Norris Bumstead Herndon (July 15, 1897 June 7, 1977) was a prominent African-American businessman, Harvard Business School MBA graduate, philanthropist, member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, and second President of the historic African-American-owned Atlanta Life Insurance Company.
Herndon was the only child of Atlanta, Georgia's first African-American millionaire businessman Alonzo F. Herndon who rose out of chattel enslavement and sharecropping in rural Georgia and founded Atlanta Life in 1905.
The Atlanta Life Insurance Company, founded in the era of violent white racial animosity and vitriolic Jim Crow segregation, cemented its operational success through a commitment to sustained financial solvency and promptness in paying claims.Henderson, Alexa B. "Atlanta Life Insurance Company." New Georgia Encyclopedia. 19 July 2018. Web. 05 May 2021. https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/business-economy/atlanta-life-insurance-company Atlanta Life Insurance survived the Atlanta massacre of 1906, the ravageous Spanish flu epidemic of 1918–1919, the devastating Tulsa race massacre of 1921, the Great Depression of 1929, and post-1950s desegregation and integration which lead to the decline of many African-American businesses.
Under Norris Herndon, the Atlanta Life Insurance Company grew from $1 million at the time of his father's death in 1927, to $84 million in assets at the time of Herndon's retirement in 1973.Black Past. "NORRIS BUMSTEAD HERNDON (1897-1977)." MARCH 9, 2016. Euell A. Nielsen. https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/norris-bumstead-herndon-1897-1977/ Operating today as the Atlanta Life Financial Group, it is currently valued at around $250 million.
Early life and family
Herndon was born on July 15, 1897, in Atlanta, Georgia. He was the son and only child of millionaire African-American businessman Alonzo Franklin Herndon (June 26, 1858 – July 21, 1927) and Adrienne McNeil Herndon (July 22, 1869 April 6, 1910) (born Elizabeth A. Stephens), a well-known actress and professor of dramatics and elocution at Atlanta University.Peterson, Bernard L. (1997). The African American theatre directory: 1816-1960: a comprehensive guide to early black theatre organizations, companies, theatres, and performing groups (1. publ. ed.). Westport, Conn. [u.a.]: Greenwood. p. 21. ISBN 978-0313295379.
Herndon and his family, light-complexioned African-Americans, could each "pass" for Caucasian, easily blending into Atlanta's white community.National Black Justice Coalition. Norris Herndon. https://beenhere.org/2017/07/15/norris-herndon/
When Herndon was 13, his father built an illustrious Beaux Arts Classical home with 15 rooms in the Vine City neighborhood on Diamond Hill, the highest natural elevation in the city of Atlanta near Morris Brown College. The mansion, known today as the Herndon Home, was declared a U.S. National Historic Landmark in 2000.Frank J. J. Miele; John Sprinkle; Patti Henry (November 1999). "National Historic Landmark Nomination: Herndon Home" (pdf). National Park Service. and Accompanying 6 photos, of Herndon and family and of exterior and interior of mansion, from c.1910, c.1915, 1998 (32 KB)
Four months after Herndon and his family moved into their new home, his mother Adrienne died unexpectedly in 1910 from Addison's disease.Kolin, Philip, ed. (2007). Contemporary African American women playwrights : a casebook. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-0415978262. Herndon took his mother's passing very hard.
Herndon's father Alonzo eventually married again, wedding Jessie Gillespie Herndon (September 6, 1871 - February 1, 1947), a hairdresser and manicurist and daughter of Ezekiel Gillespie, a railroad messenger on the Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway Company, and Catherine Robinson Gillespie, both prominent members of Milwaukee's Black community. Lorenzo and Jessie met through mutual friends in the summer of 1911.The Herndon Foundation. "Jessie Gillespie Herndon." https://www.theherndonfoundation.org/biography/jessie-gillespie-herndon/
Education Well-educated, Herndon graduated high school at Atlanta University (now Clark Atlanta University) in 1915. He also attended college at Atlanta University, graduating in 1919.The Herndon Foundation. "Norris Bumstead Herndon." https://www.theherndonfoundation.org/biography/norris-bumstead-herndon/ Growing up the polar opposite of his sharecropping roots father, Herndon was not accustomed to outdoor or sportsman activities. Accordingly, Alonzo insisted that Norris become physically active to improve his academic performance.Herndon Family Papers, Herndon Home Museum and Archives, Atlanta, Georgia.
Herndon attended Harvard University, graduating in 1921 with a master's degree in Business Administration. Herndon was only one of two African-Americans in his Harvard MBA graduating class. The only other African-American classmate, Benjamin Tanner Johnson, became a tireless champion for African American owned banks where he helped found the African-American-owned New England People's Finance Company, worked as a Connecticut state supervisor in the Works Progress Administration (WPA), taught finance at Howard University, and served as Executive Secretary in the National Urban League of Canton, Ohio.Harvard Business School Online. "THE FIRST AFRICAN-AMERICAN MBAS AT HBS." 14 APR 2010. https://www.alumni.hbs.edu/stories/Pages/story-bulletin.aspx?num=1827
Years later, Morris Brown College awarded Herndon an honorary L.L.D. Degree.Atlanta Journal Constitution. "Norris B. Herndon Obituary ". https://www.newspapers.com/clip/27810856/norris-b-herndon-obituary/
Niagara Movement and overseas travel A family friend of the great scholar and civil rights leader, W.E.B. Du Bois, seven-year old Herndon accompanied his father and Du Bois to Niagara, New York, for the 1905 founding meeting of the Niagara Movement, the predecessor of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). DuBois taught at Atlanta University with Herndon's mother, Adrienne.
