Alonzo Herndon Dies, Leaving Atlanta Life as Monument to Black Wealth

When Alonzo Herndon died in 1927, he was Atlanta's wealthiest Black citizen, owning more property than any other African American in the city. The company he had built from a $5,000 mutual aid association in 1905 was now a multi-state insurance giant with hundreds of employees. His son Norris Herndon continued building Atlanta Life into one of the largest Black-owned businesses in America.