Jesse Hill was active in the civic and business communities of the city for more than five decades.
19 Facts About Jesse Hill
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Jesse Hill was a member of the board of directors for the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.
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Jesse Hill graduated from Lincoln University in Jefferson City with a bachelor's degree in mathematics and physics in 1947.
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Jesse Hill received his MBA from the University of Michigan in 1949.
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Jesse Hill joined the Atlanta Life Insurance Company, one of the country's largest and most successful black-owned businesses, as assistant actuary; he was only the second African American actuary in the country.
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When he first moved to the city, Jesse Hill lived at the Butler Street YMCA in Atlanta, the headquarters of the city's black leadership during the period.
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Jesse Hill volunteered for both the Urban League and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
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Jesse Hill met with students Hamilton Holmes and Charlayne Hunter to discuss plans to desegregate Georgia State College.
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Jesse Hill's company was involved in activities to help black communities across the South.
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Jesse Hill encouraged employees to donate their time in support of the civil rights movement.
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In 1970, as Muhammad Ali's career was on hiatus following his lawsuit against the federal government for refusing to enroll in the Army, Jesse Hill was instrumental in organizing his come-back fight in Atlanta on 26 October 1976.
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Jesse Hill used his political connections and set up the company House of Sports with Leroy Johnson and Harry Pett to organize the fight.
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The white community of Atlanta asked Jesse Hill to run against Jackson, but he refused.
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Jesse Hill was the first black president of the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce and the first black member of the board of directors for Rich's Department Store.
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Jesse Hill chaired the All-Citizens Registration Committee and helped to desegregate the Atlanta Public School system.
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Jesse Hill served on the boards of directors for eight major US corporations, including Knight Ridder, Delta Air Lines, National Services Industries, and SunTrust, and was a founding director of MARTA, Atlanta's public transportation system.
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Jesse Hill has served as the chairman of the board of directors for the Martin Luther King Jr.
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Jesse Hill was involved in the development of wireless communications in Nigeria.
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Jesse Hill was a member of the Omega Psi Phi fraternity.