172:, Atlanta Life's founder. During Hill's tenure as chief executive, Atlanta Life experienced a significant period of growth. Total assets, revenues, profits, and shareholder value all surpassed previous levels. During the 1970s, Atlanta Life Insurance Co. was the largest privately held black business in the country, with 85 million dollars in assets.
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and
Whitney Young, produced a survey of Atlanta's black population entitled "A Second Look: The Negro Citizen in Atlanta." This document challenged a common belief in Atlanta's white community that the city was a shining beacon for racial harmony in the South, "the City Too Busy to Hate." As a member
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Hill's career in business began in 1949 when he moved to
Atlanta, the center of African American entrepreneurship in the United States during the mid-twentieth century. He joined the Atlanta Life Insurance Company, one of the country's largest and most successful black-owned businesses, as assistant
263:'s law firm knowing that the young politician would soon run for the seat of mayor of Atlanta. The white community of Atlanta asked Hill to run against Jackson, but he refused. Hill ran political campaigns for Maynard Jackson, who became the first black mayor of Atlanta, as well as for congressman
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With Herman
Russell, he bred the black "social worker types" to reach for more black representatives in local politics. This new black political class was eventually criticized as the "new old guard" since voters felt those new leaders forgot about the black cause once they had been sworn into
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During his first two decades with
Atlanta Life, Hill became vice president and the chief actuary of the company. From 1973 to 1992, Jesse Hill Jr. was president and chief executive officer of Atlanta Life, becoming the company's third president and the first not to be a family member of
243:'s career was on hiatus following his lawsuit against the federal government for refusing to enroll in the Army, Jesse Hill was instrumental in organizing his come-back fight in Atlanta on 26 October 1976. He used his political connections and set up the company House of Sports with
229:. Holmes and Hunter were ultimately the first two African American students admitted to UGA. Hill also organized successful voter registration drives in Atlanta. These efforts aided a campaign which eventually registered an estimated 50,000 new African American voters in Atlanta.
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actuary; he was only the second
African American actuary in the country. When he first moved to the city, Hill lived at the Butler Street YMCA in Atlanta, the headquarters of the city's black leadership during the period. He also volunteered for both the Urban League and the
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During the 1950s and 1960s, Hill used his position of prominence in
Atlanta's black business community to promote civil rights in Georgia and Alabama. In 1960 Hill, along with other young black leaders of the Atlanta Committee for Cooperative Action, including
236:'s efforts to promote civil rights. Hill also encouraged employees to donate their time in support of the civil rights movement. Atlanta Life's Montgomery office even employed Rosa Parks as a secretary during the Montgomery bus boycott, which she sparked.
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system. During the 1990s, he received an honorary doctor of laws degree from his alma mater, the
University of Michigan. In 2001, in recognition of contributions to the city, Butler Street in Atlanta was renamed in Hill's honor.
325:, Atlanta's public transportation system. He has also served as the chairman of the board of directors for the Martin Luther King Jr. Center in Atlanta. He was involved in the development of wireless communications in Nigeria.
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Hill's company was also involved in activities to help black communities across the South. During the 1950s and 1960s, Hill raised money from employees at
Atlanta Life and donated the funds to
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Hill and
Atlanta Life Insurance Company worked to increase African American access to affordable home-mortgage financing in Georgia, Alabama, Texas, and Florida.
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of the NAACP's education committee, Hill began recruiting black students to challenge segregation in
Georgia's colleges and universities. He met with students
143:, Missouri, to Nancy Dennis Martin and Jesse Hill, he grew up in a poor socio-economic background and attended public schools in St. Louis. He graduated from
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activist. He was active in the civic and business communities of the city for more than five decades. Hill was president and chief executive officer of the
123:, from 1973 to 1992, and was the first African American to be elected president of a chamber of commerce in a major city. During Hill's presidency of the
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selected Hill to chair the State Board of Regents in 1973. Following Carter's election as president, he chose Hill to chair the
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it became the largest black-owned life insurance company in the nation. He was a member of the board of directors for the
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361:("NGE"), posted or last updated March 10, 2006. All derived works must credit the NGE and the original author
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in Jefferson City with a bachelor's degree in mathematics and physics in 1947. He received his MBA from the
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to organize the fight. This fight unlocked Ali's career and led to the organization of the
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Jesse Hill chaired the All-Citizens Registration Committee and helped to desegregate the
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Hill served on the boards of directors for eight major U.S. corporations, including
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A Twentieth Century Black Enterprise: The Atlanta Life Insurance Company, 1905–1975
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488:"Knockout: An oral history of Muhammad Ali, Atlanta, and the fight nobody wanted"
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377:"Jesse Hill Jr., Retired CEO of Atlanta Life INsurance Co., Dies at Age 86"
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In Atlanta, Butler street was renamed Jesse Hill Junior drive after him.
