Afton Lee Sr

Afton M. Lee Sr (born c. 1896; died October 30, 1989) was a prominent businessman and land owner in the Birmingham District.

Lee was the son of Damon Lee, a former slave who settled in Rosedale in the 1890s. Damon became a wealthy man and upon his death Afton inherited large tracts of land in Rosedale, Center Point, and Riverchase.

Afton Lee ran Afton Lee Grocery, the grocery store founded by his father in Rosedale, most of his life, but he was also active beyond it. He helped revitalize the 4th Avenue black business district. In 1968, Lee became the first African American elected to the Homewood City Council.

Lee was struck on the head during a robbery of his grocery store in 1989 by Teddy Roberts, Jr and Bobby Grier. He was found in one of the store's coolers and died two hours later. Roberts and Grier were separately convicted and both sentenced to life in prison without parole.

The Afton Lee Community Center was named in Lee's honor, as was the Afton Lee Award of the A. G. Gaston Conference Awards. On September 18, 2007, Lee was posthumously inducted into the Birmingham Business Hall of Fame.

References

• Grier v. State (CR 90-375). (October 11, 1991). Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama - accessed June 3, 2011.
• Hubbard, Russell. (September 18, 2007). "Kiwanis induct 5 area leaders." The Birmingham News.
• Crawford, Cindy. (September 18, 2007). "Five inducted in 'Birmingham Business Hall of Fame'." Birmingham Business Journal.