Garrett made good on his word, accomplishing two feats: he made a profit and rented units to blacks seeking better housing in an integrated area.īarker and Garrett decided to form a partnership investing in properties, where Barker was the face of the deals and Garrett remained invisible. Garrett paid below asking price, because the units needed fixing up, and obtained small loans from Barker and a bank to complete the project with an agreement that Garrett would rent out the building and pay back the loans. Barker owned an apartment building for sale in a white neighborhood that Garrett wanted to buy. But his pathway to wealth accelerated when he met a white real estate investor, whom Garrett formally called Mr. Once in the Golden State, Garrett started another cleaning service and a business collecting wastepaper, eventually saving enough money to buy property in Los Angeles. In a beat-up van, Garrett, his first wife Eunice, and their small children, drove to California in 1945 in pursuit of opportunity. Bernard Garrett Moves to California With Family Garrett knew, however, he would need to leave the racial oppression of Texas if he wanted a chance to become a wealthy entrepreneur. He worked odd jobs, completing the 11th grade in Houston and running his own cleaning business. “The only time a man is really truly rich is when he controls money,” Garrett said years later in an interview about his life.īorn in the small town of Willis, Texas, in 1922, Garrett showed a knack for business early on. Garrett, unbeknownst to many, purchased at least 177 buildings, including what was considered to be the tallest structure in downtown Los Angeles in 1961, the Banker’s Building, all the while creating life-changing opportunities for African Americans. But for Bernard Garrett, an African American born and raised in the South, the surest path to improving conditions for black Americans was by achieving economic freedom. During the 1950s and ‘60s, the civil rights movement dominated the political landscape.
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