Jesse Hill, Jr.
Jesse Hill Jr., a former chief executive of Atlanta Life Insurance Co. and a key supporter of civil rights in Atlanta passed at the age of 86 years-old on Dec. 17, 2012. Although he never officially held a political office, he was known to be a behind the scenes influence to many who have held public office including former President Jimmy Carter.
A man of firsts — first Black president of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, first Black member of the University System’s Board of Regents — he worked to create new opportunities for the next generation.
He was also a key component in raising the financial support needed in many causes. He helped finance and advise civil rights leaders, including the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.; served as confidant to the city’s first Black mayor, Maynard Jackson; and tackled assignments as diverse as the launch of MARTA and the integration of the Atlanta public schools and the University of Georgia. He played an especially important role in forging understanding and alliances between local Black and White leaders.
Another former mayor, Sam Massell, recalled Hill’s upfront style. Massell, who is Jewish, became the city’s first minority mayor largely with help from Hill, who organized Black leaders in his support. But when Maynard Jackson announced in the early 1970s that he would run against Massell, Hill took Massell to lunch to tell him he intended to support Jackson.
“He helped me when nobody else would,” said Massell, who is president of the Buckhead Coalition. “We talk about white people being colorblind, but Jesse was colorblind. And I think that was hard to come by in that era because the Black leadership was just growing into its power and influence, and for him to be able to treat Whites the same way he did Blacks was quite progressive.”
In 2003, he co-chaired a city commission on renaming the airport after Jackson’s death in 2003. The Jackson family and many black leaders spoke forcefully for changing the name from Atlanta Hartsfield International Airport to 4Atlanta Jackson International Airport, in part to recognize the $300 million expansion under Jackson’s leadership. Others, including many White leaders, favored standing by the Hartsfield name, in recognition of the early Atlanta mayor’s vision that became the airport.
Hill was also the first publisher and president of the Atlanta Inquirer Newspaper, a Black-owned newspaper in Atlanta.
Atlanta Inquirer Newspaper publisher John B. Smith, Sr. released a statement on Hill’s passing:
“The passing of Jesse Hill, Jr. leaves a huge void in the body politic and societal fabric of Atlanta, the state of Georgia, the nation, and the world. Mr. Hill gave of his seemingly boundless talents and energy to causes great and small that changed the quality of life for communities and individuals alike.
When he was not advising a President, Congressman, Mayor or legislator, Jesse was helping a business, civic or political leader plot a course for progress. But, equally important to Jesse was the “unimportant” person who needed someone to save the day for him or her. Jesse was very often that someone. Quietly and without any public notice, Jesse would extend the helping hand that made the difference – for the moment or perhaps for a lifetime. He seemed to be everywhere at once, partly because he sometimes stayed just long enough to steer things in the right direction, then move on to the next big challenge.
It was during the turbulent decades of Atlanta’s moving to racial and commercial progressiveness that Jesse’s light shown brightest. It was during the early days of this period that he was Publisher of The Atlanta Inquirer newspaper – the mantle which I now proudly wear. The world has lost one of its best and brightest.”
Hill is survived by his wife, the former Azira Gonzalez of Holguin, Cuba married since 1955, and two daughters, Nancy Mercedes and Azira Dominga.
Funeral was held on Friday, Dec. 21 at Big Bethel A. M. E. Church on Auburn Avenue at Jesse Hill Drive. Final arrangements were being officiated by Willie A. Watkins Funeral Home.