Honoring Black Business Pioneers

SPOTLIGHT ON EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP: FREDERICK DOUGLAS PATTERSON Before Henry Ford ever flooded the country with Model Ts, a Black man from Greenfield, Ohio was building high-quality automobiles by hand; at a time when Jim Crow laws made simply walking through the front door of a bank nearly impossible for a Black man. His name was Frederick Douglas Patterson, and in 1915, he became the first African American to manufacture automobiles. His company, C.R. Patterson & Sons, started with horse-drawn carriages and transitioned into automobiles with the Patterson-Greenfield car; a sleek, reliable, hand-assembled vehicle that could go toe-to-toe with anything Ford was producing at the time. But America wasn’t ready to let a Black man into the driver’s seat of capitalism. Despite his brilliance, craft, and a fully functioning auto assembly line, Patterson could never secure the funding to scale. Banks refused him. Distributors wouldn’t carry his vehicles. The American auto industry shut him out; not because of the quality of his product, but because of the color of his skin. So he pivoted. Like so many Black pioneers who weren’t allowed to dominate, he survived by innovating. Patterson shifted his focus to building buses and trucks, winning contracts from school districts and municipalities across the Midwest. He didn’t just build vehicles; he built jobs, pride, and a vision for Black self-determination in an age of white control. This is not a footnote in history. This is a chapter that was buried. Frederick D. Patterson didn’t invent the car. But he broke barriers as the first Black auto manufacturer in America; and his legacy lives on as a testament to what Black innovation could have achieved if given the same access, capital, and exposure as his white contemporaries. Remember his name. “Frederick Douglas Patterson”

Honoring Hidden History: America’s First Black-Owned Car Company. Did you know the first U.S. automobile manufactured by a Black-owned company rolled out in 1915? 🚗 C.R. Patterson & Sons was the first and only Black-owned automobile manufacturing company in U.S. history, founded by Charles Richard Patterson (born enslaved in 1833) and later led by his son Frederick Douglass Patterson. Here are the key facts supported by historical records: 1. Pioneering Achievement: In 1915, Frederick Patterson produced the Patterson-Greenfield automobile, making C.R. Patterson & Sons the first Black-owned car manufacturer in the U.S. The company built approximately 30–150 vehicles before shifting focus to buses and truck bodies in 1918. 2. Historical Context: Charles Patterson escaped slavery and established a carriage-building business in Ohio in the 1860s, which his son Frederick transformed into an automobile company. Their story is often overlooked in mainstream automotive history, reflecting broader erasure of Black contributions. 3. Legacy: Despite closing in 1939 due to financial challenges during the Great Depression, the Pattersons’ innovation paved the way for Black entrepreneurs in transportation and manufacturing. Frederick later became a prominent advocate for vocational education for Black Americans. Let’s amplify their legacy: From carriages to cars, the Pattersons defied systemic barriers in the automotive industry. Their work reminds us to celebrate marginalized pioneers whose innovations shaped our world. #automobiles #inventions #history #leadership #blackexcellence #blackhistory #africadiaspora #innovation #technology

