Norris B. Herndon, born in 1897 to Alonzo Herndon and Adrienne McNeil Herndon, was the second president of the Atlanta Life Insurance Co., founded by his father. Norris graduated college in 1919 from Atlanta University and then proceeded to obtain his Master of Business Administration degree from Harvard University in 1921. Carrying on the legacy of his father, Norris B. took control of the Atlanta Life Insurance Co. in 1928, with Jessie Gillespie, his stepmother as his vice president. He raised the company to great heights in the almost 50 years of his leadership, helping Atlanta Life become one of the largest black-owned insurance companies in the country. As the president of Atlanta Life, he accumulated an estimated wealth of more than 100 million dollars. With this wealth, Norris pursued many philanthropic causes as well. Establishing the Alonzo F. and Norris B. Herndon Foundation, Inc., contributing to the civil right movements, donating to the Untied Negro College Fund, local African American YMCA, etc. are all charitable endeavors Norris B. Herndon took a part of. Norris was also crucial in growing Morris Brown University with land and financial aid. Passing away in 1977, Norris B. Herndon embraced all that his father set out to do, paving a path for African-Americans across the country towards a life less discriminatory.