History and Directory of Fort Worth, 1907 . [source]
Education
William Madison McDonald was born in College Mound, Texas in 1866 to newly freed parents. He worked for and studied law under a white family friend, Z. T. Adams while still in high school. When he graduated in 1884, Adams and some other family friends helped him attend Roger Williams University in Tennessee. He returned to Texas to become principal of the African American High School in Forney.
Politics
McDonald was involved in Republican politics and gained statewide prominence when he was elected to the Republican State Executive Committee in 1892. McDonald quickly became the leader of the “Black and Tan” faction, in which African Americans and supportive whites shared power. During this time, Dallas journalist, William Greene Sterett nicknamed McDonald “Gooseneck Bill,” a name he would carry for the rest of his public life. McDonald ran for chairman of the executive committee in 1898, but was defeated by another African American, Henry Clay Ferguson. Unfortunately infighting between the two men and their followers led to a decline in the power of African Americans in the Texas Republican Party and eventually the “Lily-White” faction took control. However, McDonald and other black Republicans continued to fight for power in the party.
Business
Though he remained active in politics, McDonald turned his attention to business, at which he was wildly successful. McDonald was a member of the African American section of the Masons and was elected as Right Worshipful Grand Secretary in 1899, a major leadership position he would hold for the next 47 years. In 1906, he moved to Fort Worth to manage the Fraternal Bank and Trust Company, which had been founded by the Masons. McDonald grew the bank into a cornerstone of the African American community in Fort Worth, providing loans to African American entrepreneurs to encourage the growth of their businesses. Under McDonald’s management, the bank survived the Great Depression. In 2008, The Dallas Morning News reported that McDonald was “probably Texas’ first black millionaire.” McDonald also built the Jim Hotel, known as a venue for blues and jazz artists. Some of the greatest musicians of the era played there, including Cab Calloway, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, B.B. King, and Billie Holiday.
Legacy
As he grew older, McDonald drifted away from the Republican party, more often voting and campaigning for candidates independently. He continued to contribute to local fraternal organizations. Though the buildings that housed his businesses have been torn down, his name remains part of the landscape of Fort Worth as a YMCA branch. McDonald passed away in 1950, after a full life of community and business, politics and activism.
Interpreting Texas 