Herman J. Russell, Tuskegee Grad, Real Estate Mogul dies
Herman J. Russell, founder and chairman of H. J. Russell & Company, died Saturday after a brief illness, according to his family. The Tuskegee graduate and Atlanta native came from humble beginnings to preside over the largest African-American-owned construction company in the country. When Russell was 16 years old, he bought a small parcel of land on which he built a duplex, according to the biography on his company’s website. Russell later graduated from Tuskegee University. After graduating, he returned to Atlanta, to work as a plastering subcontractor with his father. In 1953, he broadened his father’s business into general contracting, creating H. J. Russell & Company. Earlier this year, Russell released a book Building Atlanta: How I broke Through Segregation to Launch a Business Empire. Russell retired in 2003 and passed the reigns to his son, Michael. Herman J. Russell was 83. Funeral arrangements are pending.
