“ OUR RICH BLACK HERITAGE” : MAGGIE L WALKER

The next time you go to the bank, “think” about Maggie L Walker. In 1903, Maggie became the “First African-American woman” to found & charter a bank( and the first African-American woman to serve as a bank president in America )! She was born on July 15, 1864, the daughter of Elizabeth Draper, a former slave and Eccles Cuthbert who was a former confederate soldier[ also an Irish -American journalist ]. When she was fourteen years old, Maggie joined the local council of the Independent Order of St Luke{ a fraternal burial society that ministered to the sick and aged, promoted humanitarian causes, and encouraged individual self-help and integrity }. After Maggie graduated from Richmond Normal Colored School in 1883, she worked at the school up until she got married( the school had a policy against hiring married women ). On September 14, 1886, she married a brick contractor named Armstead Walker Jr. During the years following her marriage, Maggie was busy learning and thinking of how she would help improve her Black Community[ in addition to taking care of her husband and 4 children ]. In 1899, Maggie took over the “head position” in the local council of the Independent Order of St Luke, which she had joined at the age of 14. Then On November 2, 1903,with the help of other Negroes, Maggie opened the St. Luke Penny Savings Bank for business at the Headquarters Building at 900 St. James Street{ St. Luke Penny Savings Bank accepted more than $9,000 in deposits on its first day in 1903, including one for 31 cents }. By 1913, St. Luke Penny Savings Bank was managing $200,000 in assets (or $5 million in 2021). One of the most interesting things about St. Luke Penny Savings Bank is that it was one of the few Black-Owned Banks in America to survive the 1929 Stock-Market Crash[ before 1929, there were more than 100 “Black-Owned” Banks in America ; excluding “The Dunbar Bank” which was located in “Harlem New York” that was Operated entirely by Negroes, but was owned by the famous “John D Rockefeller family” ]. Perhaps the greatest amongst her many accomplishments was having the St. Luke Hall Building built in 1905{ an office building in Richmond’s Jackson Ward, where Negroes lived that eventually housed her private office, the Order’s vault, and a printing press for her newspaper, The St. Luke Herald }. The building also housed a department store, as well as the St. Luke Penny Savings Bank. The store was primarily staffed by Black women, featured Black mannequins and allowed Black customers to enter through the front door [ Sadly, after 5 years of business,the store was forced to close, due to pressure from White merchants ]. In 1934, Maggie L Walker died of diabetic gangrene. However, since her death, her house has been designated A National Historic Site and was opened as a museum in 1985. The site states that it commemorates the life of a progressive and talented African-American woman, Maggie L Walker.Furthermore, her spirit is most alive in Richmond’s “Jackson Ward Collective.” The Collective was started by Melody Short, Rasheeda Creighton and Kelli Lemon. The Collective is a small-business incubator, giving micro-grants and entrepreneurial advice to Black-Owned businesses in Walker’s hometown.