Pride Month Profiles: Norris B. Herndon
Norris Bumstead Herndon was born on July 15, 1897 in Atlanta, Georgia. He was the only child of local businessman Alonzo Herndon and his wife Adrienne Elizabeth McNeil. Norris was born with big shoes to fill, an unenviable position for any young kid. His father was a titan, a force to be reckoned with. Alonzo was born into slavery to an enslaved mother and her white captor. Upon emancipation, rose to prominence in his Atlanta community through a life of hard work. He went on to found the Atlanta Life Insurance Company and quickly became one of the first Black millionaires in the United States.?
Norris grew up in his father’s hulking shadow but under his large wing. He knew his dad wanted him to take the reins of the empire he was building, but young Norris didn’t know if he was up to the task. He was more sensitive and shy than his father whose work ethic and “straight and narrow” approach to success differed greatly than young Norris’s.
However, from an early age, Alonzo was committed to bringing his son into his elite circle. When Norris was just seven, his father brought him to the founding meeting of the Niagara Movement, the precursor organization to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). This introduction to the civil rights movement, which his mother and father were big proponents of, would lay a key foundation for Norris’s life.?
Sadly, Norris’s mother passed away three years later. According to sources, he was very close to his mom and in losing her, lost more than a parent, but a confidant and friend. His father remarried, and while Norris liked his step mother, she could never replace what he’d lost.?
As Norris grew, he went to the best schools and knew the right people, eventually attending Harvard. Yet, despite his privileges, Norris struggled with his identities - his queerness and blackness. Norris wrote to his friends and family of being lonely at school and at various points in his life. He also confided in his closest circle of his attraction to men. Norris, boxed in by his time and position, pushed his feelings away and worked hard to avoid coming to terms with his differences throughout his life.?
When Norris was 28, his larger-than-life father passed away leaving his company and wealth to Norris who was elected the second president of the Atlanta Life Insurance Company.?
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As president, Norris grew the business greatly and with that, his own personal fortune. By the time he retired, Norris had grown the company from $1 million in assets to $84 million.?
However, it is what Norris did outside of the Atlanta Life Insurance Company that should be remembered. He used his money and prominence to establish the Alonzo F. and Norris B. Herndon Foundation and gave thousbands of dollars to civil rights leaders like Martin Luther King, Jr., and was a benefactor to organizations including the United Negro College Fund, the NAACP, the African American YMCA, Atlanta University, Morris Brown College, First Congregational Church in Atlanta and the National Urban League, to name a few. Norris did all of this under the radar for the most part. His colleagues and friends noted over the years how modest and discreet he was.?
Some have espoused that his penchant for flying under the radar came from years of hiding his sexuality while others think it was just because he wasn’t a very big people person. In fact, there is a well-known story of Norris which paints a nice picture of the latter.? The heavyweight boxing champion Joe Louis was once invited to dinner at the Herndon home. When he arrived, Joe said “Nice place you got here.” Herndon replied, “Thank you” but didn’t say anything else the rest of the night. After a quiet and what I am sure was an awkward meal, Joe left.??
After decades of reclusivity and philanthropic giving, Norris died at home at the age of 79, just a month shy of his 80th birthday.
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Actor | Writer | Journalist | TV Presenter
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