Harrison, Harrison and Greene was an ultra-conservative, blue chip investment-banking firm in the Wall Street area of Manhattan. Fine, plush carpet snaked through the corridor and conference room, the latter of which had paintings of founding members from the eighteenth century in colonial style attire. Each of them wore snowy white hairdos that were pulled back into long ponytails and their thin lips barely cracked a smile across their stoic pale faces.
Harrison and Harrison Loan and Savings, which was the firm’s original name, was founded by Richard W. Harrison and his younger brother, Milton, in 1768. At the time, the Atlantic Slave Trade was in full throttle and the brothers borrowed money from their grandfather to start the loan and savings. He had immigrated from Europe and was listed in the family archives as an auctioneer in the same industry but he had really amassed most of his fortune through the exploitation of indentured servants.
Harrison and Harrison Loan and Savings was established when Richard recognized a niche market, that of lending money to companies which were building ships and sailing across the Atlantic to abduct and transport Africans to America. The loan and savings prospered until the Civil War at which time, like other businesses, the company began to falter and fail. When Richard and Milton’s future appeared dim, their grandchildren, who by then had become the third generation to join the firm, thought of an ingenious idea—partnering with an engineering firm and building ships for sea warfare. They already had the contacts in the shipping industry.
One such contact with whom they partnered was John Greene, one of the wealthiest engineers in town so Harrison and Harrison Loan and Savings became Harrison, Harrison and Greene. They received a naval commission and built warships. The company reaped large profits from which generations would benefit.
During the Great Depression, when the world felt the impact of the economic
crisis, Harrison, Harrison and Greene struggled along with everyone else until World War II, when the United States government commissioned the firm to build armaments.
They dodged another bullet, figuratively speaking.
By the 1980’s, the firm had sold off the shipping end of its business, as it was
no longer profitable and was, once again, exclusively in banking. However, the descendants of Richard and Milton were facing new challenges.Competition in the banking industry was fierce, so they needed to carve out a niche market that had not been explored…and the firm had been named in class action lawsuits—lawsuits that cried out for reparations on behalf of the descendants of those Africans who for generations had been abducted and forced into slavery. Further, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission was breathing down their backs for failing to hire minorities in any capacity.
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In the conference room, middle aged men, dressed very conservatively, sat
around Lawrence B. Scott, the Chairman of Harrison, Harrison and Greene and
a direct descendant of Milton Harrison.
Plumes of cigar smoke filled the air, creating dark clouds around paintings of
Lawrence’s ancestors. One could taste the cigar stench upon entering the room.
The men gathered to discuss pending problems. They concluded that their
lawyers could stave off the pending lawsuits and the Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission’s investigation, but they agreed that carving out a niche market
was more challenging. That’s when Lawrence put forth a fail-safe idea which
his ancestors had labeled…The Nightingale Call.
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T. Weldon Garrett
Bus. 718 370 9423
Fax. 718 303 4499
readersthoughts@aol.com
