Maggie Lena Walker
Maggie Lena Walker, was the nation’s first Black female bank president. She gained national prominence when she became the first woman to own a bank in the United States. Walker’s entrepreneurial skills transformed Black business practices while also inspiring other women to enter the field. Walker was born Maggie Lena Draper was born on July 15, 1864 in Richmond, Virginia. After the Civil War, her mother worked as a laundress and her father as a butler in a popular Richmond hotel. Walker’s father was killed and she had to help her mother financially by working.
When Walker was 14, she joined the Independent Order of St. Luke, a Black benevolent organization that helped the sick and elderly in Richmond. She attended a local school in Richmond and upon graduation, began teaching. In 1886, Walker married Armstead Walker Jr. His family ran a brick contracting company and were part of the upper-class in Richmond. Walker had to quit her job because Virginia laws did not allow married women to teach. After leaving her teaching position in 1886, Walker devoted herself to the Order and rose steadily through its ranks. She assumed leadership of the IOSL in 1899 and remained in that position until 1934.
Walker saved the Independent Order of St. Luke from the brink of collapse after the financial mismanagement of its previous leader. In 1902, she began publishing the organization’s newspaper, The St. Luke Herald. She encouraged Blacks in Richmond to harness their economic power by establishing their own institutions through the newspaper. In 1902, she established the St. Luke Herald, a Black newspaper in Richmond. Using the earnings from its financial success, she established the St. Luke Penny Savings Bank in 1903. St. Luke provided loans to the local community and in 1920, the bank helped Richmond residents buy at least 600 houses.
Walker was the first woman of any race to own a bank in the United States. The bank was a powerful representation of Black self-help in the segregated South. The Penny Savings Bank not only attracted adults but Walker worked to appeal to children by passing out banks which encouraged them to save their money. In 1915, Walker’s husband was killed by her son, after he mistook him for a burglar. Her husband’s passing left her in charge of a large estate. She continued working for the Order of St. Luke’s but also held leadership positions in other civic organizations.
She also served as the Vice President of the Richmond chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). By 1924, the Penny Savings Bank had spread to other parts of Virginia and included more than 50,000 members. While other banks collapsed during the Great Depression St. Luke’s Penny Saving survived. The bank eventually consolidated with two other large banks to become The Consolidated Bank and Trust in 1929, which was the longest-operating Black-controlled bank until it sold in 2011. As a bank president, newspaper editor, and fraternal leader, Walker served as an inspiration of pride and progress.