Final answer:
Alonzo Herndon can be characterized as a financial success during the New South Era despite racial injustice, as he became a prosperous businessman and founder of the Atlanta Life Insurance Company.
Step-by-step explanation:
Alonzo Herndon is best characterized as a financial success during the New South Era despite racial injustice. Herndon rose from slavery to become Atlanta's wealthiest African American and the founder of the Atlanta Life Insurance Company, navigating through the challenges of the era's racial inequality. The historical context surrounding his time included the persistence of racial inequality in many spheres, such as the judicial system highlighted by the arrest of Angelo Herndon.
The era also witnessed figures like Zora Neale Hurston and Marion Butler. Hurston, associated with the Harlem Renaissance earlier in her career, later involved herself in politics to oppose candidates with communist support. Butler was involved in the Populist Party and worked to unite white and black voters against the Democratic majority.
The period also saw the emergence of the Populist Party, and figures like Henry Grady promoting education and industry in the New South. These themes relate to the climate in which Alonzo Herndon thrived, as he was part of the reconstruction and shaping of the post-Civil War Southern economy, aimed at diversifying away from agriculture and towards more industrial developments.