After earning his MBA, Norris B. Herndon returned to Atlanta to oversee the growth of the Atlanta Life Insurance Company (today the Atlanta Life Financial Group), founded by his father Alonzo. Atlanta Life became one of the most significant Black-owned businesses in the United States. Herndon continued his family's tradition of philanthropy with major financial contributions to the United Negro College Fund, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), and the NAACP.
