Pioneering businessman, political and social leader Mack Hannah Jr., remembered

The late Mack Hannah Jr. was an enterprising individual with many successful business ventures that led to him becoming a millionaire and likely the wealthiest black in the state of Texas at one time, according to the Texas State Historical Association.

Born in Brenham, his family moved to Port Arthur and he graduated from Lincoln High School and Bishop College and became the school’s first All-American football player.

The Museum of the Gulf Coast has an exhibit recognizing Hannah’s many accomplishments.

He worked as a physical education teacher at Lincoln High School and later joined the Orange Casket Company, becoming their first black salesman, according to his bio at the Museum.

During World War II, Hannah was employed by the nation’s first synthetic rubber plant in Port Neches. He ran the housing and food concession, taking care of over 6,000 workers. He then moved to Houston, where he became the president of the Mack H. Hannah Life Insurance Company, founded the Gulf Western Mortgage Company, and the Standard Savings and Loan Association, and became director of the Homestead Bank. He served for over thirty-one years as a trustee of Bishop College and held the office of Regent of Texas Southern University and the University of Houston.

In 1940, President Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed Hannah as Consul to the Republic of Liberia, a post he held for over 42 years. In 1966, he attended the Subregional Meeting on Economic Cooperation in Niamey, Nigeria, as the personal representative of President Johnson. Texas Southern University conferred the honorary Doctor of Humanities Degree on him in 1974. In 1968, he was awarded the honorary Doctor of Laws Degree from Bishop College. Hannah was also appointed to serve as a member of the White House Conference on Youth and Children.

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