Black Fortunes by Shomari Wills

Being in a place where you are barely accepted as human and having limited control over your life as you navigate freedom is beyond what most could bear. 

This book named Black Fortunes written by Shomari Wills is a compilation of 6 African Americans who were once slaves and found a way to live the most successful lives as the first African American millionaires.

The author of this book asks us to imagine a place in which humanity is always questioned. One where you have no control over your family, your finances, and in fact, your existence. A world that valued your body for its ability to be able to work. To be used for profit. Then, seen as being able to be disposed of whenever needed. YET, despite it all, they prevailed and reached heights less than 1% can accomplish! Oh, the tone was set early in the book.

This was the world that existed for any African American in the United States for over 400 years. As slavery ended, other hardships started to rise. Life for African Americans was nothing short of struggle from the time of arrival but within this life exists a story that we don't hear much about. 

There were those who did not only survive the atrocities but were at the same time we’re able to persevere in spite of everything going on. Which limited education opportunities the 6 individuals highlighted, still went on to build fortunes that even in the present standards are considered amazing. This is why Shomari Wills has brought the lives of these people to light. This book sheds light on the rich history of these people in the US.

So this book has stories of 6 people in it and it begins with the following:

William Alexander Leidesdorff

The first person is focused on William Alexander Leidesdorff, who was the first black millionaire. He was of mixed-race, was born to a Danish sailor, and a Caribbean woman.  He trained under his father as a sailor. He later migrated to California and acquiring the first steamboat of San Franciso. He had a stake in a few businesses that also included a general store, lumberyard, and also had the first hotel constructed in San Francisco. Leidesdorff headed towards building a fortune in the business of import/export and became the most prominent person in California and a founder of San Fransico! At his unexpected death in 1848, he was worth 1.4 million dollars. 

 Mary Ellen Pleasant

Mary was born free in 1814 and was sent to live with a white family of Quakers in Nantucket. Her parents assumed that they would provide her with education as she reached school age. Instead, she was made to work from a little age and had to learn writing and reading by herself. She honed the business acumen working in a general store that was owned by the family matriarch. At this time, the whaling business was experiencing a boom, and she got the chance to see the ins and outs of this industry. 

Mary went on to become known as the capitalist - a financier, real estate, and abolitionist. Eventually, she made her way to San Francisco in the gold rush, and she there built her fortune by owning laundries, boarding houses and became a pro in the stock market. 

Hannah Elias

Hannah is a black woman who built a real estate empire overlooking Central Park but lived a closet life so that her white neighbors wouldn't recognize that she was black. She wasn’t born with a silver spoon, in fact, she was born in a poor neighborhood in Philadelphia to a mixed-race couple with nine children in all. In 1905, news broke of Hannah’s secret relationship with Senator John R. Platt who accused the “negro enchantress” of blackmailing him out of $685,385 and sued her for it. It was said that Platt had regularly provided her large sums of money in the past to Elias. She was hired her own lawyer to beat the case. She had done well for someone of mixed African American descent with limited education during this time period. In all, her properties and goods were valued at approximately $1M. Her success in real estate was evident, but her race, gender, and color did play a major role in her ability to generate wealth.

Robert Reed Church

Robert was considered as one of the biggest landowners in Tennessee. Due to this success, he was hated by white citizens in the city of Memphis. Church was born of Charles B Church - a white steamboat owner/captain and a mixed-race slave owned by his father. He was never recognized as his son and did not educate him as a child outside of the steamboat business, where he developed his business acumen.

Robert spent most of his life in Memphis, TN, and loved the city! He was the first one to use money from his businesses to protect the city from yellow fever outspread on many occasions and also rebuilt a whole district that was lost to a fire. Robert is a true philanthropist! He would purchase depreciated homes and bonds to restore the City Charter with hopes of appreciating it in the future. He went as far as purchasing $1,000 bonds to support the city as it was reduced to a tax district. Church went on to won saloons, hotels, restaurants, auditoriums, and various real estate investments.

Annie Turnbo Malone

Annie is most known for her impact on the beauty industry. She is a businesswoman, philanthropist, educator, and inventor. Annie taught herself the knowledge of chemistry combined with her hair care skills and went on to soon become the first nationally known black hair care brand. Her empire dominated in both commercial hair care products and hair care education for black women.

O.W. Gurley

Gurley was a school teacher who worked hard for a safe community for himself and also for other black families and did so in Tulsa, OK. He would be known as the founder of the Greenwood district also known as, "Black Wallstreet". Gurley moved to Tulsa in 1906 and purchased 40 acres of land exclusively for African Americans. He went on to own a boarding house, cafes, commercial properties, subdivide land for purchase, and other business ventures. However, in moments, he watched his wealth vanish during the 1921 race riot of Tusla which burned the Greenwood district to rubble. 

 Madam C.J. Walker

Walker is one of the most notable of the 6 people noted in the book, she was once originally known as the first black millionaire. But she was original as she started just as an apprentice to Malone and she used those skills to build up her own hair care empire. Madam is known for inventing the pressing comb as women desired to straighten their kinky curly hair and the Walker system used to train her sales agents. She went on to host conferences at her home for her sales reps all over the country.

 From the writing of Shomari, one can tell he is a journalist. He has written Black Fortune in a conversational tone and has made the flow really easy. This book is all about the stories about people who come originally from humble beginnings, and they worked hard to come out as some of the most successful people in America. They were the pioneers who put their intelligence and their learning to use and built themselves up no matter how much hatred they received from the white community of that time. 

Avid Listener's bookclub - The Avid Listener's Bookclub is created to read 1 book per month that can add value to your life, business, and relationships. Our goal is for members to create a return on investment of their time, energy, and resources with each title read! We cater to the audio listener; however traditional readers who enjoy turning physical pages within a book are always welcome.