Black Millionaires prior to 1900.

And why don’t we know about them?

Hello,

This year has been stressful, emotionally, politically, physically, and financially. Systemic racism has finally been brought to the forefront of the political and civilian conversation, which is the first step in addressing it, and I applaud the efforts. The purpose of this letter however is to shed some light on the other side of the story, that even in the face of systemic racism, African American and Afro Latino men and women have soared to millionaire status, outside of the sports and entertainment industry, even during the time of slavery.

When I first heard that, I too was skeptical. Then after some research, I discovered the names, William Leidesdorff, Mary Ellen Pleasant, Robert Reed Church, Annie Malone, Madame CJ Walker, and Alonzo Herndon. There were many other successful black Americans and Latinos, but these achieved a net worth of one million dollars, and that is in 1865 U.S. dollars, not adjusted for inflation. I had to learn more.

This newsletter is my method of sharing their stories and spreading inspiration and confidence to present-day African Americans. I hope you will enjoy these newsletters and share them with your friends. Each tale will be in 2 or 3 parts, and I am sending you this introductory letter in case you wish to opt-out of any future emails. Please understand there is no sales offer associated with this, only stories of these high achieving African and Afro-Latino men and women, and how they were mysteriously left out of our history books.

Buckle up folks, we are in for a hell of a ride.