Mary Greene is a Black woman who became a financial advisor with Prudential after working for several Fortune 500 firms in other industries. Prudential offered four things she says are necessary for young advisors to make it: Name recognition among prospective clients, a strong training program, solid support from her manager and managing director, and a feeling of confidence that she “could flourish and really bring some great things to the clients because of the needs of the African American community.”

John Merrick and Alonzo Herndon were successful turn-of-the-twentieth-century entrepreneurs who recognized that Black families had a growing need for life insurance. They also saw that need was not being met in the Jim Crow South. Both men were born into slavery, Merrick in North Carolina and Herndon in Georgia. Both, coincidentally, made their first entrances into the business world as barbers who prospered and opened multiple shops.