"OUR RICH BLACK HERITAGE": William Reuben Pettiford

During my recent research of Black Owned Banks in America, I found that as of February 2023, there are between 15-42 Black Owned Banks currently operating in the United States. Additionally, I found that there are between 100 - 142 financial institutions listed as being “Black Led”(meaning that the bank meets the requirements as being a minority depository institution ). Furthermore, I also discovered that the government “qualifications, definition,and designation” for a bank to be considered a Black Owned Bank is quite different from what most Black People would call a Black Owned Bank. According to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation[ FDIC ] in order for a minority depository institution to be designated as Minority Owned or Black Owned Bank, the institution must meet the following requirements : 51 percent or more of the voting stock is owned by minority individuals or a majority of the board of directors is minority, the community that the institution serves is predominantly minority, and ownership must be by U.S. citizens or permanent legal U.S. residents. So what caused me to go and seek this information? Well,of course it has to do with this week’s article about the main founder of “The Penny Savings Bank”{ the first financial institution in the state of Alabama owned-and-operated by Negroes }, William Reuben Pettiford. William was born in North Carolina, in 1847. Although his parents were Negroes , they were not slaves. Nothing was reported about his earlier schooling in North Carolina, however ,he reportedly moved to Alabama in 1869, because he wanted to further his education. Once in Alabama, William enrolled in Lincoln Normal School( the predecessor of Alabama State University). He had to work odd jobs while attending school, but around 1876, he was able to obtain his degree. In 1877, William was able to gain a teaching position at Selma University [ where he also took classes in theology toward becoming a minister ]. In 1880, he decided to leave his teaching position to accept his call to the ministry. He became the pastor of First Baptist Church of Union Springs{ in Alabama }. Also, William became principal of the city school for Negroes. In 1883, he was urged by Booker T Washington and other Black Baptist church leaders to become the pastor of First Colored Baptist Church of Birmingham( the same church that would later be named “The Sixteenth Street Baptist Church,” where the four innocent Black girls were killed in the tragic bombing on the morning of Sunday, September 15, 1963. The church was targeted because it served as a meeting place for civil rights meetings & activities ). So he packed his bags and moved to Birmingham,Alabama. Although William was a minister of the gospel, he was more than just a preacher of the gospel. He allied himself with several of the leading Black citizens of Birmingham . These relationships and his strong relationship with Booker T Washington proved to be of great help when he came up with the idea of forming a local bank in the city of Birmingham. Additionally, William strategically allied himself with several of the White Bankers in Birmingham. On October 15, 1890, the Alabama Penny Savings Bank opened its doors with William Reuben Pettiford as President[ they later established bank branches in Selma, Anniston, and Montgomery , Alabama ]. It was because of the Penny Savings Bank that many Negroes were able to own their own homes and achieve financial independence! Along with being a member of the National Negro Business League, William helped organize the National Negro Banker’s Association in 1906 and served as its president until his death. When it came to the Black financial movement, he was one of the leading Black figures of his era! One of his biggest accomplishments as president was the construction of the Alabama Penny Savings Bank Building { similar to the Miller-Roy Building that was built on Desiard St in Monroe, Louisiana }that was built in 1913. The building was located on Eighteenth Street in Birmingham’s thriving business district. The building was five-stories high and housed over 50 other Black businesses. Sadly, William Reuben Pettiford died in September 1914,at the age of 67[ and the PennySavings Bank died shortly thereafter ; it failed in 1915, less than a year after his death ].