One of the America's first black banks opens its doors! (362 hits)
*The Savings Bank of the Grand Fountain United Order of the True Reformers (GFUOTR) was chartered by the Virginia legislature on this date in 1888. They began business on April 3,1889. This was the first black-owned financial institution in America.
The True Reformers bank was an extension of the fraternal organization, the United Order of the True Reformers. The history of American black capitalism began in spite of brutal racial segregation after the Civil War and during the first thirty years of the 20th century. Because economic empowerment was another vehicle for equality there was a great entrepreneurial spirit that showed in the escalation of black banks, insurance companies, newspapers and other enterprises that served the Black community.
But it was the black church and fraternal organizations that raised and channeled that economic spirit into empowerment. At first, black churches didn’t have businesses in the traditional sense but they were in possession of buildings and real estate. This represented the only major assets owned by blacks. These institutions collected large sums of contributions and soon went on to establish the first Black banks. Because of the enormous growth of Black-owned banks, there was a consequent growth of black businesses with receipts in the millions of dollars from products sold primarily to a black consumer market.
This couldn’t have materialized without the capital and credit that black banks provided and white-owned financial institutions were unwilling to give. For example, Richard Wright established Citizens and Southern Bank and Trust Company and played a vital role in launching many small enterprises that included groceries, bakeries, cleaning establishments and caterers. Between 1888 and 1934, 134 black banks were established, while from 1867 through 1917, the number of Black businesses increased from 4,000 to 50,000.
Reference: The World Book Encyclopedia. Copyright 1996, World Book, Inc. ISBN 0-7166-0096-X
