither grant nor deny permission to republish or reproduce the image online or in print. Herndon was most involved on the local level. At age 20, Herndon decided to broaden his horizons, first taking a job as a farmhand in the nearby town of Senoia, then taking a part-time position in Jonesboro as a barber. } Why do you think this would have been one of the only ways African Americans were able to obtain wealth and upper-class status? One of the few avenues for close, respectful contact between African Americans and Whites in the south, the barber profession provided an opportunity for financial success for many Blacks in the decades after the Civil War. According to the Atlanta Journal, Herndon and his all-Black barbering staff were known from Richmond all the way to Mobile as the best barbers in the South. Following the racial practices of the era, the Black barbers served an exclusively white clientele composed of the citys leading lawyers, judges, politicians, and businessmen. They had one son together, Norris B. Herndon. his personal fortune grew, Herndon entered the field of insurance. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. } Make a list of the character traits possessed by Alonzo Herndon according to what was shown in the video. Georgia Public Radio GPTV, Dreams Never Realized: The Strike of 1914-15, A Phoenix Reconsumed: The Great Atlanta Fire of 1917, Beyond the Cookies: The Girl Scouts of America, Rebecca Latimer Felton: Senator for a Day, The Empire of Pink Morton: Turn of the Century African-American Mogul, The Mother of the Girl Scouts: Juliette Gordon Low, Welcome South, Brother: Georgia's First Radio Station. border: 1px solid #f4c85e; .footer-wrapper .footer-copyright .copyright { Herndon and the prominent writer and abolitionist Frederick Douglass both spent their early years in slavery. background:#0e0e0e; Pub, Turner, Henry McNeal 18341915 Over the next 10 years, Herndons Markham House establishment made him a wealthy man and allowed him to open two other upscalebarbershops in the city In 1896, when the hotel and Herndons shop were destroyed by fire, he set about creating a new showcase barbershop at 66 Peachtree Street. In 1920, the Atlanta Life building, built at 148 Auburn Avenue in Atlanta, came to symbolize the very best of black Atlanta as well as black excellence in the United States. When W. E. B. } Stock Exchanges: N, One Liberty Place !function(c,h,i,m,p){m=c.createElement(h),p=c.getElementsByTagName(h)[0],m.async=1,m.src=i,p.parentNode.insertBefore(m,p)}(document,"script","https://chimpstatic.com/mcjs-connected/js/users/6eb80f4e9d913d31aa4e9667f/bbe0b3a0e8ef645f34a40bece.js"); The family learned to feed themselves by sharecropping, which is whereHerndon began to appreciate the acumen of operating good business when dealing with people, a quality that would come to serve him greatly later in life. letter-spacing:0.4px; color:#494bbc; 8. The couple had a son, Norris, who grew Atlanta Life to even greater heights after Herndons death. By 1922 the company had more than $400,000 in assets. In 1893, Herndon married Adrienne Elizabeth McNeil, a professor at Atlanta University, who influenced his cultural and educational growth. Age AintWhat?! He decided to open his barbershop here. At the time of. Total Assets: $114.35 billion (1994) He was one of 25 people enslaved by his father, who never acknowledged paternity of him. 31. His funeral was an extraordinary event in the city, and Atlanta Life's Memphis chief, George W. Lee, was one of a lengthy list of eulogists who paid tribute to the company founder. } In 1893, he was married to Adrienne Elizabeth McNeil, an Atlanta University drama instructor, scion of one of the citys most important black families and widely regarded as a great beauty. t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0]; "No story, no tragedy, no epic poem will be read with greater wonder or followed by mankind with deeper feeling than that which tells the story of his life and death," Lee said, according to Merritt's book. Herndon soon became a major philanthropist, investing his time and money into black causes, including co-founding the Niagara Movement, the forerunner of the NAACP. Herndon was featured in The Crisis Magazine's Men of the Month in March 1921. 2. There he opened his first barbershop. @media screen and (max-width: 1024px){ A photograph of the house under construction contained the caption, "said to be the finest Negro residence in the South," according to Merritt's book. Web site: http://www.cigna.com Mrs. Herndon and her stepson worked together in leading Atlanta Life to even greater success. 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