Maggie Lena Walker (1864-1934), Banking Business Leader
Born in Richmond, Virginia during the post-Civil War era, Maggie Lena Walker devoted her life to serving her community. As a teenager, she joined the Independent Order of St. Luke, an organization whose purpose was to advocate for the sick and aged and encouraged individual self-help and integrity. Serving in various capacities within the group, her dedication moved her from roles in her local chapter to increasingly more responsible positions within the national leadership. It was Maggie’s penchant for sound financial policies that helped her lead the organization to be a thriving movement for activism.
A master of public relations, in 1902, Maggie established The St. Luke Herald, a newspaper designed to keep the public informed of the Order’s activities. She would say, "Let us put our money together; let us use our money; Let us put our money out at usury among ourselves, and reap the benefit ourselves." It’s with those intentions in 1903 she founded the St. Luke Penny Savings Bank, where she became the first African American woman to charter a bank in the United States. The bank served as a pillar of the community and enabled many black families to save their money and helped them finance their homes. Years later, the bank merged with two other Richmond banks to become The Consolidated Bank and Trust Company, with Maggie serving as chairman of the board. This bank flourished until 2009 as the oldest continually African-American operated bank in the US when it was purchased by Premier Bank.
Maggie’s boundless energy kept her very active as she worked tirelessly for advances in the black community and to seek justice for women in the women’s suffrage movement. She was truly a marvel in history – a business leader, community activist, wife, mother and all around good person.
Article by Renée Brandon
https://www.nps.gov/mawa/learn/historyculture/index.htm
http://www.vahistorical.org/collections-and-resources/virginia-history-explorer/maggie-lena-walker