Alonzo Herndon

Alonzo Herndon

Bibliography

Financial Success

"The Alonzo Herndon Family." The Alonzo Herndon Family. Georgia Stories, n.d. Web. 25 Mar. 2013. <http://www.gpb.org/georgiastories/stories/alonzo_herndon_family>.

Alonzo Herndon rose from slavery and segregation to head one of the wealthiest black companies of all time; his company is consistently listed as a top black business by the Black Enterprise magazine.

Henderson, Alexa. "Alonzo Herndon (1858-1927)." New Georgia Encyclopedia. University of Georgia Press., n.d. Web. 25 Mar. 2013. <http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-1917>.

Impact on Georgia

Alonzo Herndon supported failing black companies financially, and saved many black businesses from bankruptcy, despite the segregation during the New South period. He helped Atlanta Life Insurance Company thrive, and he provided many black jobs and maintained confidence for black businesses.

Family Life

Alonzo Herndon married Adrienne

McNeil in 1893. They had a son,

Norris, who later took over as chief executive of Atlanta Life Insurance Company. Unfortunately, Adrienne died

in 1910, and Alonzo married Jessie

Gillespie that same year.

Local Involvement

As well as being a national leader, Alonzo also supported many local organizations, such as the YMCA, Atlanta University, the First Congregational Church, and many orphanages and nurseries. He also supported commercial activities such as the Southview Cemetery Association and the Atlanta State Savings Bank.

National Involvement

Alonzo was involved in many national conventions. He participated in several national organizations, and worked with many black intellectual and political leaders. In 1900, He was at the founding meeting for the National Negro Business League. He attended the Niagara Movement meeting in 1905, headed by W. E. B. Du Bois.

Insurance Success

In 1922, the Atlanta Life Insurance Company was one of only four black insurance companies to achieve legal reserve status, and it had expanded into more than half a dozen states, including Florida, Kansas, Kentucky, and Missouri.

The Atlanta Mutual

Insurance Association

In 1905, he invested in a failing mutual aid association, which he made into the Atlanta Mutual Insurance Association. He became president of the association, and expanded its assets from from $5,000 in 1905 to more than $400,000 by 1922. By then, the company was reorganized as the Atlanta Life Insurance Company.

The Stairway

to Success

Real Estate

As his earnings grew, he invested in real estate. He owned a large block of commercial property on Auburn Ave. He bought houses in Georgia and Florida, and by the time he died, he owned more than a hundred houses and his real estate was worth $325,000.

Life as a Barber

By 1904, his businesses had expanded, and he

owned three famous shops in Atlanta. His shop located on the corner of Peachtree Street and Auburn Ave. was even decorated with crystal chandeliers and gold fixtures! He served the most important figures of the state, and was so successful, he and his black barbers were "known from Richmond all the way to Mobile as the best barbers in the South." (Atlanta Journal)

Early Life

Alonzo Franklin Herndon was born a slave in June 26, 1858 in Walton County, Georgia. He was later emancipated and lived in a farm in Social Circle with his mother. He evaded poverty by sharecropping and peddling peanuts and molasses. In 1878 he moved to Senoia, where he learned the barbering trade. In 1883, he moved to Atlanta and started his own barber shop the Crystal Palace.

By: Tony Zhang and

Justin Ford