Black Titan: A. G. Gaston

Ms. Jenkins and Ms. Hines talked about their book, Black Titan: A.G. Gaston and the Making of a Black American Millionaire, published by One World/Strivers Row. Ms. Jenkins and Ms. Hines are Gaston’s niece and grandniece, respectively. The book is a biography of Arthur George Gaston. He was born in a log cabin built by his grandparents, who were freed slaves. Mr. Gaston served in the first all-black regiment during World War I. When he returned to his hometown of Birmingham, Alabama, after the war, he went to work in a coal mine, where he began selling lunches to fellow workers. The profits from this venture helped him found a bank, which in turn provided him the seed funds to build a number of businesses to provide services often denied African-Americans during the years of segregation, including funeral parlors, motels, and insurance companies. When he died in 1996 at the age of 103, Mr. Gaston was worth over $130 million. Ms. Jenkins and Ms. Hines, along with an audience comprised largely of Mr. Gaston’s relatives, colleagues, and people who benefited from his community programs, discussed Gaston’s life, stories, and guidelines for success. close