Atlanta Life Insurance Company - On September 21, 1905, the Atlanta Life Insurance Company was founded. They are the largest Black-owned stockholder insurance company in America. Founded by a former slave, Alonzo Franklin Herndon, he purchased a small benevolent association for $140 and, with the acquisition and reorganization of two other companies in that year forming the Atlanta Mutual Insurance Association. In June 1996, Charles Cornelius began as the fifth president and chief executive officer and carries on the company’s proud legacy.
Currently, Roosevelt Giles serves as president, Atlanta Life has assets of over $200 million and operates in 17 states.

Did You Know?

The Atlanta Life Insurance Company building (built 1920) at 148 Auburn Avenue, near the corner of Piedmont Avenue, is part of the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park.