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Story of the Atlanta Life Insurance Company, and how it became an economic base within the black community shortly after the turn of the century.

Hornsby (history, Morehouse College) and Henderson (history, Clark Atlanta U.) examine the history of the Atlanta Urban League, the first and most prominent of the southern affiliates of the National Urban League. With that alliance in 1920 came ongoing concerns about how "political" the Atlanta affiliate could be without jeopardizing its important work in securing employment opportunities and providing social services. Although the city was a major education and commercial center for African Americans, and had a successful middle class, it also was home to many without opportunities other than those offered by the League. Hornsby and Henderson describe the successes and controversies of the Atlanta branch from the interwar period through World War II, during the civil rights revolution, and into the post civil rights era, and the startling changes wrought by two of its leaders, Grace Towns Hamilton and Lyndon Wade.

Story of the Atlanta Life Insurance Company, and how it became an economic base within the black community shortly after the turn of the century.