OUR RICH BLACK HERITAGE" : PHILIP ANTHONY PAYTON JR

“A Community is democratic only when the humblest and weakest person can enjoy the highest civil, economic, and social rights that the biggest and most powerful possess” - A Philip Randolph It has been reported that back in 1920, Harlem, New York was a pleasant haven, a place of self-discovery, cultural awareness, and political activism for Negroes. With all that said, I would like to provide you with some information about a Black Man who is known as “The Father of Harlem”( due to his work in renting properties in Harlem ). I would like to introduce everyone to Mr Philip Anthony Payton Jr. He was born on February 27, 1876 in Westfield, Massachusetts. His father was a Barber, and he insisted that his son learn how to be a Barber as well. When it was time for young Philip to attend college, his father arranged for him to attend Livingston College[ his father was a personal friend of Dr Joseph Charles Price, who was the school’s founder ].In April of 1899{ against his parents wishes },Philip decided to leave his hometown and the family Barbershop. Somehow he developed a taste for the “Big Apple”( New York City ). When it came to working, Philip was no slouch. He worked part-time at a department store, worked part-time as a Barber, and part-time as a porter in a real-estate office. It was while working at the real-estate office that he got the idea of going into the real-estate business on his own!. In 1900, Philip and a partner opened the Brown and Payton real estate firm[ in June 1901, Philip got married ]. Due to financial troubles, his partner decided to leave the business in the spring of 1901. Instead of quitting, Philip decided to continue the business{ with his wife providing financial assistance }. The couple experienced hard times, and at one point, they were evicted from their apartment for not being able to pay their rent. Not long thereafter, things took a turn for the better! On June 15, 1904, with the help of other affluent Blacks, Payton chartered the Afro-American Realty Company, issuing 50,000 shares at $10 each( his business partner was a mortician named James C. Thomas ). Furthermore , the event that is said to have augmented Philip’s reputation in the Negro Community, and helped bring in more investors to his business was the famous “Real-Estate Race War” between his company and a White-Owned Company named The Hudson Company. The Hudson Company bought three neighboring tenement buildings from Afro-American Realty, evicted their Black tenants, and replaced them with White tenants. Now here’s the kicker, Hudson's builders agreed to only rent their properties to “Whites!” Philip’s company countered the Hudson Company’s move by purchasing two adjacent apartment houses, evicted their White tenants, and moved in the “Black” families evicted by the Hudson Company! Philip Anthony Payton Jr died on August 29,1917{ he was only 41 years old }. In closing, I would like to share an excerpt from an essay written by Booker T Washington “in 1896” entitled, “The Awakening of The Negro.” In his essay, he mentions the “crux” as to why Negroes suffered financially( even though they worked so hard physically ). Booker T Washington Said,”The Negro got the habit of “HARD WORK” from slavery. The rank and file of the race, especially those on the Southern plantations, work hard, but the trouble is, what they earn gets away from them in high rents, crop mortgages, whiskey, snuff, cheap jewelry, and the like.” Regretfully, the disheartening conditions that he described back then are still prevalent today in 2023! In his essay, he goes on to give a “REMEDY” to improve the financial conditions of the Negro. He suggested that the Negroes should “ORGANIZE” the older people into a club, or conference, and hold meetings “EVERY WEEK.” In these meetings the people were to be taught in a plain, simple manner how to save their money, how to farm in a better way, how to sacrifice, to live on bread and potatoes[if need be ] till they could get out of debt,begin the buying of lands, and become self-sufficient as a “RACE!” { Booker T Washington left us a clear and precise plan as to how Blacks can improve and transform our “Black Communities!” }