Herndon Home Museum Celebrates Black History Month

Clark Atlanta University actors are participating in two special events marking Black History Month in Atlanta at the Herndon Home Museum.

On Feb. 16 and Feb. 23, Clark Atlanta University players will be conducting tours and performances of the Herndon family story.

Also, on Feb. 25, the Herndon Home will feature live actors from the Americolor Opera Alliance.

Alonzo Franklin Herndon, a former slave born in 1858, learned barbering and eventually opened his own shop in Atlanta called the Crystal Palace, which served Atlanta’s white elite exclusively. Through hard work and investments in Atlanta property, Herndon became the richest black man in America.

In 1905, he founded the Atlanta Life Insurance Company, one of the largest black-owned financial institutions in the United States.