Philip A. Payton
Known as “the real estate magnate who turned Harlem into a black mecca,” Payton provided African Americans in New York City the opportunity to live in quality housing in the northern Manhattan community of Harlem. The real estate broker, property manager and owner first worked as a barber, handyman and as a porter at a real estate office. While working there, he got the idea of going into the real estate business on his own and would in the 20th century gain wide acclaim among black business owners.
