Saint Luke Penny Savings, one of the first Black owned Banks opens! (519 hits)
November 2 On this date in 1903, the Saint Luke Penny Savings Bank opened it doors. Started by Maggie Walker in Richmond, Virginia, this was one of the first Black owned banks in America. The Saint Luke Penny Savings Bank, as its name suggests, was established as an institution whose interest was the small investors, literally the pennies of the African-American washerwomen--ultimately proving that even with pennies, the African-American community had economic power. Saint Luke Penny Savings Bank merged with two other banks to become Consolidated Bank and Trust, the oldest existing African-American owned and operated bank in the U. S., with several branches today in Richmond and Hampton, Virginia.
