Maggie Walker was the daughter of a former slave who believed in giving Black people opportunities never before experienced in the post-Civil War era.
As the first Black woman to start a U.S. bank, her revolutionary efforts focused on building institutions that prioritized Black voices and investment in our communities.
She started the St. Luke Herald newspaper in 1902 and ambitiously opened the St. Luke Penny Savings Bank just one year later.
She was active in community organizations and encouraged boycotts of white establishments long before the Civil Rights Movement.
Using the interest earned on investments made to Black-owned businesses and residents, she opened a department store where Black patrons could shop in peace, free from the oppression of Jim Crow.
Walker was always encouraging her people to recycle the Black dollar. “Let us put our moneys together,” Walker would say.
“Let us use our moneys; let us put our money out at usury among ourselves, and reap the benefit ourselves. Let us have a bank that will take the nickels and turn them into dollars."
It’s wonderful to make money, but the truth is that Black wealth only works when we help each other recover from a history of forced labor, exploitation, and attempts to use money to keep us divided.