In the Black: A History of African Americans on Wall Street [Hardcover]

Gregory S. Bell (Author), Gregory Bell (Author)

Book Description

Series: Black Enterprise Books | Publication Date: December 21, 2001

The never-before-told story of five decades of African Americans on Wall Street

Here, for the first time, is the fascinating history of the African American experience on Wall Street as told by Gregory Bell, the son of the man who founded the first black-owned member firm of the New York Stock Exchange. A successful finance professional in his own right with close ties to leading figures in both the black financial and civil rights communities, Bell tells the stories of the pioneers who broke down the ancient social and political barriers to African American participation in the nation s financial industry. With the help of profiles of many important black leaders of the past fifty years including everyone from Jesse Jackson and Maynard Jackson, former mayor of Atlanta, to E. Stanley O Neal, COO and President of Merrill Lynch, and Russell Goings, founder of First Harlem Securities and cofounder of First Harlem Securities he shows how in the years following World War II the growing social, political, and financial powers of African Americans converged on Wall Street. Set to publish during Black History Month, In the Black will be warmly received by African American business readers and general readers alike.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Tough, resourceful and determined, the small band of early African-American pioneers venturing into Wall Street's fast-paced, hard-driving financial markets have not often been recognized for their achievements. Bell's history of those men who made a difference corrects that oversight. Bell (whose father, Travers Bell, worked for the New York Stock Exchange's first black-owned firm) brings an insider's view to the realm of investment banking and finance, starting with a brief biography of his family a clan enamored with trading and brokerage, but hampered by the restraints of Jim Crow. With well-researched support and measured prose, Bell chronicles the first black attempts to penetrate the securities industry pre- and post-Civil War. Little-known facts, such as the entry of the first black registered stockbrokers and salesmen on "The Street" in the early 1940s and the importance of black firms like McGhee & Company and Patterson & Company, underline the relentless struggle these men endured. Some of the best segments come in Bell's recounting of their difficulties during the turbulent 1960s and '70s, when slow yet persistent progress was made on several fronts against discriminatory practices on Wall Street, beginning with Merrill Lynch's hiring of three black brokers in 1965. For those seeking a close, informed look at the long, heroic battle by black businessmen and brokers to seize a piece of the action on Wall Street, this book is a source lean, informative and devoid of filler or tirades.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Wall Street has been responsible for creating an enormous amount of wealth in the United States, but according to Bell, the son of the man who founded the first black-owned member firm of the New York Stock Exchange, not much of that has found its way into the pockets of African Americans. This book, which charts the African American experience on Wall Street, doesn't contain much prior to the 1960s, but the author offers in-depth coverage of the past 40 years, showing how small, black-owned investment houses got started. Many of these small start-ups were undercapitalized, and while they grew during the good times, they frequently failed during the bad. The author suggests that the "old boy" white network was, in part, responsible for keeping blacks out, and there is some truth to that. However, the times have changed, with Wall Street investment banks actively recruiting minorities and black-owned asset management firms thriving. Unfortunately, the book suffers from spotty research and is not well written or edited. Still, this is the only book to offer much-needed research in this area and is appropriate for larger public library nonfiction collections and African American studies. Richard Drezen, Washington Post, New York City Bureau
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (December 21, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 047140392X
• ISBN-13: 978-0471403920
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,137,531 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An important brief history, March 16, 2002

By 

Larry Mark "editor of MyJewishBooks.com" (nyc) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: In the Black: A History of African Americans on Wall Street (Hardcover)

On Wall Street, you are remembered only for your last price, trade, or quarterly report. History is not dwelled on; today's young leaders probably wouldn't know JP Morgan, Muriel Siebert, or EF Hutton if they tripped over them. Nor would many even know the names Hornblower, First Harlem, Bache, Hutton, or Shearson. But, as of this writing, with African Americans leading both Merrill Lynch and Credit Suisse First Boston, it is nice (and necessary) to read a concise history of African Americans on Wall Street. Did you know that in the 1960's, Merrill Lynch, with 2500 fixed commission brokers, hired only 3 African American brokers? If not for this book, how many would know of Thorvald McGregor (MercerHicks) and Lawrence Lewis (Abraham & Co) , the first two African American Registered Reps in 1949? Or Abraham Cowing (FL Salomon); Howard Law grad Norman McGhee (McGhee and Company, the first black NASD securities firm); Philip Jenkins and Earle Fisher (Baruch Brothers) who started Special Markets; Lilla St John (Oppenheimer), the first black female broker in 1953; June Middleton (Cohen Simonson); Attorney Wylie H. Whisonant (Bache); Clarence B. Jones (Carter, Berlind, Sanford Weill, & Arthur Levitt); or Joseph L Searles (the first black full member of the NYSE in 1970)? The author, Gregory Bell, is the son of the Travers Bell, who founded the first black-owned member firm of the New York Stock Exchange, so he had deep access to the inside story of the black history of Wall Street. Although there were a couple of paragraphs that I might not have agreed with (the speculation that African Americans did not invest in equities in the 1950's because they were more concerned with basic civil rights than investing), the book remains an excellent, informative read. It is especially interesting when discussing the strategies of the early firms (selling mutual funds that required less financial sophistication); the trials of how companies were founded (For example, Daniels and Bell hatched their business plan after seeing The Wiz on Broadway, spent a year trying to get financing, and finally scored some needed fund after Myron Kandell wrote a story on their efforts and Nixon's SEC Chief William Casey pushed through an exemption to some rules for them and influenced his friends to invest in the firm), as well as when discussing the effect of Municipal policies to require that a percentage of their Public Finance business be done with minority owned vendors.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a great pleasure to read..., March 17, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: In the Black: A History of African Americans on Wall Street (Hardcover)

"I picked this book up after being attracted to its wonderful
book jacket and its words certainly lived up to my
expectations. As a young person, I had never heard of most
of the names in the book, and I am now filled with great
appreciation of the work they did to break barriers on Wall
Street. As a person of color, I felt it necessary to lear
about the pioneers of the past, and all they accomplished
despite the obstacles that hindered them. A necessary
book!!!"

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Important Chapter In Wall Street History, July 14, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: In the Black: A History of African Americans on Wall Street (Hardcover)

I found the information in this book very informative and surprising that black participation in finance went back as far as it did. Stories of black stockbrokers and mutual fund salesmen in the 1950's to the investment bankers of today, records the slow but meaningful progress made on the Street in the last few decades. Hopefully, the progress will continue....