ATLANTA—Herman J. Russell, the native Atlantan born in 1931 from humble beginnings in the Summerhill community who ultimately grew to become founder of the nation’s most influential African-American construction and property management company in southwest Atlanta, from a plastering business in the ’50s — made transition, on Saturday, Nov. 15, following a brief illness. He was 83 years old.
Along with being an inimitable and distinctive business leader and icon, who created H.J. Russell & Company, Russell was also a formidable community and civic leader, as well as author of his recently released autobiography, Building Atlanta: How I Broke Through Segregation to Launch a Business Empire. He inspired many with words of wisdom, and assisted financially local and national political leaders, and office seekers.
“H.J. Russell was a man of means—but his conscience and his values were always greater than his wealth,” Jesse Jackson Sr. remarked last weekend via Twitter. From being the first African-American member of what was then called the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce to being an inaugural member of the board of directors of the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Social Change, Inc. (The King Center), along with a myriad of other community and corporate boards, Russell, after retiring in 2003 from his company, continued to be an in demand speaker with business classes, as well as for various corporate settings, channeling his business acumen to future business owners and leaders for the growth and economic advancement.
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