Madame CJ Walker was not the first self-made black Female Millionaire! Day 1: Many people know about Madam C.J. Walker, but fewer know about Annie Turnbo Malone, the pioneering Black entrepreneur who built a multimillion-dollar beauty empire before Walker. Born in 1869, Malone was a chemist and businesswoman who developed "Wonderful Hair Grower," a scalp treatment for Black women’s hair. She built Poro College in 1918, a massive beauty school and business training center in St. Louis, employing thousands of Black women and creating economic opportunities at a time when options were limited. In 1918, she established Poro College, a cosmetology school and center. The building included a manufacturing plant, a retail store where Poro products were sold, business offices, a 500-seat auditorium, dining and meeting rooms, a roof garden, dormitory, gymnasium, bakery, and chapel. It served the African-American community as a center for religious and social functions. The college's curriculum addressed the whole student; students were coached on personal style for work: on walking, talking, and a style of dress designed to maintain a solid persona. Poro College employed nearly 200 people in St. Louis. Through its school and franchise businesses, the college created jobs for almost 75,000 women in North and South America, Africa and the Philippines Malone’s innovative marketing and business strategies laid the foundation for Black women in business. Though Madam C.J. Walker worked for Malone before launching her own company, Malone’s legacy remains underrecognized despite her groundbreaking contributions. Why It Matters: Annie Turnbo Malone demonstrated excellence in business, philanthropy, and community uplift, setting the stage for future entrepreneurs. She donated millions to HBCUs, orphanages, and charities, leaving an indelible mark on History. 🤔 Had you heard of Annie Turnbo Malone before? Let’s celebrate the innovators that history often forgets! #BlackHistory #WomenInTech #StLouis

Maggie Lena Walker's leadership of the Independent Order of St. Luke and founding of the St. Luke Penny Savings Bank nurtured economic power in her community through cooperative economics and mutual aid. Her innovative approach to combining banking, insurance, and retail businesses created jobs while building Black economic independence. The founding of St. Luke Penny Savings Bank emerged from Walker's deep involvement with the Order of St. Luke, where she rose from a teenage member to become the Right Worthy Grand Secretary in 1899. Under her leadership, the organization grew from near bankruptcy to having over 100,000 members in 24 states. This success gave her the platform and experience to launch more ambitious economic projects. In 1905, Walker expanded her economic vision by launching the St. Luke Emporium, a department store in Richmond's Jackson Ward district. The store challenged the humiliating treatment Black shoppers faced at white-owned establishments. Black women could try on clothes before buying them – a simple dignity denied them elsewhere. The store's Black employees could work as sales clerks rather than just janitors or stock workers. Maggie Lena Walker died in 1934, but her impact continues through the institutions she built and the people she trained. She proved that economic cooperation could be a powerful tool for social change, and that banking could be both profitable and purposeful when rooted in community needs. Her life's work showed that economic justice wasn't just about access to existing institutions – sometimes it required building new ones. #blackhistorymonth

Black History Month has a problem. We keep telling half the story. John H. Johnson built a $500M publishing empire. But every February, we leave out the person who actually made it run. His wife Eunice. In 1942, John launched Negro Digest with a $500 loan against his mother's furniture. Three years later, he launched Ebony. Then Jet. Then Fashion Fair Cosmetics. The vision was his. The execution was hers. Eunice ran the backend. She managed the money. She built the operations that let John's vision actually scale. But here's what she did that nobody else was doing: In 1958, she created the Ebony Fashion Fair, a traveling fashion show that toured 200 cities a year for over 50 years. It raised more than $55 million for charity. It put Black models on stages across America when nobody else would book them. John was building a magazine empire and Eunice was building a movement. Think about the structure: John: Editorial. Sales. Vision. Relationships. Eunice: Operations. Finance. Systems. Execution. They didn't compete for the same lane. They owned different lanes. 61 years of marriage. 70+ years of business legacy. Billions, and generations in cultural impact. People have the wrong definition of partnership. They think it means doing the same thing together. It doesn't. The Johnsons understood something most couples never figure out: Vision without operations flames out. Operations without vision never takes off. Together? Generational empire. When you look at the longest-lasting Black businesses in history, you'll find this pattern over and over. It's not one genius. It's two people who figured out how to weaponize their differences.

