Legendary Atlanta business leader Herman J Russell passes at 83. The Summerhill native owned several businesses throughout his career, starting at age 16 when he purchased a dilapidated home for $125. He most notably founded H.J. Russell & Company, a local construction firm that helped build many of the city’s most important structures, in 1953. He also was a key member of the Civil Rights movement and broke down barriers for minority entrepreneurs.
Russell was the founder and retired CEO of H.J. Russell & Co., a construction and real estate firm that he founded in 1953 and grew into one of the largest minority-owned companies in the United States. H.J. Russell & Company also assisted in the construction of the Atlanta Police headquarters, Fulton County Jail, nearly a dozen Atlanta Public Schools buildings, Atlanta History Center, Atlanta Symphony Hall, the Carter Center, Ebenezer Baptist Church, and many other structures. And that’s just what his firm did in Atlanta — not to mention what the construction magnate built across the nation.
Numerous local leaders expressed their condolences and spoke about his legacy. Here’s a few of their responses:
Details about his funeral arrangements are pending.
