Sweet Auburn Stories — An Evening with Ambassador Andrew Young

The first chapter of this experience began at the Herndon Home — the historic residence of Alonzo Franklin Herndon, Atlanta Life's founder and Atlanta's first Black millionaire. There are few places in Atlanta as charged with meaning. The home stands as a testament to what was built against extraordinary odds, and what was left behind for those who came after.

With the permission and full collaboration of the Herndon Foundation, which operates and preserves the Herndon Home, Atlanta Life secured access to the property as the setting for Ambassador Young's recorded conversation. The Sweet Auburn Stories team and Royce Bable led the filming, capturing Ambassador Young in a space that carries the weight of the very history he was invited to speak about.

The entire Atlanta Life leadership team was present that day — not only to support the logistics of the production, but to bear witness. To be in that space, with that man, talking about Atlanta Life's place in the arc of Atlanta's story, was not a small thing. It was the kind of moment an organization carries with it.

Ambassador Young spoke about Atlanta life and culture, his own extraordinary career, and the influence Atlanta Life Insurance Company had — and continues to have — on the civil rights movement, the Atlanta University Center, the development of Atlanta and the broader South, and the communities that shaped him. He connected threads that many people have never had the opportunity to see connected: the relationship between Black economic institutions, civil rights progress, and the city that became the capital of a movement.

The second chapter was a celebration. Held at the historic Hammonds House Museum in Atlanta — one of the city's most beloved cultural institutions — the release party brought together community, leadership, history, and the warmth of an evening built for people who care deeply about this city and its story.

Atlanta Life helped sponsor and support the event, which opened as a community gathering and reception before moving into a formal speaking program. The speakers that evening reflected the full arc of what this partnership represented.

Atlanta Life leadership took the stage to speak about the company's history, its mission, and what it meant to be part of a project of this significance. Royce Bable and the Sweet Auburn Stories team shared their vision for the project and what it meant to tell this chapter of Atlanta's story through this particular lens.

Mayor Andre Dickens, the current Mayor of Atlanta, joined the evening — a presence that underscored the ongoing relevance of the history being honored and the living connection between Atlanta Life, this city, and its leadership. Henrietta Antonin, former Atlanta Life leader, brought a personal and institutional perspective to the evening — bridging the company's past and present in a way that only someone who has lived inside both can.

And at the center of it all — Ambassador Andrew Young himself, whose words that evening carried the authority of a life fully lived in service of something larger than himself. He spoke of Atlanta, of the movement, of the Atlanta University Center and its role in shaping a generation of leaders, of the South's transformation, and of Atlanta Life's quiet but indelible presence in all of it.

Atlanta Life was founded in 1905 by Alonzo Herndon with a singular conviction: that people and their families deserve the means to build something lasting. That conviction did not exist in a vacuum. It existed inside a city, a culture, a movement — and it shaped and was shaped by the people and forces around it.

Ambassador Andrew Young is part of that story. The civil rights movement is part of that story. The Atlanta University Center is part of that story. Sweet Auburn, Hammonds House, the Herndon Home — all of it is part of the same long thread that Atlanta Life has been woven into for more than 120 years.

This project gave us the rare opportunity to say that out loud — to document it, to share it, and to do so in partnership with people and institutions who carry that history with the same care and intentionality we try to bring to our own work.

We are deeply grateful to Ambassador Young for his time, his words, and his trust. To Sweet Auburn Stories and Royce Bable for their artistry and their vision. To the Herndon Foundation for their generosity and their stewardship of a place that belongs to all of us. And to Mayor Dickens, Henrietta Antonin, and everyone who joined us at Hammonds House for an evening that reminded us — and we hope, everyone in that room — of what this city is made of.

Sweet Auburn Stories is dedicated to preserving and sharing the cultural, historical, and community narratives of Atlanta's Sweet Auburn district and the broader Atlanta community. Through storytelling, film, and public programming, the organization brings Atlanta's living history to new and wider audiences.

Royce Bable is an Atlanta-based filmmaker and storyteller whose work centers on community, culture, and the stories that shape a city.

The Alonzo F. and Norris B. Herndon Foundation is a private foundation dedicated to preserving the legacy of Atlanta Life's founders and investing in education, mentorship, and community advancement. The Foundation operates and preserves the Herndon Home as a historic landmark and educational resource.

Atlanta Life Insurance Company is committed to the communities it serves — through purposeful partnerships, meaningful presence, and a mission that has guided this organization for more than 120 years.