By Alaina Bookman | abookman@al.com
Lensey King remembers working alongside his grandfather, one of the first Black licensed electricians in Etowah County, at only eight years old.
King’s grandfather and uncles, all electricians, inspired him to start his business, Electrical Maintenance and Troubleshooting. Now, his wife and children help run it. His electrical business is not only his life’s work, but a part of his family’s legacy as King passes the company on to his children.
“My grandfather was the first Black, licensed electrician during his time. That connection between his life, and his work and segregation made me understand the significance of what he was doing,” King said.
“I know some of the struggles he had to go through just to even pursue that and obtain that license or credential. He thought enough about our family to train us at an early age. So out of respect for him, I make sure his grandchildren take advantage of that.”
Today, King spends his days doing the work that he loves, teaching his children the tricks of the trade and training others just as his family trained him.
Experts say running a family business is not an easy feat, with only 30 percent of family-owned businesses in the United States surviving into the second generation, 12 percent into the third, and 3 percent into the fourth and beyond, according to a 2024 Score study.
In 2021, Black-owned businesses made up about 3 percent of all U.S. firms, according to a Pew Research Center study.
And in 2022, Black electricians made up only 7 percent of the trade with 877,000 electricians working in the United States and only 61,656 being Black electricians, according to a Data USA study.
King says he has found success by putting his family first and doing the work in honor of the generations before him.
Journey Into The Family Business
King said he has fond memories working alongside his grandfather as a child.
“Those days looked like handing him and my uncle’s tools, holding the flashlights for them, fetching equipment. I was their apprentice,” King said. “My son, Lensey III, started helping me at age six and my daughter Katelyn started helping me around the same age. I started them off the same way my grandfather did.”
Johnnie Parker Sr., King’s grandfather, was a vocational school instructor at J.K. Weaver Technical School and owned a small electrical contracting company in Gadsden, Parker Electric Company, which his family helped him run.
Peggy Parker Hill, King’s mother, kept the books for her father’s business. Odessa Parker, King’s grandmother, delivered materials and meals for the business.
When Parker Sr. retired, King’s uncle, Johnnie Parker Jr., began teaching electrical engineering at J.K. Weaver Technical School and encouraged King to participate in electrical competitions.
“A lot of the stuff he was teaching his students, I already knew at the age of eight,” King said.
In ninth grade, King came in third place in a district competition. He was disappointed, but persevered. He competed every year, growing in skill and confidence.
By twelfth grade, King won first place in the district, first in the state and fifth in the nation.
In 1998, after graduating from Gadsden High School, King attended Gadsden State Community College for a year, but found that college was simply not the right path for him.
“I wanted to go to work. Growing up in Gadsden, I wanted to work in the big city and, to me, that was Birmingham,” King said.
Griffin Electric, a sponsor for the electrical competitions, offered King an apprenticeship at age 19. While working at Griffin Electric, he balanced other electrical projects at R&T Electric and Parker Electric.
In 2002, King went to work at CMC Steel Alabama, a steel mill in Woodlawn, where he did industrial electrical work at the recommendation of his uncle Roderick Parker, who is also an electrician.
Overtime, King worked his way up the ladder, earning multiple electrical certificates and licenses.
“I started as an electronic technician, then I worked my way up to electrical specialist, then I became shift supervisor. And then my last position at the steel mill was electrical supervisor. No degree, no college other than that one year, but I just understood the trade, understood the theory, and I was intrigued by it and I just wanted to just keep learning it,” King said.
Johnnie Parker Sr. died in September 2007, but his legacy lived on as King started Electrical Maintenance and Troubleshooting in 2008.
With his wife and children by his side, King grew the family business.
A Family Business
Today, the family sits around a table, laughing and sharing fond memories of working alongside each other.
“I remember putting fan blades together using the screwdriver. And even though that wasn’t really like a big thing, it made me feel like I was helping a lot,” the Kings’ daughter, Katelyn, 17, said. “It’s been fun. It’s very fulfilling. It is very inspiring to see how hardworking he is and it makes me want to work hard too. It makes me want to pass it on too.”
Katelyn laughed as their parents shared a story about her first time getting fired at age 10 after being caught watching cartoons on the job.
“It’s just cool to work with him and already have a job, but I still have to work pretty hard,” the Kings’ son, Lensey III, 14, said.
“When I was just starting, I was just handing him tools and holding the flashlight and just doing whatever he asked. But now that I’m starting the electrical work program at my school, he’s having me start to wire stuff up and do more of the work that he would do.”
On another early contracting job, Lensey III and Katelyn could be found playing with cardboard boxes on their heads while their parents laughed along.
“To be his wife and to just jump in and help him fulfill his vision and his dream with the business has been very rewarding,” Jennifer King, co-owner and CFO of Electrical Maintenance and Troubleshooting, said. “It’s a legacy for my children that he passed down.”
Today, both Lensey III and Katelyn are licensed electrician apprentices.
“My goal has always been to honor my grandfather and grandmother…It is extremely important to not only continue my grandfather’s legacy, but go further than he did. Valuable lessons and skills are passed down to us by grace. We should show gratitude by going further for the next generations to come,” King said.
On another early contracting job, Lensey III and Katelyn could be found playing with cardboard boxes on their heads while their parents laughed along.
“To be his wife and to just jump in and help him fulfill his vision and his dream with the business has been very rewarding,” Jennifer King, co-owner and CFO of Electrical Maintenance and Troubleshooting, said. “It’s a legacy for my children that he passed down.”
Today, both Lensey III and Katelyn are licensed electrician apprentices.
“My goal has always been to honor my grandfather and grandmother…It is extremely important to not only continue my grandfather’s legacy, but go further than he did. Valuable lessons and skills are passed down to us by grace. We should show gratitude by going further for the next generations to come,” King said.