He Built America's First Black Airline. They Took It. In 1969, Warren Hervey Wheeler founded Wheeler Airlines—the first FAA-certified Black-owned commercial airline in U.S. history. Born in Durham, North Carolina in 1943, Wheeler became Piedmont Airlines' first Black pilot in 1966, flying Boeing 737s when most airlines refused to hire Black pilots. Frustrated by systemic racism, he built his own solution. Wheeler Airlines operated five Beechcraft 99 aircraft on routes connecting Raleigh to New York and Charlotte to Atlantic City. But his real genius was the training pipeline: he created a flight school that trained pilots to 2,000 hours, promoted them to captain, then watched as major airlines like Delta, United, and American hired his graduates. Wheeler cracked the door to aviation for an entire generation of Black pilots. Yet in 1991, after 22 years of operation, Wheeler Airlines closed. Not because of failure, but because airline deregulation allowed bigger carriers to undercut his routes and starve him out financially. The industry took everything he built. Every Black pilot flying today stands on Warren Wheeler's shoulders. His name should be taught in every aviation history class. #blackhistorymonth100thanniversary #buildingonblacklegacy #entrepreneur #blackbrilliance

Black Wall Streets You Haven’t Heard Of But Should When we talk about Black excellence in economics, Tulsa’s Greenwood District is often mentioned and rightly so. But Tulsa wasn’t the only hub of thriving Black enterprise and wealth in early 20th-century America. Jackson Ward in Richmond, Virginia, and Durham’s Hayti District in North Carolina were also beating hearts of Black innovation, ownership, and resilience. Jackson Ward was once called the “Harlem of the South.” It was home to trailblazing Black-owned banks, insurance firms, newspapers, and nightclubs. Maggie Lena Walker, the first Black woman to charter and lead a bank in the U.S., did so in Jackson Ward. Imagine the courage it took for a Black woman in 1903 to say, “We will invest in our own.” Durham’s Hayti District and its surrounding businesses, often referred to as the “Black Wall Street of the South,” birthed an economy so powerful that even white-owned banks studied its success. North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance and Mechanics and Farmers Bank were beacons of economic autonomy for decades. But these places, like Tulsa, weren’t just disrupted by economic forces; they were intentionally dismantled. Through redlining, highway construction, and systemic divestment, thriving Black neighborhoods were fractured and erased from mainstream history. We don’t tell these stories to stay stuck in the past. We tell them to remember what’s possible and what’s worth rebuilding. These communities prove that Black wealth-building isn’t a dream, it’s a documented reality. And it can happen again. #CNJAssociates #BlackWallStreet #EconomicJustice #JacksonWard #HaytiDurham #BlackHistoryEveryday #ReclaimTheNarrative

#BlackHistoryMonth Day 15 Building a Billion-Dollar Legacy Reginald F. Lewis was a pioneering American businessman, lawyer, and philanthropist. He is best known for being the first African American to build a billion-dollar company, TLC Beatrice International Holdings Inc., and for completing the largest overseas leveraged buyout by an American company at the time, acquiring a global conglomerate of 64 companies in 31 countries for $985 million. Early Life and Education: - Reginald Francis Lewis was born on December 7, 1942, in East Baltimore. He grew up in a semi-tough neighborhood but was strongly influenced by his family. - Lewis won a football scholarship to Virginia State University (VSU) and joined the Alpha Phi chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi while an undergraduate student, and later participated in a summer program at Harvard Law School, where he was admitted without applying...a first in the school's history. He graduated from Harvard Law School in 1968. Career: - Lewis began his career as a corporate lawyer in New York, eventually co-founding Wall Street's first African American law firm. He worked with major corporations and was involved in civil rights cases. - In 1983, Lewis established TLC Group, L.P., and his first major success was the leveraged buyout of McCall Pattern Company, which he sold for $65 million after significantly increasing its value. - His most notable achievement was the acquisition of Beatrice Foods, transforming it into TLC Beatrice International. Under his leadership, the company became the first black-owned business to generate over $1 billion in annual sales. Philanthropy and Legacy: - Lewis was a dedicated philanthropist. He donated $1 million to Howard University and $3 million to Harvard Law School, which renamed its International Law Center in his honor. - After his death, his foundation supported the establishment of the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture in Baltimore. - The Reginald F. Lewis Educational Opportunity Initiative was established to support underprivileged students, particularly focusing on Black males. Reginald, passed away on January 19, 1993, at the age of 50 due to brain cancer. His wife took over his business and sold it in 1999. https://lnkd.in/eyJ-rKuF #ReginaldFLewis #BusinessLeadership

