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The Atlanta Life Financial Group was founded by Alonzo Herndon, who was born a slave, but became Atlanta's richest African American. For many years, it was one of the most prominent African-American businesses in the United States. The demolished public housing project Herndon Homes was named for Herndon.
In 1905 he purchased The Atlanta Benevolent and Protective Association (later called Atlanta Mutual) for $140, which in 1922 was renamed the Atlanta Life Insurance Company.
The Atlanta Life Insurance Company building (built 1920) at 148 Auburn Avenue, near the corner of Piedmont Avenue, is part of the National Park Service's Martin Luther King, Jr., Preservation District.
References
Atlanta Life Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA