Herman J. Russell*

Herman Russell, the youngest of eight children, was born in 1930 in an Atlanta ghetto. His father worked as a plasterer, and Russell learned that trade from his father. When he was 16, Russell used the money he had saved working with his father, purchased a parcel of land for $125, and began to build a duplex. He graduated from high school and attended Alabama's Tuskegee University. During summers, he worked on the duplex that he had begun in high school. When it was finished, he used the rent money to help finance his education.

After his college graduation, Russell returned to Atlanta to work alongside his father as a plastering contractor. After the death of his father four years later, Russell took over the business and set about expanding it. He focused on the construction of duplexes and quickly moved up to building four-unit and eight-unit apartments.

Eventually, Russell was building 400- and 500-unit complexes. After winning contracts on major buildings, including the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center, Russell became a full-fledged joint venture partner in many projects, including several Metro Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority train stations, an $18 million contract to build parking decks at Hartsfield International Airport, and the $115 million Georgia-Pacific Tower. His company, H. J. Russell & Co., became the largest Minority Business Enterprise real estate firm in the nation.

"I get high every day of my life, not from drugs, not from booze, but from having the satisfaction of working, putting deals together, helping to create jobs," said Russell. "I just hope that God will keep blessing me with my health so that I can keep doing the work that I've done to help make opportunities for all people."