Alonzo Herndon was the founder and president of the Atlanta Life Insurance Co. Born into slavery, Alonzo Herndon grew into wealth by opening barber shops around Atlanta and investing in real estate. With wife Adrienne McNeil, Alonzo had son Norris B. Herndon in 1897. After his first wife died in 1910, Alonzo married Jessie Gillespie in 1912. Alonzo had Norris start working for Atlanta Life while he was a student as a cashier. Eventually, Norris ended up as the second president of the company in 1928, after Alonzo passed away in 1927. Alonzo Herndon had a vision of advancing African-American business and community life. He embraced these ideas by becoming one of the most successful and wealthy black men in America. Using his wealth, Alonzo contributed heavily to charitable causes and the black community. From donating to the YMCA, Atlanta University, Herndon Day Nursery to attending the founding meeting of the National Negro Business League, Alonzo cared about making a mark and helping his people and city as much as he could. Norris B. Herndon continued his father’s legacy once he took over the company after Alonzo’s passing. Under Norris’s lead, the Atlanta Life Insurance Co. grew to reach amazing goals and accomplish huge feats such as making the company one of the largest black-owned businesses in America. Norris also carried on his father’s generous activities and ideals by continuously donating to African-American causes and establishing the Alonzo F. and Norris B. Herndon Foundation, Inc. He also contributed to the civil rights movement as part of the further march towards gaining equality. Alonzo and Norris Herndon were both great businessmen who helped progress the black business world. They also paved the way for African-Americans to feeling more empowered.