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 parent’s 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.
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. He promoted 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. Philip’s company countered the Hudson Company’s move by purchasing two adjacent apartment houses, evicting their White tenants, and moved in the “Black” families evicted by the Hudson Company!
Philip Anthony Payton, Jr died on August 29, 1917, at the age of 41.
In closing, I would like to share from this experience, my hope that blacks would organize and share information, and teach our people 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. We should show them how to begin buying lands, and become self-sufficient as a “RACE!”
Payton showed us how it could be done. Maybe we could copy his example.
