Maggie Lena Walker (1864-1934) opened the St. Luke Penny Savings Bank in 1903, becoming the first African American woman and the first woman to open a chartered bank in the United States. Previous to this, Walker volunteered with the Independent Order of St. Luke, a civic and social organization that aided African Americans in times of illness, old age, and death.
With the benefit of Walker’s public relations skills and business acumen, the struggling order eventually became successful. As with the Order, Maggie Lena Walker’s bank began to flourish through the 1920s. In 1930, as a result of the Great Depression, the bank merged with two other banks to become the Consolidated Bank & Trust Company, the oldest Black-owned and Black-run bank in the United States.
In 2005 the Consolidated Bank & Trust Company was acquired by Abigail Adams National Bank Corp. In 2011, the Consolidated Bank & Trust Company merged to become Premier Bank. Read more about the mergers here.
Early Life
Walker was born on July 15, 1864 in Richmond, Virginia. Her mother was Elizabeth Draper. Maggie’s mother started off her life as an enslaved woman who worked as an assistant cook in the home of Civil War Spy Elizabeth van Lew. Her father was Eccles Cuthbert, an Irish newspaperman and northern abolitionist who worked at the van Lew estate.
Walker attended segregated public schools in Virginia and graduated at the top of her class in 1883. She taught grade school for three years and took classes in accounting and business.
Adult Life
In 1886, she married Armistead Walker, Jr. a wealthy Black contractor and member of her church. They had two sons named Russell and Melvin. After marriage, she stayed home to raise her children and stopped teaching. She then volunteered as a Community Organizer for the Independent Order of St. Luke which, as stated earlier, provided aid for African Americans at critical times during their lives.
In 1902, she started a newspaper for the order entitled the St. Luke Herald. She wrote a column for the newspaper for many years. In 1903, she saw an opportunity for the Order of St. Luke and started a bank, serving as the bank’s first President until 1932.
Activism and End of Life
Walker was a member of the National Association of Colored Women. She was Vice President of the Richmond chapter of the NAACP. In 1923, she earned a honorary Masters degree from Virginia Union University, a HBCU in Richmond.
In 1928, her health declined because of paralysis, but she still served as President of the bank until her death on December 15, 1934.
Source: Black Past
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