Since the time of emancipation, Black developers have left an indelible mark on American history. In the face of obstacles like Jim Crow laws and biased lending practices, they’ve still managed to build inclusive communities and create new opportunities for Black people in the industry. Let’s take a look at two of these trailblazers. Harlem’s rise as a major Black cultural hub in the early 20th century was due in part to Philip A. Payton and his Afro-American Realty Company. Often called the “Father of Harlem,” Payton provided much-needed housing for African Americans by purchasing and leasing apartments despite widespread segregation. He started out managing buildings and quickly transitioned to buying them. His biggest deal, which he closed in 1917, was for six apartment buildings worth $1 million. Developers like Don Peebles are continuing Payton’s legacy. Peebles is dedicated to fighting discriminatory practices in real estate, and New York is a specific area of focus for him. As one of the most successful Black real estate developers in the country, he views his work as a tool for transformation and economic equality. He coined the term “Affirmative Development,” which signifies his mission to deliver economic inclusion for minority and woman-owned businesses. His latest project, Affirmation Tower — which my sister, Cheryl McKissack Daniel, is working on as well — is poised to become the world’s tallest building owned by a majority of Black-owned companies. Black history is about remembering the past and recognizing those who are writing new chapters in our story in real-time. Against all odds, these leaders set the foundation for us all and inspire the next generation of changemakers to drive the industry forward. #aec #blackhistorymonth

𝐏𝐮𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬 𝐜𝐞𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬. 💥 𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞.🔨 𝐀𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐫. 🛠️ 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐯𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐝𝐨𝐨𝐫. 🪚 When I think of Maggie Lena Walker, these actions come to mind. You see, it wasn’t until 2018 that I discovered the esteemed accomplishments of Mrs. Walker. Walker successfully chartered St. Luke Penny Savings Bank in 1903 and became the 𝑓𝑖𝑟𝑠𝑡 𝐵𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑘 𝑤𝑜𝑚𝑎𝑛 𝑡𝑜 𝑓𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑 𝑎 𝑏𝑎𝑛𝑘 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑒 𝑎𝑠 𝑖𝑡𝑠 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑡. Her bank financed hundreds of business and home loans thus providing opportunities for Black Americans to live the “American Dream”. Eventually, Maggie Walker’s bank became the largest employer of Black women in the city of Richmond, VA. The bank debuted on November 2, 1903 with 280 customers who deposited more than $9,400 (~$280,000 today). By 1913, her bank’s assets grew to $200,000 (~$5 Million in 2021). She not only was the founder and president of a bank, but she vowed to restore dignity to Black consumers. During Jim Crow era Richmond, Black people were not allowed to enter the main entrance or try on merchandise at department stores. In 1905, Mrs. Walker opened her own department store, called St Luke’s Emporium which allowed Black patrons to use the front entrance. The store was primarily staffed by Black women and featured Black mannequins. Unfortunately, the Emporium closed in 1911 after 6 years due to white merchants sabotaging it by starving its resources. On top of that, some Black merchants feared retaliation for selling their wares at the Emporium The resilient Maggie Lena Walker was a social activist, economic activist, dreamer, builder and the list goes on. She is an extraordinary example of defying the barriers and obstacles of her time. You find more about her story on National Historic Site Virginia and on their site you can even take a virtual tour of her 28 room house in the historic Richmond neighborhood known as the “Harlem of the South.” I read many quotes from Mrs. Walker and the one that stands out the most for me as it relates to the work I do is: “Make it a rule to save some part of every dollar you have, and the practice will become a habit – a habit which you will never regret, and of which you will never grow shame.” - Maggie L. Walker Agree?