# Robert T. Bess

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British Guiana-born American stockbroker

**Robert Theophilus Bess Jr.** (February 5, 1889 – after October 1958) was a British Guiana-born American [stockbroker](/source/Stockbroker), civil rights activist, public relations manager, and pharmacist.[1][2] He founded the R. T. Bess Company in [New York City](/source/New_York_City), a stock brokerage firm, which was the only black-owned stock brokerage on Wall Street in 1932.[3][4] He was also the only black stockbroker in New York City the early-1930s.[5][4] Bess founded the Anti-Discrimination Job League, Inc. in 1936, which worked to fight for law change in New York and nationally. Starting in 1947, he formed Robert T. Bess Assoc., a public relations firm.[1][6][7]

## Biography

Bess was born a British subject in [Plaisance](/source/Plaisance%2C_Guyana), [British Guiana](/source/British_Guiana) (today [Guyana](/source/Guyana)), one of three sons of parents Isabella Elizabeth (*née* Cappell) and Robert T. Bess.[8] One of his brothers, Dr. Edward E. Bess (1895–1956) became president of the local [NAACP](/source/NAACP) branch from 1939 to 1940.[9] Bess worked as a pharmacist in his early career in British Guiana between 1911 and 1921.[8] In 1913, he married Ellen Maud Talbot, and together they had 4 children.[8] He was a Methodist and a member of the St. Mark's Methodist Episcopal Church (now St. Mark's United Methodist Church) in New York.[1][10]

From 1923 until 1933, he was the founding president of the R. T. Bess Company (also known as Robert T. Bess Corp.), a stock brokerage firm, initially located at 206-208 Broadway Street, New York City.[1][11][12][13] He became a naturalized American citizen in 1927.[14]

In 1931, he was taken to court on [larceny](/source/Larceny) charges related to the R. T. Bess Company, and he was [exonerated](/source/Exoneration) of the charges a few months later.[4][5] In 1932, his company was the only Black-owned stock brokerage on [Wall Street](/source/Wall_Street), and he was reportedly the only black stockbroker.[3][5][4][15] The company was able to survive the [Wall Street crash of 1929](/source/Wall_Street_crash_of_1929) and the resulting economic turmoil by "sticking at the wheel". During this time, Bess employed 9 white and 6 black office workers, and "promoted the interests of the [Standard Television and Electric Company](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Standard_Television_and_Electric_Company&action=edit&redlink=1)", asserting that they "offered an opportunity to colored people to reap millions of dollars in profit".[15]

Bess worked as an organizer for the Consolidated Tenants League, Inc. of Harlem.[*[when?](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Dates_and_numbers#Chronological_items)*][16][17] Starting in 1936, he was the founding president of the Anti-Discrimination Job League, Inc., and the National Anti-Discrimination Movement.[1][18] Bess and the Anti-Discrimination Job League, Inc. lectured and fought for many years for the passage of laws to protect people from discrimination by insurance companies and employment agencies.[18][19] The group supported the passage of the [Ives-Quinn Act](/source/Ives-Quinn_Act) (signed in 1945 by Governor [Thomas E. Dewey](/source/Thomas_E._Dewey)).[20][21]

From 1943 to 1950, he worked as a pharmacist in New York City.[1][22] Starting in 1947, he formed Robert T. Bess Assoc., a public relations firm located at W. 125th Street in [West Harlem](/source/Manhattanville%2C_Manhattan), New York City.[1][7][16]

He authored, "Ethiopia Shall Stretch Forth Her Hands to God" (1949).[1] Bess was the founding president of the Nannie C. Burden Book Lovers Club, Inc.[1][23] He eulogized [Nannie C. Burden](/source/Nannie_C._Burden) on [Decoration Day](/source/Decoration_Day) in 1950 at the [Frederick Douglass Memorial Park](/source/Frederick_Douglass_Memorial_Park) cemetery.[23] In October 1958, he was noted to be scheduled to speak at a public meeting on responding to the possibility of a [hydrogen bomb](/source/Hydrogen_bomb) attack.[24]

