Mourners from metro Atlanta and beyond paid their final respects to businesswoman Alice White Bussey, 78, Saturday at Greater Piney Grove Baptist Church.
The congregation nodded in agreement as those close to Bussey described her as being filled with hope, resilience, and perseverance.
“Alice was always going to tell you how she felt about the work you were doing,” said Leona Barr-Davenport, president of the Atlanta Business League (ABL). “You may not have agreed with her, but you walked away with ideas that were valid and came from the mind of a woman who had decades of experience dealing with controversy and challenge.”
Barr-Davenport added that Bussey was the organization’s first female president and the creator of the Super Tuesday conferences, which highlight and uplift Black women in the metro Atlanta area.
“If you knew Alice, you knew what she lived to do, what her life’s work involved, and the things important to her,” Barr-Davenport said. “Alice was unapologetically focused on the benefit of Black business, Black women, Black children and Black communities.”
Bussey and her husband, James, started Bussey Florist and Gifts over 60 years ago. The couple became the first African American FTD retailer in Atlanta, expanding its operations from local flower shops to international distributors in Africa, Europe and South America.
Before becoming a full-time businesswoman, she worked for more than 16 years with the U.S. Department of Labor where she became the first Black federal representative for Georgia. There, she managed and distributed millions of dollars and expanded Georgia’s budget, creating new training programs, job opportunities and supportive services by targeting people’s greatest needs.
Bussey was also a driver of the International Trade Committee, which focuses on creating international business opportunities for Black-owned businesses in metro Atlanta. Throughout her life, Bussey built relationships with companies in the United Kingdom, Trinidad and Tobago, and Bardabos.
Bussey was a staunch advocate for the County Line/Ellenwood community in South DeKalb County, where her family grew up for over six generations, and was determined to improve the lives of the residents for generations to come. For years she and other community leaders worked with the DeKalb County Department of Recreation, Parks, and Cultural Affairs to invest in improving Ellenwood Park.
A $2 million renovation project — now nearly complete — began in 2023 and will add a new playground, a refreshed parking lot, and a new park entrance.
“[Alice] was sent by God as an apostle of Black business,” said Pastor Shannon Jones of the Concerned Black Clergy. “God hid her in this world as a florist, like He hid Jesus as a carpenter.”
Jones added that their annual Parade of Black Businesses event, scheduled for March 31, will be rebranded in her honor.
“Rest well, Alice,” Barr-Davenport said. “You may be gone, but you will not be forgotten, and we will always have a reason to remember your accomplishments and call your name Alice White Bussey.”
