Herman J. Russell

Last updated

[1]

Herman J. Russell
Born
Atlanta, Georgia
DiedNovember 15, 2014(2014-11-15) (aged 83)
Atlanta, Georgia
OccupationEntrepreneur

Herman Jerome Russell (December 23, 1930 – November 15, 2014) was an African American businessman who founded  a company that became the largest Minority Business Enterprise real estate company in the United States. [2] Russell was a confidante of 1960s civil rights leader Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. [3]   His portfolio expanded to include a diversified list of profitable real estate, construction and food service companies that included H.J. Russell and Company, H.J. Russell Plastering Company, Paradise Management, Inc, DDR International, Concessions International and the Southeast Land Development Company.  [4]

Contents

Early life

Russell was born on December 23, 1930, in the Summerhill [5] district of Atlanta, GA during the era of strict racial segregation. He had a paper route by age eight [6] and learned plastering construction skills from his father Rogers Russell, a master plasterer. [6]  At age 11, he worked alongside his father mixing sand and cement to make mortar.  At age 12, he opened a shoeshine stand on city-owned land and started subcontracting work to his friends 30 days later.   [6] Russell was the youngest of eight children born to his father and mother, Maggie Googson. He attended David T. Howard High School, graduated and then earned a degree in building construction from Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University ) in Alabama. [7]  He funded his education by building a duplex on a parcel of land he purchased for $125 in 1946 [3] when he was 16.  He returned to Atlanta, GA from Alabama in 1952, started his company and married Otelia Hackney, from Union Point in Taliaferro County, GA in 1956. [7]   She was a graduate of Clark College (now Clark University) and taught at the Georgia Avenue School (later the Peter Jame [8] s Bryant Elementary School) [7] Russell was famous for being very thrifty, a trait his father taught him.  Rogers’ advice was to save a portion of every amount of money earned, no matter how small. Russell heeded the advice in all of his enterprises.  [6]

Construction Projects


Herman  and his brother, Rogers,  started doing construction projects while Herman was still a student in Tuskegee, Al. [8] They were being hired often enough to catch the attention of the local sheriff, who told them to return to Atlanta, GA and not come back. [9]  In Atlanta, he first worked with his father in plastering.  Then, he set his sights on something bigger by building 12 residential units on South Avenue in Atlanta [10]  His company established a reputation for doing exceptional work and Herman capitalized on word-of-mouth references to find partners that allowed him to include commercial projects among his portfolio of residential work. He officially founded H.J. Russell & Associates in 1953 and incorporated it in 1957. [11]  In 1963 his company received a contract to plaster the Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium [12] , built for the Atlanta Braves baseball team. H. J. Russell & Company added fireproofing to its services and in 1968 was hired to plaster and fireproof the Equitable Building in downtown Atlanta.  His receipt of the Equitable Building bid was the largest contract of its kind ever awarded to a black-owned firm [13] In 1969, he received another prestigious contract to construct Citizens Trust Bank. [11]

Herman’s next accomplishment took place when he became a subcontractor with Holder Construction to build Colony Square in Atlanta, [9]    the oldest high-rise development in Midtown. It was the first mixed-use development in the Southeast [14]  H.J. Russell  & Company submitted the lowest bid for drywall.  Robert Holder, Sr. Holder Construction Company founder, reviewed Russell’s portfolio before deciding to work with him, and was impressed.  It was the first of fifty high-profile projects the two men completed together. [12]   Holder said in a documentary about Russell, that Delta Air Lines paired the two companies to build its headquarters. [9] Holder and Russell later became friends. [9]  

Russell also began landing his own prime contracts. In addition, his company started to get business outside of Atlanta and the state of Georgia.  It set up project management division offices in Birmingham, Alabama the mid-1980s. [10]  The City of Birmingham, the Birmingham Turf Club, the Birmingham Airport Authority, and the Birmingham/Jefferson County Civic Center Authority all became clients. [13]

One of H.J. Russell & Associates’ most noteworthy construction projects was for the headquarters of one of the world’s most recognized brands, the Coca-Cola Company. [15]  H.J. Russell & Company was the general contractor. Herman oversaw every aspect of the 20-story tower, which was completed in 1987. [16] Russell’s company also continued to build residential properties. That division also experienced significant growth in the 1980s.

The 1996 Summer Olympics allowed H. J. Russell & Associates to grow even larger. Russell received contracts, and worked with partners, to build an Olympic stadium and other facilities.  The stadium was built in the Summerhill neighborhood where he grew up.  The groundbreaking for the project took place in 1993. [17]

Russell is credited with making significant contributions to Atlanta’s modern skyline. His company also continued doing sub-contractor work on large, high-profile projects.   Some of the most notable buildings and complexes that were completed under his leadership are, (in alphabetical order):

191 Peachtree

HJ Russell & Company was the material supplier (supervisory contractor of all construction work.) Completed in 1992. [18]

Atlanta City Hall

H.J. Russell & Company was a partner in building the Atlanta City Hall Complex.  The company was the Construction Manager (CM) for the $2 million project that upgraded Assembly Hall, the Commissioner’s Chamber and surrounding areas. [16]  

Georgia Pacific Headquarters

The firm formed a joint venture to build the Georgia Pacific Headquarters in 1982.  [19] At the time, it was the second tallest structure in Atlanta.

