Philip A. Payton Jr.

How this work helped shape America

Born in Westfield, Massachusetts, in 1876 to a Black American family one generation removed from slavery, Philip A. Payton Jr. entered New York real estate after working a series of low-paying jobs. He helped build a company that leased and controlled Harlem apartment buildings and opened them to Black tenants who faced organized housing discrimination. By 1905 the enterprise controlled at least ten buildings valued at approximately $250,000. Payton later continued through his own realty company, expanding Black residential access and helping establish the housing base from which Harlem grew into a major center of Black American life.