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:0_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:0_1-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-:0_1-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-:0_1-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-:0_1-4) [***f***](#cite_ref-:0_1-5) [***g***](#cite_ref-:0_1-6) [***h***](#cite_ref-:0_1-7) [***i***](#cite_ref-:0_1-8) [*Who's Who in Commerce and Industry*](https://books.google.com/books?id=KM-7AAAAIAAJ&dq=Ellen+Maud+Talbot+Robert+Theophilus+Bess&pg=PA100). Marquis Who's Who. 1965. p. 100.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["Ethiopian Federation Has Green Light; Maps Action"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/116132675/ethiopian-federation-has-green-light/). *[The New York Age](/source/The_New_York_Age)*. 1949-08-27. p. 23. Retrieved 2023-01-09.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-EAABH_3-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-EAABH_3-1) Juliet E. K. Walker, *[Encyclopedia of African American Business History](https://books.google.com/books?id=s4YYAQAAIAAJ&q=robert+t.+bess)* (Greenwood Press, 1999), p. 322, 630.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:3_4-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:3_4-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-:3_4-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-:3_4-3) ["Robert T. Bess, Stock Broker, Exonerated on Larceny Charge"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/116133231/robert-t-bess-stock-broker/). *[The New York Age](/source/The_New_York_Age)*. 1931-12-26. p. 10. Retrieved 2023-01-09.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:7_5-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:7_5-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-:7_5-2) ["Negro Stockholder of Wall Street Faces $105 Larceny Charge"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/116154412/negro-stockholder-of-wall-street-faces/). *[The Pittsburgh Courier](/source/The_Pittsburgh_Courier)*. 1931-11-07. p. 3. Retrieved 2023-01-10.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** ["Booker T. Washington Coins Cease Circulation This Year"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/116132805/booker-t-washington-coins-cease/). *[The New York Age](/source/The_New_York_Age)*. 1951-03-31. p. 9. Retrieved 2023-01-09.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:4_7-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:4_7-1) ["Public Relations Group Selects Robert T. Bess"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/116132957/public-relations-group-selects-robert/). *[The New York Age](/source/The_New_York_Age)*. 1951-07-14. p. 2. Retrieved 2023-01-09.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:1_8-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:1_8-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-:1_8-2) [*Who's Who in Commerce and Industry*](https://books.google.com/books?id=I-YdAQAAIAAJ). Marquis Who's Who. 1959. p. 108.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** "[Dr. Bess, NAACP Leader, Is Dead](https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-standard-star-obituary-for-edward-e/132148238/)", *The New Rochelle Standard-Star* (October 10, 1956), p. 2.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** ["Manhattan and Bronx Newsettes"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/116133884/manhattan-and-bronx-newsettes/). *[The New York Age](/source/The_New_York_Age)*. 1934-02-17. p. 2. Retrieved 2023-01-09.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** ["Granny Branch Coal Company Pays Regular Dividends to Stockholders"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/116131463/granny-branch-coal-company-pays-regular/). *[The New York Age](/source/The_New_York_Age)*. 1925-11-21. p. 10. Retrieved 2023-01-09.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** ["Robt. T. Bess Corporation"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/116131561/robt-t-bess-corporation/). *[The New York Age](/source/The_New_York_Age)*. 1926-09-18. p. 10. Retrieved 2023-01-09.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** ["Negro Needs Courage in Business, Says Broker"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/116152137/negro-needs-courage-in-business-says/). *[California Eagle](/source/California_Eagle)*. 1931-06-12. p. 14. Retrieved 2023-01-10.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-14)** *New York, U.S., Index to Petitions for Naturalization filed in New York City, 1792–1989*

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-HBB_15-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-HBB_15-1) "Juliet E. K. Walker, *The History of Black Business in America: Capitalism, Race, Entrepreneurship* (1998), p. 259.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:6_16-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:6_16-1) ["Robert T. Bess Opens Public Relations Office"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/116152505/robert-t-bess-opens-public-relations/). *[The New York Age](/source/The_New_York_Age)*. 1948-06-12. p. 4. Retrieved 2023-01-10.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-17)** ["Crowd Riots, Halts Harlem Relief Quiz"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/116137105/crowd-riots-halts-harlem-relief-quiz/). *Daily News*. 1935-06-15. p. 133. Retrieved 2023-01-10.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:5_18-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:5_18-1) ["Seven Year Fight For Anti-Bias Bills Facing Success??"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/116137274/seven-year-fight-for-anti-bias-bills/). *[The New York Age](/source/The_New_York_Age)*. 1950-02-25. p. 29. Retrieved 2023-01-10.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-19)** ["Club to Hear Labor Talk"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/116152264/club-to-hear-labor-talk/). *[The Brooklyn Daily Eagle](/source/The_Brooklyn_Daily_Eagle)*. 1942-05-01. p. 4. Retrieved 2023-01-10.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-20)** ["Leaders Plead For, Denounce Anti-Bias Bill"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/116137977/leaders-plead-for-denounce-anti-bias/). *Press and Sun-Bulletin*. 1945-02-20. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-01-10.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-21)** ["Anti-Bias Bill Battle Is On"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/116137854/anti-bias-bill-battle-is-on/). *Press and Sun-Bulletin*. 1945-02-20. p. 8. Retrieved 2023-01-10.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-22)** ["Lyons Drug Co. Located on West 125th Street 35 Years"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/116152362/lyons-drug-co-located-on-west-125th/). *The New York Age*. 1950-03-25. p. 31. Retrieved 2023-01-10.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:2_23-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:2_23-1) ["Nannie C Burden 7 years president New York City Federation of Colored women's clubs"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/29663706/nannie-c-burden-7-years-president-new/). *The New York Age*. 1950-06-17. p. 3. Retrieved 2023-01-09.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-24)** "[If H-Bomb Falls](https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-if-h-bomb-falls/132147615/)", *New York Daily News* (October 12, 1958), p. 58.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Robert T. Bess](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_T._Bess) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_T._Bess?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.