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In honor of Black History Month, I am paying homage to Robert Reed Church Sr.
Robert Reed Church Sr. (1839–1912) was the first African American millionaire in the South, achieving this feat by 1885 through business ventures and his real estate portfolio. He opened a billiard hall in Memphis in 1866, later adding a barbershop and saloon. In 1867, he bought properties in what became the Beale Street District, gaining influence in the black community. During the 1878 yellow fever epidemic, he stayed in Memphis, helped rebuild, and bailed out the city with bonds. Because many people left Memphis, he was able to buy houses at a significant discount. He would then renovate the houses and rent them out at affordable prices to African Americans. By 1885, he owned nearly half of downtown Memphis’ commercial properties and became a millionaire (a million dollars in 1885 would be worth about 32.5 million today 😮). Church built a hotel in 1889, Church Park and Auditorium in 1900, and the first black-owned bank in Memphis, the Solvent Savings Bank, in 1906.
The two books I read to obtain this information are called Beale Street Dynasty and Black Fortunes. Thank y’all for reading!
