Audiobook11 hours
Black Titan: A.G. Gaston and the Making of a Black American Millionaire
Written by Carol Jenkins and Elizabeth Gardner Hines
Narrated by Susan Spain
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5/5
()
About this audiobook
The grandson of slaves, born into poverty in 1892 in the Deep South, A.G. Gaston died more than a century later with a fortune worth well over $130 million and a business empire spanning communications, real estate, and insurance. Gaston was, by any measure, a heroic figure whose wealth and influence bore comparison to J. P. Morgan and Andrew Carnegie. Here, for the first time, is the story of the life of this extraordinary pioneer, told by his niece and grandniece, the award-winning television journalist Carol Jenkins and her daughter Elizabeth Gardner Hines.
Born at a time when the bitter legacy of slavery and Reconstruction still poisoned the lives of black Americans, Gaston was determined to make a difference for himself and his people. His first job, after serving in the celebrated all-black regiment during World War I, bound him to the near-slavery of an Alabama coal mine—but even here Gaston saw not only hope but opportunity. He launched a business selling lunches to fellow miners, soon established a rudimentary bank—and from then on there was no stopping him. A kind of black Horatio Alger, Gaston let a single, powerful question be his guide: What do our people need now? His success flowed from an uncanny genius for knowing the answer.
Combining rich family lore with a deep knowledge of American social and economic history, Carol Jenkins and Elizabeth Hines unfold Gaston’s success story against the backdrop of a century of crushing racial hatred and bigotry. Gastonnot only survived the hardships of being black during the Depression, he flourished, and by the 1950s he was ruling a Birmingham-based business empire.
When the movement for civil rights swept through the South in the late 1950s and early 1960s, Gaston provided critical financial support to many activists.
At the time of his death in 1996, A.G. Gaston was one of the wealthiest black men in America, if not the wealthiest. But his legacy extended far beyond the monetary. He was a man who had proved it was possible to overcome staggering odds and make a place for himself as a leader, a captain of industry, and a far-sighted philanthropist. Writing with grace and power, Jenkins and Hines bring their distinguished ancestor fully to life in the pages of this book. Black Titan is the story of a man who created his own future—and in the process, blazed a future for all black businesspeople in America.
Born at a time when the bitter legacy of slavery and Reconstruction still poisoned the lives of black Americans, Gaston was determined to make a difference for himself and his people. His first job, after serving in the celebrated all-black regiment during World War I, bound him to the near-slavery of an Alabama coal mine—but even here Gaston saw not only hope but opportunity. He launched a business selling lunches to fellow miners, soon established a rudimentary bank—and from then on there was no stopping him. A kind of black Horatio Alger, Gaston let a single, powerful question be his guide: What do our people need now? His success flowed from an uncanny genius for knowing the answer.
Combining rich family lore with a deep knowledge of American social and economic history, Carol Jenkins and Elizabeth Hines unfold Gaston’s success story against the backdrop of a century of crushing racial hatred and bigotry. Gastonnot only survived the hardships of being black during the Depression, he flourished, and by the 1950s he was ruling a Birmingham-based business empire.
When the movement for civil rights swept through the South in the late 1950s and early 1960s, Gaston provided critical financial support to many activists.
At the time of his death in 1996, A.G. Gaston was one of the wealthiest black men in America, if not the wealthiest. But his legacy extended far beyond the monetary. He was a man who had proved it was possible to overcome staggering odds and make a place for himself as a leader, a captain of industry, and a far-sighted philanthropist. Writing with grace and power, Jenkins and Hines bring their distinguished ancestor fully to life in the pages of this book. Black Titan is the story of a man who created his own future—and in the process, blazed a future for all black businesspeople in America.
Related to Black Titan
Related audiobooks
The Reckoning Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5My Face Is Black Is True: Callie House and the Struggle for Ex-Slave Reparations Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Fires of Jubilee: Nat Turner's Fierce Rebellion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Prince of Darkness: The Untold Story of Jeremiah G. Hamilton, Wall Street's First Black Millionaire Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Original Black Elite: Daniel Murray and the Story of a Forgotten Era Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Wealth Choice: Success Secrets of Black Millionaires Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Black Holocaust For Beginners Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Black Faces in High Places: 10 Strategic Actions for Black Professionals to Reach the Top and Stay There Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Mis-Education of the Negro Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Color of Money: Black Banks and the Racial Wealth Gap Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Mis-Education of the Negro Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Forty Million Dollar Slaves: The Rise, Fall, and Redemption of the Black Athlete Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Empire State of Mind: How Jay-Z Went From Street Corner to Corner Office Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Last Negroes at Harvard: The Class of 1963 and the 18 Young Men Who Changed Harvard Forever Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Booker T. Washington: Builder of a Civilization Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Memo: Five Rules for Your Economic Liberation Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Future of the American Negro Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Think and Grow Rich: A Black Choice Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Know Your Price: Valuing Black Lives and Property in America's Black Cities Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Up from Nothing: The Untold Story of How We (All) Succeed Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5It Ain’t All for Nothin’ Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Black Wall Street: The History of the Greenwood District Before the Tulsa Race Riot Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5From Superman to Man Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Invisible: The Forgotten Story of the Black Woman Lawyer Who Took Down America's Most Powerful Mobster Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Conversation with Dorothy Height Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Russell Rules: 11 Lessons on Leadership from the 20th Century's Greatest Champion Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Cultural, Ethnic & Regional Biographies For You
You're That Bitch: & Other Cute Lessons About Being Unapologetically Yourself Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Our Migrant Souls: A Meditation on Race and the Meanings and Myths of “Latino” Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Tremendous: The Life of a Comedy Savage Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Dressmakers of Auschwitz: The True Story of the Women Who Sewed to Survive Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Happiest Man on Earth: The Beautiful Life of an Auschwitz Survivor Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5We Were Dreamers: An Immigrant Superhero Origin Story Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row (Oprah's Book Club Summer 2018 Selection) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5You Got Anything Stronger?: Stories Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Year of Yes: How to Dance It Out, Stand In the Sun and Be Your Own Person Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Up From Slavery Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Creep: Accusations and Confessions Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Israel: A Simple Guide to the Most Misunderstood Country on Earth Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Survival of the Thickest: Essays Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Somebody's Daughter: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Adversity for Sale: Ya Gotta Believe Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Unprotected: A Memoir Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Trejo: My Life of Crime, Redemption, and Hollywood Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Stories We Tell: Every Piece of Your Story Matters Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Just as I Am: A Memoir Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Exotic Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Medgar and Myrlie: Medgar Evers and the Love Story that Awakened America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How to Say Babylon: A Memoir Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Living Remedy: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Related categories
Reviews for Black Titan
Rating: 4.4615384538461536 out of 5 stars
4.5/5
13 ratings1 review
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Phenomenal story about the Gaston "behind-the-scenes" role in the civil rights movement of the 1950's & 60's as a major financial contributor to Dr. Martin Luther King & other leaders. Also, as a leading businessman, he provided housing and other services to the leaders as well. The author suggests that without the contributions of Gaston, there would not have been a movement at all.