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Hill and his wife, Azira, have two children and several grandchildren.
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512:"International Civil Rights Walk Of Fame Announces 2008 Inductees"
255:, underlining the influence power of Georgia's black politics.
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written by Barton Myers of the University of Georgia for the
115:(May 30, 1926 – December 17, 2012) was an African American
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National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
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and the first black member of the board of directors for
463:"Sweet Auburn Avenue: The Buildings Tell Their Story"
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civil rights leader, business executive, and actuary
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Articles imported from the New Georgia Encyclopedia
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281:Jesse Hill was the first black president of the
588:(Ph.D. diss., Georgia State University, 1975).
591:William Schemmel, "Profile: Jesse Hill Jr.,"
190:, Jesse Hill Jr. founded the black newspaper
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267:who later became United Nations ambassador.
649:Activists for African-American civil rights
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196:, the second black newspaper in Atlanta.
259:office. In 1971, he became a partner of
178:Hill retired from Atlanta Life in 1995.
19:For the American athlete and coach, see
514:. Georgia Informer, Inc. Archived from
379:. Atlanta Daily World. 17 December 2012
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16:African American civil rights activist
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674:21st-century African-American people
664:Lincoln University (Missouri) alumni
654:20th-century American businesspeople
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321:, and was a founding director of
276:Minority Business Resource Center
429:Range, Peter Ross (1974-04-07).
213:to discuss plans to desegregate
278:, a group created by Congress.
659:Burials at South-View Cemetery
614:Ross School of Business alumni
125:Atlanta Life Insurance Company
121:Atlanta Life Insurance Company
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669:University of Michigan alumni
634:Businesspeople from St. Louis
561:"Growing up in black Atlanta"
315:National Services Industries
639:African-American Christians
629:Businesspeople from Atlanta
283:Atlanta Chamber of Commerce
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644:African-American activists
400:. New Georgia Encyclopedia
353:This article incorporates
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584:Alexa Benson Henderson,
359:New Georgia Encyclopedia
219:Georgia State University
336:He was a member of the
287:Rich's Department Store
486:Matthew (2005-10-01).
431:"Making it in Atlanta"
398:"Jesse Hill (b. 1927)"
234:Martin Luther King Jr.
149:University of Michigan
79:University of Michigan
299:Atlanta Public School
223:University of Georgia
215:Georgia State College
253:Fight of the Century
202:Grace Towns Hamilton
186:In 1960, along with
129:1996 Summer Olympics
106:Nancy Dennis Martin
50:St. Louis, Missouri
435:The New York Times
145:Lincoln University
188:Herman J. Russell
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60:December 17, 2012
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131:in Atlanta.
117:civil rights
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62:(2012-12-17)
46:May 30, 1926
624:2012 deaths
619:1926 births
541:www.gmu.edu
603:Categories
546:2019-10-31
522:2009-07-18
497:2019-10-31
472:2019-10-31
448:2019-10-31
404:2009-07-19
383:2012-12-17
347:References
249:Harry Pett
135:Early life
104:Jesse Hill
96:Azira Hill
42:1926-05-30
443:0362-4331
293:Education
270:Governor
225:(UGA) in
164:(NAACP).
151:in 1949.
141:St. Louis
101:Parent(s)
21:Jess Hill
355:material
319:SunTrust
217:(later
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317:, and
227:Athens
155:Career
93:Spouse
564:(PDF)
323:MARTA
439:ISSN
247:and
209:and
57:Died
36:Born
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