Anthony Overton a banker and manufacturer, was the first African-American to lead a major business conglomerate. In 1898 he established Hygienic Manufacturing Company and produced a number of goods, including the nationally-known High Brown Face Powder, which was "the first market success in the sale of cosmetics for black women". In 1923 he established the Douglass National Bank, the second nationally chartered black-owned bank in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. He went on to develop a highly diverse conglomerate, including the Great Northern Realty Company, the Chicago Bee, and the Victory Life Insurance Company. In 1927 The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, usually abbreviated as NAACP, is an African-American civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909. Its mission is "to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to...

 (NAACP) awarded him its Spingarn Medal

Spingarn Medal

The Spingarn Medal is awarded annually by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People for outstanding achievement by an African American....

 for outstanding achievement by an African American. That same year, he was also given the prestigious Harmon award

William E. Harmon Foundation award for distinguished achievement among Negroes

The William E. Harmon Foundation award for Distinguished Achievement among Negroes commonly referred to as the "Harmon award" or "Harmon foundation award", was a philanthropic and cultural award created in 1926 by William E. Harmon and administered by the Harmon Foundation...

's first award and Gold medal in Business.