On June 4, 1912, Herndon sailed on the on a three-month family vacation/honeymoon with his father Alonzo and Alonzo's new wife Jessie Gillespie Herndon of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, whom Alonzo met through mutual friends in the summer of 1911. Their vacation occurred less than two months after the RMS Carpathia had navigated the North Atlantic ice fields to rescue 705 survivors of the April 15, 1912 Titanic disaster.
By his mid-twenties, Herndon had become an extensive domestic and world traveler, with his father's blessing and planning trips overseas visiting numerous places including New York, Rome, Italy, and other parts of Europe.
Career at the Historic Atlanta Life Insurance Company After graduation from Harvard, Herndon joined the Atlanta Life Insurance Company. He first worked as a cashier, and then as Atlanta Life's First Vice President.
Herndon helped his father Alonzo navigate difficult times, including the devastating 1918 Spanish flu epidemic and the murderous Tulsa race massacre of 1921, both which burdened the company with death and sick claims.Alonzo and Norris Herndon: The Herndon Men Defining Masculinity by Challenging Societal Norms. Pamela Flores. Georgia State University, 2011. https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/214032846.pdf
When his father Alonzo Herndon died in 1927, Norris Herndon became Atlanta Life Insurance Company's second ever President at 28 years old.Funeral Notices, Atlanta Constitution, 23 July 1927 His stepmother, Jessie Gillespie Herndon joined him as Atlanta Life Insurance Corporation's vice president. In his will, Alonzo left split his fortune between Norris and Alonzo's widow and 2nd wife, Jessie Gillespie Herndon, with the provision that Jessie's half go to Norris at her death. Jessie joined Norris as an Atlanta Life Insurance Corporation's vice president.
After Jessie died at age 75 on February 1, 1947, from a stroke after visiting Tiffin, Ohio, Herndon, in 1952, created the Alonzo F. and Norris B. Herndon Foundation, a private foundation dedicated to advancing the Herndon legacy through education, mentoring, and preparing the next generation of entrepreneurs.The Herndon Foundation. "About the Foundation." https://www.theherndonfoundation.org/about-the-foundation/ The foundation also maintains Herndon's childhood home, known affectionally as "the Herndon Home."Flickr. "Vieilles Annonces: The Second Wife of Alonzo Herndon, Jessie Gillespie Herndon." https://www.flickr.com/photos/vieilles_annonces/5797407059/in/photostream/ Transformed into a museum in 1973, the Herndon Home highlights Alonzo Herndon's passage from enslavement and eventual ascent as an astute African-American businessman and civic leader. The Foundation is led by a board of trustees which includes Adam Herndon, Alonzo Herndon's great-great nephew.Adam E. Herndon, "About Adam." https://adameherndon.com/about-adam/ The Herndon Home was declared a U.S. National Historic Landmark in 2000.
Under Herndon, the Atlanta Life Insurance Company grew from $1 million at the time of his father's passing in 1927, to $84 million in assets at the time of Herndon's retirement in 1973. Atlanta Life is currently valued around $250 million.
Civil rights activism Herndon played a significant behind-the-scenes role in the 1950s' Civil Rights Movement. He regularly funded the solvency of many civil rights efforts, including the NAACP, United Negro College Fund, Phyllis Wheatley YMCA, Atlanta University, Morris Brown College, First Congregational Church in Atlanta and the National Urban League.
In 1948, Herndon bequeathed land and fund to Atlanta University to construct Herndon Stadium, a sports facility located one block from Herndon's childhood home.
Under Herndon's leadership, the Atlanta Life Insurance Company held the first and only insurance policy on noted Civil Rights leader and icon Martin Luther King Jr.ATLANTA LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY. https://atlantalife.com/#:~:text=Founded%20by%20one%20of%20the%20original%20members%20of,the%20Alonzo%20F.%20Herndon%20Game%20Changer%20Entrepreneurship%20Program.11 Life. "How Martin Luther King, Jr. got life insurance." https://www.11alive.com/video/news/local/black-history/how-martin-luther-king-jr-got-life-insurance/85-e2d3f759-d206-4169-b64a-4042ccb2f1e8
Membership in fraternities Herndon was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity. He was initiated at the fraternity's Sigma chapter at Boston University on the chapter's 2nd initiate class in 1921.
Herndon's initiated in the same line as Charles Hamilton Houston. Herndon's father, Alonzo Herndon, was initiated into Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity as an Exalted Honorary Member at the organization's December 1924 17th General Convention in New York. At the time, an honorary membership was the highest form of membership conferred by the Fraternity. Lorenzo was listed as a member of Alpha Phi Alpha's Eta Lambda graduate chapter in Atlanta, Georgia.Watch the Yard. "Alpha: Atlanta’s First Black Millionaire Was a Brother of Alpha Phi Alpha." Marquis Taylor. https://www.watchtheyard.com/alphas/atlanta-first-black-millionaire-alpha-phi-alpha/ The Herndon's residence, the Herndon Home, became a site of many Alpha functions for the fraternity brothers in Atlanta.Alpha for Life. Horner Williams. http://www.alphaforlife.org/Moment__22.html
Additionally, Norris Herndon was a member of District Grand Lodge 18 of the Atlanta Grand United Order of Odd Fellows in Atlanta.Grand United Order of the Odd Fellows. "Press Release: Brother Norris Herndon Atlanta’s Black Insurance Magnate Legacy." https://guoof.org/brother-norris-herndon-atlantas-black-insurance-magnate-legacy/
Interest in arts