The Founders THE FOUNDERS In the early 1920s, Dr. Joseph E. Walker moved the headquarters of the Mississippi Life Insurance Company to Memphis to evade white intimidation in rural Mississippi. When the company fell under the control of white administrators, Dr. Walker envisioned a new company dedicated to improving the economic condition of people of color. Dr. Joseph E. Walker Photo taken by Hooks Brothers Photography. Courtesy of Memphis and Shelby County Room at the Memphis Public Library With the support and expertise of Archie W. Willis Sr., Mark William Bonner, Dr. John Thomas Wilson, Dr. R.S. Fields, and B.F. Booth, Walker s vision became reality. In 1923, Walker convened the first meeting of the Universal Life Insurance Company at the Fraternal Bank building at Third and Beale. Archie W. Willis Mark William Bonner Photo taken by Hooks Brothers Photography. Courtesy of Memphis and Shelby County Room at Memphis Public Library
Finding a Home FINDING A HOME Universal Life s first home-office building at 234 Hernando Street Photo taken by Hooks Brothers Photography. Courtesy of Memphis and Shelby County Room at the Memphis Public Library The vibrant black entrepreneurship on Beale Street made a fitting place to begin the Universal Life Insurance Company. As the business grew, Walker helped organize the local Negro Chamber of Commerce in 1926 to encourage and strengthen black entrepreneurship throughout the city. The same year, Universal Life moved to its first home-office building designed by McKissack and McKissack architects, one of the nation s first architecture firms owned by African Americans. An entrepreneur himself, Moses McKissack III was an early financial supporter of Universal Life and other black businesses in the state. Photo taken by Hooks Brothers Photography. Courtesy of Memphis and Shelby County Room at Memphis Public Library The iconic sign outside of the Universal Life building today reflects the company s earliest signage on their first building. Courtesy of Memphis and Shelby County Room at the Memphis Public Library
EMPOWERMENT He is the greatest whose strength carries up the most lives by the efforts of his own. - unattributed quote in the 50th anniversary edition of ULICO Universal Life supported progress in business, housing, and education for blacks. Aside from offering a degree of economic certainty through insurance policies, the company provided professional jobs to black communities, mentorship programs for students, and financed home ownership and affordable housing developments such as the Walker Homes subdivision in South Memphis. Universal Life advertisement Courtesy of Memphis and Shelby County Room at the Memphis Public Library This vision of economic empowerment led Dr. Walker and his son, A. Maceo, to establish Tri-State Bank, the only African Americanowned bank in the city at the time of its founding in 1946. Tri-State Bank s first building was the former home of Solvent Savings Bank and Trust. Courtesy of Memphis and Shelby County Room at the Memphis Public Library Business success enabled Universal Life to give back. The company s philanthropy included funding the first computer systems at LeMoyne-Owen College, scholarships, and supporting the NAACP. Universal Life supported the activities of the New Farmers of America by awarding outstanding students with livestock. Courtesy of Memphis and Shelby County Room at the Memphis Public Library Scholarship announcement Raffle ticket from 1975 fundraiser Courtesy of Walker Shaw Family Archives Courtesy of Walker Shaw Family Archives
Building a Landmark BUILDING A LANDMARK In 1945, Universal Life leaders hired the McKissack and McKissack firm to design a new headquarters for the company. Completed in 1949 in the Egyptian Revival Style, the new Universal Life Insurance Building represented the power and independence of black business. Groundbreaking for the new Universal Life Insurance Building in 1947 Photo taken by Hooks Brothers Photography. Courtesy of Memphis and Shelby County Room at the Memphis Public Library The winged sun disk/globe motif, closed lotus flower capitals, and gorge-and-roll cornice on the Universal Life building are key features of the Egyptian Revival style. The use of Egyptian imagery aligned modern success with the achievements of ancient African cultures during an era in which mainstream society reinforced negative stereotypes of African Americans. Clerical staff in the new building, ca. 1955 Photo taken by Hooks Brothers Photography. Postcard of the Universal Life Insurance Building and sign Courtesy of Memphis and Shelby County Room at the Memphis Public Library Memphis Landmarks Postcard with A. Maceo Walker Courtesy of Walker Shaw Family Archives Advertisement from the Tri-State Defender, 1983
Community COMMUNITY Hundreds of employees throughout the country made Universal Life successful. Administrators rewarded Universalites with professional development opportunities, expense-paid travel, and banquets celebrating company milestones. At the height of its success, Universal Life operated branches in 11 states, employing hundreds of people across the country. The company newsletter included news especially affecting African Americans, household tips, poems, employee achievements, and birth and graduation announcements of employees families. During the summer, administrators encouraged employees to bring their older children to the office to job shadow, earn money, and learn professional skills. Newsletter cover from 1954 Courtesy of Walker Shaw Archives Women in Universal Life s public cafeteria Courtesy of Memphis and Shelby County Room at the Memphis Public Library A. Maceo Walker, William J. Kennedy III, and Jesse Jackson at Universal Life s 50th anniversary event Courtesy of Special Collections at University of Memphis The building s community meeting spaces and public cafeteria nurtured relationships and enabled the flow of information that helped sustain the struggle for civil rights in Memphis. The NAACP often used building spaces, and during voter education campaigns, secretaries at Universal Life typed up sample ballots for new voters to learn how to read and mark them. Universal Life held yearly Miss Universal contests for their employees. Pictured here is Florine Newton, an agent from Alexandria, Virginia, posing on the roof of the Peabody Hotel in Memphis Courtesy of Memphis and Shelby County Room at the Memphis Public Library
Leadership LEADERSHIP Jet magazine named Dr. Walker one of the 10 most influential Negroes in America. Walker used his influence to denounce police brutality, lead voter registration drives, and chair the Shelby County Democratic Club. Mrs. Johnetta Walker Kelso, Dr. Walker, Lelia O Neal Walker, and A. Maceo Walker Lelia O Neal Walker, wife of Dr. Walker, was a community leader in her own right. She raised money to educate young ministers, co-founded the Mississippi Boulevard Christian and Riverview Christian Churches, and bought a building for the Federated Women s Clubs of Memphis. Leaders of the Universal Life Insurance Company Dr. Walker s son, A. Maceo, became president of Universal Life in 1952 and continued his father s legacy of business acumen and community leadership. He served on the boards of Fisk University, the United Negro College Fund, and was a lifetime member of the NAACP. A. Maceo Walker and President Lyndon B. Johnson at the White House A. Maceo Walker on the cover of the Commercial Appeal, 1967 Courtesy of Special Collections at the University of Memphis After Walker stepped down in 1983, Patricia Walker Shaw served as president of Universal Life until her death in 1985, making her the first woman in the country to lead a major life insurance company. Advertisement from the Tri-State Defender, 1983 THIS EXHIBIT WAS CREATED BY THE CENTER FOR HISTORIC PRESERVATION AT MIDDLE TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY. SPECIAL THANKS TO SELF + TUCKER ARCHITECTS, TONY NICHELSON, HAROLD SHAW JR., AND THE CITY OF MEMPHIS.