In 1903, A Black Woman Started A Bank

This episode centers around two wild facts I just learned.

First, between 1888 and 1930 Black Americans opened and operated over 100 banks.

Second, one of those (St. Luke Bank) was headed and run by Black women.

Luckily, Professor Shennette Garrett-Scott's book Banking on Freedom is all about St. Luke's bank and the 50 year legacy of Black-owned banks.

Black people started their own banks following the failure of the white-run Freedman's Bank. St. Luke's, which opened in 1903, was headed by Maggie Lena Walker whose vision was a bank that empowered her community and other Black women.

A bank run by and for Black women innovated and persisted amid racism and sexism until the 2000s. By then, it was the longest-running Black bank in America. This is the incredible story of an incredible bank that reminds us that Black banks still matter.

Sources and Further Reading: [As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.]

Bank Black: https://bankblackusa.org/

Banking on Freedom: Women in U.S. Finance Before the New Deal by Dr. Shennette Garrett-Scott

Music Credit

PeaceLoveSoul by Jeris (c) copyright 2012 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/VJ_Memes/35859 Ft: KungFu (KungFuFrijters)