Black Titan : A. G. Gaston and the Making of a Black American Millionaire

Rating:
Summary: More than a story about business....
Review: This story really made me appreciate and admire what this man went through to become who he was. It told much more than how to get rich and stay rich. It spoke of his beginnings, his many obstacles in his path, and the ability to persevere in a time when it seemed impossible, especially in Birmingham, Alabama. It really put many things in perspective for me, and I hope other people get the honor of reading this timeless piece. I am a business major, so this was something I know I needed. The unfortunate (but not surprising one bit) thing is before this book, I had never heard of A.G. Gaston. In college, you hear about the Rockefellers, the Carnegie's, and others. I stumbled across this book when I was browsing around at the bookstore. Had it not been for that, I may have never known anything about this brillant man and the contributions he made in the Black community. I gained much more than I ever expected initially.


Rating:
Summary: Great
Review: To say that a black man in one of the most segregated states in the Union,would rise up and become a millionaire during a time when that was not the norm,is in and of itself a miracle. The story of A.G.Gaston is little known outside of Birmingham and Alabama, but every African American should get a copy of this book and read for yourself how this man rose up and became a millionaire during Jim Crow times. Written by his neices,it is tastefully written,and a wonderful addition to anyone's library.

Rating:
Summary: A True Rags to Riches American Story:First Black Millionaire
Review: We learned in Our Kind of People that there have always been rich black folk; what is shameful is our lack of exposure or knowledge of such individuals. A.J. Gaston was one of the wealthiest black men and the first black millionaire. His story has been detailed by his niece, journalist/broadcaster Carol Jenkins, and her daughter, Elizabeth Gardner Hines in Black Titan, a revealing biography that is both compelling and forthright. Gaston, who was born poor in Alabama in 1892 and raised partially by his maternal grandparents in Demopolis, then went to live with his mother, Rosie, in Birmingham where she worked as a maid for a prominent white family.

In Birmingham Gaston went to the Tuggle Institute for high school where he came in contact with Booker T. Washington who would remain one of his biggest influences. After he left high school, he supported himself with jobs such as delivering newspapers and factory work until he entered the army. It was overseas in France that he felt like a man but was brought back to reality when he returned to Jim Crow Alabama. Gaston went to work in the mines; dirty, grueling work but it was there where his entrepreneurial spirit was born. He sold his mother's catered lunches to the other miners and always being frugal, and then started a loan business. A businessman in the making, he then partnered with the Baptist church to start burial insurance and funeral businesses. Little by little these enterprises grew and when he partnered with A.L. Smith, who was already an established businessman, his ventures grew. Gaston & Smith proved to be very profitable professionally and personally when he married Smith's daughter Creola. They worked together and when she died, he married Minnie Gardner, a school teacher who came from a prominent family. They founded the Booker T. Washington Business School, which professionally trained many blacks which enabled them to work in Gaston's businesses and obtain gainful employment contributing to the burgeoning black middle class in Birmingham. Gaston also owned banks, insurance companies and manufacturing companies among his many companies.

This book is as much about the southern black middle/upper classes in the making as it is about an American story of a man who rose from humble beginnings to become one of the richest men in American despite his race and the obstacles because of it. The south with its stringent mores and class issues was not relegated to whites only but was pervasive in the black community as well. This reviewer found one of the most intriguing incidents was the controlling nature of Gaston's first wife's mother who wanted to dictate who would be his second wife. There were white men in Birmingham who had the same rags to riches stories as Gaston, such as owners of the department stores and other prosperous businesses. The white establishment could not ignore the influence of Gaston and looked to him to "calm the natives" as the growing civil rights movement became more demanding. Gaston continually butt heads with Martin Luther King over what he considered King's unorthodox methods for gaining integration in Birmingham; the biggest issue was their disagreement over using children in the marching and boycotting of white businesses. Nevertheless, Gaston was there to bail King and others out of jail when necessary.

This book should be taught in every Business 101 class and should be mandatory reading for black high school students. It is shameful that outside of black business circles, so little is known about him and other blacks who has made such strides. Gaston was named millionaire of the century by Black Enterprise Magazine and should be noted as not only an accomplished black man but as a true icon of American history.

Dera Williams
APOOO BookClub