Frank L. Gillespie

Frank L. Gillespie
Gillespie in 1925
BornNovember 8, 1876
Osceola, Arkansas, US
DiedMay 8, 1925(1925-05-08) (aged 48)
Chicago, Illinois, US

Frank L. Gillespie (November 8, 1876 – May 8, 1925) was a businessman who created the first African American-owned life insurance agency outside of the U.S. southern states.[1][2] Gillespie had been an agent at Royal Life Insurance Company, a white-owned insurance agency, working in the "department for colored people" and noticed his customers were offered "inferior products."[3][2] He met with a group of prominent black businessmen in Chicago and they worked together to create an insurance company catering towards Chicago's professional African American population.[1]

His company, originally called Liberty Life Insurance—later called Supreme Liberty Life Insurance Company and finally Supreme Life Insurance Company—was incorporated in 1919 in Chicago.[2] and offered whole life insurance to individuals, not just industrial policies.[4][3] Gillespie worked hard to hire and train well-educated black agents, though sometimes he had to rely on part-timers who also worked in the postal service or the ministry.[1] The company's headquarters, the Supreme Life Building, was built in 1921 by architect Albert Anis and is a designated Chicago landmark.[5] Gillespie died as he was setting up the National Insurance Association, a professional association of black insurance firms.[1]

  1. ^ a b c d Ingham, John (1994). African-American business leaders : a biographical dictionary. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press. pp. 198–202. ISBN 0-313-27253-0. OCLC 27726874.
  2. ^ a b c "African Americans in the Insurance Business: Supreme Liberty Life Insurance Co". Black History Heroes. 1998-09-09. Retrieved 2019-02-10.
  3. ^ a b "Welcome". Gillespie Technology Magnet Cluster School. 1999-12-31. Retrieved 2019-02-10.
  4. ^ "Frank Gillespie – Business Bio Summary". A Touch of Business.com. 2019-02-10. Retrieved 2019-02-10.
  5. ^ "COC - Landmarks web". Landmark Details. 2011-01-16. Archived from the original on 2011-01-16. Retrieved 2019-02-10.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)