Alexa Benson Henderson
Atlanta Insurance Company: Guardian of Black Economic Design.
The University of Alabama Press, 1990. Second printing. 081730441X xvi/251 pages.
Volume, measuring approximately 6.5" x 9.5", is bound in light brown cloth, with stamped dark blue lettering to spine. Book is like new, with firm binding, clean and bright interior. Dust jacket is in fine condition. Jacket is preserved in mylar cover.
"The story of the Atlanta Life Insurance Company, with its humble beginning as a small mutual aid association, depicts the inspiring efforts of black Americans to build and sustain economic organizations and enterprises. Its study also fits into mosaic of activities, extending back to the pre-Civil War era, which were aimed at developing an economic base within the black community. These efforts gained new meaning in the post-Reconstruction period as blacks strove to survive in an America that was increasingly characterized by rampant racism and a host of economic and social restrictions based on race. In this environment, a significant number of black leaders urged business development and the amassing of wealth among black Americans as the primary means by which the race could end its disadvantage in American society and achieve respect and citizenship.
In Atlanta, shortly after the turn of the century, Alonzo Franklin Herndon, a former slave, joined a long line of promoters of black enterprise by creating the Atlanta Life Insurance Company. More than three-quarters of a century later, it is an important enterprise that is the nation's largest black-controlled shareholder insurance company. With more than 108.7 million in assets, the firm is today a significant example of the valiant efforts of black Americans to achieve economic dignity in America.
The Atlanta Life story tells a great deal about the past achievements of black insurance firms. In its study, one observes broadly the historical strengths and weaknesses and sees clearly the important correlations between periods of book and depression on the levels of growth experienced by these enterprises. The book also reflects the impact of racism and socioeconomic exclusion on the survival of black firms.
From its beginning in 1905, Atlanta Life Insurance Company surmounted many obstacles, both economic and racial, to provide an important economic service to black Americans. In addition to easing the financial burdens associated with illnesses and deaths, the company also provided employment opportunities in areas where the company operated. In spurts of expansion fever, the company grew until its territory of operations included twelve states in the South and Midwest. With diligent leadership possessing firm faith in the possibilities of black business enterprise, Atlanta Life demonstrated the potential predicated by early black leaders such as Booker T. Washington and John Hope."