One of the best testimonies to the greatness of Thomas W. Dortch Jr. was not just the fact that he was widely venerated, but it was also who revered him.
Borrowing from sports parlance, Dortch was the crème de la crème, the perennial All-Star, the type of person that even other superstars looked up to. Through his work with 100 Black Men of America and his own firm, TWD Inc., Dortch awed his colleagues and contemporaries who count U.S. congressmen, state representatives, mayors, councilpersons, CEOs, entrepreneurs, influential businesspeople and multimillionaires among them. Many of those remarkable men and women who attained the American Dream on their own — easily and eagerly extol the virtues of this extraordinary man known affectionately as “Tommy.”
Dortch was brilliant and an overachiever with an uncanny ability to connect people with others that exponentially amplified both entities — giving credence to the depiction of the man that longtime executive partner in 100 Black Men of America, Albert Dotson Jr., tagged Dortch with, which is that of “a force multiplier.”
“Tommy is someone who connects people and doesn’t just connect them to introduce them to exchange business cards. He connected people to help them grow, to give them opportunities to expand,” Dotson, the chairman emeritus of 100 Black Men of America Inc., told rolling out. “It wasn’t simply ‘Mr. President, meet Miss President.’ It was, ‘all right now, what can we both do? And what can you both do together to help our people continue to achieve our promise?’ ”
Dortch was a quiet force of nature who accomplished momentous feats — most often the first of his class to do so, such as when he became a state organizer for the Democratic Party in the 1970s during a time when Black leadership in either party was scarce. He quickly superseded that accomplishment by becoming the first African American state director for legendary U.S. Sen. Sam Nunn, and went on to another unprecedented accomplishment for a Black person in any national political arena when he became the first associate director of the Georgia Democratic Party and later as the first African American state director of the GDC.
Dortch is also lauded for his extraordinary vision. Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens tweeted that Dortch’s death was “a sad day for our city,” and added that “during his days in government or during his tenure leading 100 Black Men of Atlanta and later 100 Black Men of America, Tommy never lost sight of his mission. Long before we called it ‘diversity, equity, and inclusion,’ Tommy was hard at work in that space.”
Dortch was also a trailblazer, as Sen. Raphael Warnock articulated in his effusive praise of the married father of five:
Deeply saddened to hear my friend Thomas "Tommy" Dortch, Jr. of @100BlackMen has passed away.
⁰He was a trailblazer whose decades of leadership in the community moved Georgia forward and paved the way for so many who have come behind him.
⁰Praying for his family & many friends.— Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock (@SenatorWarnock) February 15, 2023
Another load that Dortch hoisted onto his shoulders was his advocacy for HBCUs long before the cause was en vogue. Daniel Blackman, the regional administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency, told rolling out that “there is a quote that reminds me of Tommy Dortch. Frederick Douglas said ‘it is better to build strong boys than to repair broken men.’
“And when you know Tommy’s legacy with the 100 Black Men of America, when you know Tommy’s desire to bring HBCUs to the forefront of national conversations well before they were popular, well before there was a Celebration Bowl, well before the world began to acknowledge the prestigiousness of HBCUs, Tommy was that voice. What Tommy did was to unapologetically bridge that generational gap,” Blackman shared.
The indefatigable and seemingly ubiquitous Dortch, one of the pillars of modern Atlanta business and an eternal symbol of Black prosperity, has graduated this life as an Atlanta business icon at age 72. He leaves behind a seminal legacy that spans the spectrum of business, politics, civic life, education and activism that will be felt for generations to come.
Dortch’s astounding list of accomplishments and multiplicity of ventures is only surpassed by the humanity he exercised in employing his gifts to edify and empower others to higher plateaus.
Dortch, who was born in Toccoa, Georgia, about 95 miles northeast of Atlanta, displayed leadership, exemplary interpersonal communication skills and business savvy early on, according to historymakers.com. After procuring his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Fort Valley State University and Clark Atlanta University, respectively, Dortch quickly leveraged his knowledge of state government to work on behalf of Black people.
In 1986, Dortch joined the 100 Black Men of America Inc. and quickly rose to become its president and was later elected as the chairman of the 100 Black Men of America’s national board of directors. In this capacity, Dortch spearheaded the organization to wield international influence for the cause of Black youth empowerment.
That same year, Dortch launched the National Black College Alumni Hall of Fame Foundation Inc., which has since disseminated over one million dollars in scholarships to students attending HBCUs.
In 1994, Dortch founded the multifaceted consulting firm TWD Inc. and Atlanta Transportation System Inc., and became chairman and CEO of Cornerstone Parking, and managing partner of FAD Consulting LLC. He also co-founded the Georgia Association of Minority Entrepreneurs (GAME) as a powerful mechanism to advocate for minority business development. As a result of his experience, expertise and almost preternatural ability to connect and establish bonds with a plethora of people, Dortch became one of the nation’s most prolific public speakers. His book, The Miracles of Mentoring: How to Encourage and Lead Future Generations is another vehicle Dortch offered to enlighten supporters and mentees on the plethora of benefits of empowering others.
His august career and altruism garnered praise and recognition from across the country. Dortch was awarded the Presidential Citation for volunteerism, the Martin Luther King Jr. Distinguished Service Award, Atlanta Business League’s Business Hall of Fame, the Concerned Black Clergy’s Salute to Black Fathers Leadership Award, and most recently, legislation has been introduced to award him the Congressional Gold Medal for his monumental contributions to the country.
For these reasons and more, New Birth Missionary Baptist Church Pastor Jamal Bryant delivered his tribute to Dortch without apology or hyperbole: “I’m at a loss for words on how to extend appropriate words for a modern-day superhero. @thomasdortchjr was an exemplar of black manhood.”
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Images courtesy of Gregory Reed Photography and TWD Inc.
