08 LC 95
0360
Senate
Resolution 979
By:
Senator Tarver of the 22nd
A
RESOLUTION
Recognizing
and commending Pilgrim Health and Life Insurance; and for other
purposes.
WHEREAS,
Pilgrim Health and Life Insurance began in the 1920's as Pilgrim Benevolent Aid
Association, collecting small amounts of money from families once a week or so
and placing the money in a "benevolent" fund that would guarantee the paid-up
policyholder a "decent" burial; and
WHEREAS,
Pilgrim Health and Life Insurance was not only the largest black-owned life
insurance company in the United States, it was also the largest employer of
African-Americans in Augusta, Georgia and several other cities around the South;
and
WHEREAS,
it was also very successful at diversifying its products over the years, and by
the 1930's the Augusta company was writing standard insurance policies and doing
business in Georgia, South Carolina, and Florida; and
WHEREAS,
by the 1940's it had more than a million dollars in assets; and
WHEREAS,
of greatest note is that this remarkable company was founded by an equally
remarkable Augusta teenager, Solomon W. Walker, who believed selling benevolent
insurance to blacks, who had little or no access to insurance of any kind, was a
winner for both the policyholder and the entrepreneur; and
WHEREAS,
the young Mr. Walker got the idea while delivering groceries in Augusta and all
he needed was $25 to obtain a state certificate to start his own insurance
company, so he set about raising the money by turning to family and friends;
and
WHEREAS,
the little company opened for business in 1898, and with the fire for success
that brands all true salesmen, three young men hit the streets selling policies;
and
WHEREAS,
the company was successful because offering only burial insurance made the
premiums affordable for most black prospects, the community got behind the
little enterprise, spawned and built by blacks for blacks, and burial insurance
filled a terrific need in the black community; and
WHEREAS,
in 1905 the company merged with other small companies to create the much more
diversified Pilgrim Health and Life Insurance Company and it grew quickly over
the next 40 years, making Laney-Walker Boulevard the very anchor of black
business in Augusta;
WHEREAS,
on its 50th anniversary in 1948, the company had paid $14 million in benefits,
while providing executive, clerical, and sales jobs for more than 700 blacks,
making it the largest black-owned employer in Augusta; and
WHEREAS,
in 1990 the company merged with Atlanta Life Insurance Company and moved its
headquarters to Atlanta; and
WHEREAS,
in many ways, Pilgrim Health and Life Insurance literally changed the look and
outlook of Augusta's black workers.
NOW,
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE that the members of this body join in
recognizing and commending Pilgrim Health and Life Insurance for its valuable
contributions to the Augusta community and this state.
BE
IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of the Senate is authorized and directed
to transmit an appropriate copy of this resolution to Pilgrim Health and Life
Insurance.