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport

H.J. Russell was one of the companies contracted to build the Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport's main terminal complex.  It moved the company into elite status as a builder of transportation facilities.   [11]

Other Projects** [7]

** Russell named his three children, Donata, Michael and Jerome to run his companies after he retired in 2003.  Some of the construction projects listed were headed by Michael who became CEO of H.J. Russell & Company.  

Affiliations

Russell served as the first African American member of the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce. [7] [20] [21] [22] [23] He founded H. J. Russell & Company, the largest minority-owned real estate and construction business in the United States. [24] [25] Russell was a 1991 recipient of the Horatio Alger Award, and received the title Georgia Trustee from the Georgia Historical Society in 2013. [7] Russell's autobiography Building Atlanta was published in April 2014, shortly before his death. [26]

Death

Herman J. Russell died on November 15, 2014, at the age of 83, in Atlanta Georgia and was buried at South-View Cemetery. [27] After his death, DNA proved that Russell fathered a daughter out of wedlock, Joycelyn Alston. Courts ruled that Alson was not entitled to any portion of his estate as he had left behind a will disinheriting any potential children born out-of-wedlock.

References

  1. ↑ {{cite web}}: Empty citation (help)
  2. ↑ "Horatio Alger Award Recipient Herman Russell". Horatio Alger. Retrieved September 2, 2025.
  3. 1 2 "Herman Russell". Georgia Historical Society.
  4. ↑ ""Definitive Documentary on Industry Titan HJ Russell is Movie Gold"". The Atlanta Tribune.
  5. ↑ Summerhill, Atlanta
  6. 1 2 3 4 Fennessy, Steve (January 10, 2019). "After Atlanta Icon Herman Russell Died". Atlanta Magazine.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Herman J. Russell (1930–2014)". New Georgia Encyclopedia. Digital Library of Georgia . Retrieved February 10, 2020.
  8. 1 2 "Rogers Russell, Jr Obituary published by the Atlanta Journal Constitution". Legacy.com. May 10, 2012.
  9. 1 2 3 4 "Building Atlanta: The Story of Herman J. Russell". Public Broadcasting. February 16, 2020. pp. Time code 33:19.
  10. 1 2 "H. J. Russell history: 1980s". H.J. Russell & Company.
  11. 1 2 3 "H.J. Russell & Company". Encyclopedia.com.
  12. 1 2 Riley, Betsy (May 2011). "Herman Russell". Atlanta Magazine.
  13. 1 2 "H.J. Russell & Company History". Funding Universe.
  14. ↑ "Colony Square".
  15. ↑ Wenk, Amy (April 8, 2024). "H.J. Russell family to be honored with Four Pillar Award". Atlanta Business Chronicle.
  16. 1 2 "Herman Russell, Founder of H.J. Russell & Company". GeorgiaHistory.com.
  17. ↑ "Turner Field until 2016". StadiumDB.com.
  18. ↑ "994 191 Peachtree Tower Atlanta". SkyscaperCenter.com.
  19. ↑ "Flashback Friday: H.J. Russell & Company". Instagram. May 12, 2023.
  20. ↑ "Herman J. Russell built legacy in Atlanta". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved February 10, 2020.
  21. ↑ "International Civil Rights: Walk of Fame – Herman J. Russell". nps.gov. National Park Service. Archived from the original on October 18, 2019. Retrieved February 10, 2020. A quiet, but influential civic leader, Russell worked very closely with Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in the 1960s. He became the first black member, and later president, of the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce.
  22. ↑ Suggs, Ernie (November 15, 2014). "Atlanta business icon Herman J. Russell has died". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on February 10, 2020. Retrieved February 10, 2020. Herman J. Russell, an entrepreneur and philanthropist who turned a small plastering firm into one of the nation's most successful African-American-owned real estate development and construction companies, died Saturday. He was 83. Russell, a lifelong Atlantan who counted among his friends several presidents and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., helped shape the city's skyline and wielded influence far beyond his hometown.
  23. ↑ "History". H.J. Russell & Company. Retrieved February 10, 2020. With the skills his father taught him, he, with the help of friends, built a duplex on a vacant lot he had saved up to purchase. He saved up enough rental income from that duplex to pay for his college education at Tuskegee Institute in Alabama where he earned his degree in building construction in 1952 and worked as a subcontractor with his brother Roger Russell assisting. This was also the year that Herman founded H. J. Russell Plastering Company in Atlanta, which would later become H. J. Russell & Company.
  24. ↑ Myrick-Harris, Clarissa (2006). "Herman Jerome Russel (1930- ), Business Mogul, Community Leader, Philanthropist". In Smith, Jessie Carney (ed.). Encyclopedia of African American Business: A-J. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 704–707. ISBN   978-0-313-33110-7 . Retrieved February 10, 2020.
  25. ↑ Harris, Robert L. Jr.; Terborg-Penn, Rosalyn (2006). The Columbia Guide to African American History Since 1939. Columbia University Press. pp. 199–200. ISBN   978-0-231-51087-5 . Retrieved February 10, 2020.
  26. ↑ "BUILDING ATLANTA by Herman J. Russell , Bob Andelman". Kirkus Reviews. Archived from the original on February 10, 2020. Retrieved February 10, 2020.
  27. ↑ Henderson, D.L. (2018). South-View: An African American City of the Dead. Dunwoody, Georgia: Carrelspin Press. p. 6. ISBN   978-0998577203. OCLC   1048552699.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.