T. M. ALEXANDER ANNUAL SCHOLARSHIP
The T.M. Alexander Annual Scholarship Award was established in 1990 for outstanding African American high school and/or college students in Georgia with career interests in the areas of insurance, business and law. It seeks to reward deserving young minority students for academic excellence, community service and proudly promoting diversity. The annual award is presented by AAIP, a non-profit organization comprised of insurance industry professionals who unite to provide professional development, mentoring, community outreach and scholarship.
Theodore Martin Alexander, Sr., was born March 7, 1909, in Montgomery, Alabama, the third child of James and Hattie Alexander. He attended high school at Morehouse Academy in Atlanta, Georgia and graduated from Morehouse College with honors in 1931, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration. He was honored by Morehouse College with an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree in 1970. Mr. Alexander has been a leader in the Atlanta insurance industry and community activities for more than 50 years. In addition to founding his own insurance agency in 1931, he established the Southeastern Fidelity Fire and Casualty Company in 1951 and served as Executive Vice President and Managing Officer until the company was prematurely sold in 1967. Southeastern Fidelity Company provided more than $50,000,000 of property protection for its client groups, and was the first Black-owned multi-line insurance company.
Recognizing the absence of Black representation in electoral politics in both the City of Atlanta and the State of Georgia for more than 90 years, Mr. Alexander embarked upon an ambitious effort and ran for the office of City Alderman in 1957 and for the State Senate in 1961. Although unsuccessful in each of these bids, his actions provided the motivation for other Blacks to become involved in seeking election of public office, thus paving the foundation for not only the first elected Mayor of the City of Atlanta, but also for numerous other elected positions throughout the South. In addition to serving as the President of his insurance agency, T.M. Alexander & Company, Inc., with major offices in Atlanta, Georgia and Washington, D.C., Mr. Alexander has also served as an Adjunct Professor of Insurance at Howard University, Washington, D.C. Over the years, he has remained a pillar of the community and has assisted numerous other Blacks in gaining responsible positions in both the private and public sectors.T.M. Alexander, Sr. papers.
Auburn Avenue Research Library. Retrieved February 20, 2014 from http://aafa.galileo.usg.edu/aafa/view?docId=ead/aarl94-011-ead.xml;query=;brand=default