{"title":"Shomari Wills","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"black-fortunes-book-shomari-wills-9780062437600","title":"Black Fortunes","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"By telling the little-known stories of six pioneering African American entrepreneurs, \u003ci\u003eBlack Fortunes\u003c\/i\u003e makes a worthy contribution to black history, to business history, and to American history.\"--Margot Lee Shetterly, \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e Bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eHidden Figures\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eBetween the years of 1830 and 1927, as the last generation of blacks born into slavery was reaching maturity, a small group of industrious, tenacious, and daring men and women broke new ground to attain the highest levels of financial success.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eMary Ellen Pleasant, used her Gold Rush wealth to further the cause of abolitionist John Brown. Robert Reed Church, became the largest landowner in Tennessee. Hannah Elias, the mistress of a New York City millionaire, used the land her lover gave her to build an empire in Harlem. Orphan and self-taught chemist Annie Turnbo-Malone, developed the first national brand of hair care products. Mississippi school teacher O. W. Gurley, developed a piece of Tulsa, Oklahoma, into a \"town\" for wealthy black professionals and craftsmen that would become known as \"the Black Wall Street.\" Although Madam C. J Walker was given the title of America's first female black millionaire, she was not. She was the first, however, to flaunt and openly claim her wealth--a dangerous and revolutionary act.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eNearly all the unforgettable personalities in this amazing collection were often attacked, demonized, or swindled out of their wealth. \u003ci\u003eBlack Fortunes\u003c\/i\u003e illuminates as never before the birth of the black business titan and a vital chapter of Black history.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis compelling work of narrative history reveals the hidden stories of America's first Black millionaires:\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cul\u003e \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eGilded Age Titans:\u003c\/b\u003e Meet the six trailblazers--including Mary Ellen Pleasant, who used her Gold Rush wealth to fund abolition, and Robert Reed Church, a former slave who became Tennessee's largest landowner.\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eSelf-Made Millionaires:\u003c\/b\u003e Discover the ingenuity of entrepreneurs like Annie Turnbo-Malone, who developed the first national brand of hair care products, and O. W. Gurley, the visionary behind Tulsa's \"Black Wall Street.\"\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eHidden American History:\u003c\/b\u003e Uncover the truth about Madam C. J. Walker, who wasn't the first self-made Black female millionaire, and Hannah Elias, who used a lover's gifts to build an empire in Harlem.\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eStories of Resilience:\u003c\/b\u003e Learn how these unforgettable figures were often attacked and swindled out of their fortunes, yet persevered to become business titans against the backdrop of the Jim Crow era.\u003c\/li\u003e \u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49568174342417,"sku":"GOR013681174","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49727416205585,"sku":"NGR9780062437600","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":49780670005521,"sku":"CIN0062437607G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50429152559377,"sku":"CIN0062437607VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":50983108575505,"sku":"NIN9780062437600","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0062437607.jpg?v=1750810914"},{"product_id":"black-fortunes-book-shomari-wills-9780062437594","title":"Black Fortunes","description":"\u003cp\u003eOne of Ebony Magazine's True Read picks of 2018\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"By telling the little-known stories of six pioneering African American entrepreneurs, Black Fortunes makes a worthy contribution to black history, to business history, and to American history.\"--Margot Lee Shetterly, Author of the New York Times Bestseller Hidden Figures\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe astonishing untold history of America's first black millionaires--former slaves who endured incredible challenges to amass and maintain their wealth for a century, from the Jacksonian period to the Roaring Twenties--self-made entrepreneurs whose unknown success mirrored that of American business heroes such as Henry Ford, John D. Rockefeller, and Thomas Edison.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWhile Oprah Winfrey, Jay-Z, Beyoncé, Michael Jordan, and Will Smith are among the estimated 35,000 black millionaires in the nation today, these famous celebrities were not the first blacks to reach the storied one percent. Between the years of 1830 and 1927, as the last generation of blacks born into slavery was reaching maturity, a small group of smart, tenacious, and daring men and women broke new ground to attain the highest levels of financial success.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eBlack Fortunes is an intriguing look at these remarkable individuals, including Napoleon Bonaparte Drew--author Shomari Wills' great-great-great-grandfather--the first black man in Powhatan County (contemporary Richmond) to own property in post-Civil War Virginia. His achievements were matched by five other unknown black entrepreneurs including:\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cul\u003e \u003cli\u003eMary Ellen Pleasant, who used her Gold Rush wealth to further the cause of abolitionist John Brown;\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003eRobert Reed Church, who became the largest landowner in Tennessee;\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003eHannah Elias, the mistress of a New York City millionaire, who used the land her lover gave her to build an empire in Harlem;\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003eOrphan and self-taught chemist Annie Turnbo-Malone, who developed the first national brand of hair care products;\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003eMadam C. J Walker, Turnbo-Malone's employee who would earn the nickname America's \"first female black millionaire;\"\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003eMississippi school teacher O. W. Gurley, who developed a piece of Tulsa, Oklahoma, into a \"town\" for wealthy black professionals and craftsmen\" that would become known as \"the Black Wall Street.\"\u003c\/li\u003e \u003c\/ul\u003e \u003cp\u003eA fresh, little-known chapter in the nation's story--A blend of Hidden Figures, Titan, and The Tycoons--Black Fortunes illuminates the birth of the black business titan and the emergence of the black marketplace in America as never before.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49626487652625,"sku":"GOR010282257","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":49764725424401,"sku":"CIN0062437593G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50419439304977,"sku":"CIN0062437593VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53442191327505,"sku":"GOR014922012","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0062437593.jpg?v=1751068891"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/collections\/author-books-by-shomari-wills.oembed","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}