Maggie Lena Walker

First African American woman to charter a bank and serve as bank president in the US

Maggie Lena Walker (1864-1934) shattered racial and gender barriers as a Black economic pioneer in Jim Crow Virginia. The daughter of a former slave, she transformed the Independent Order of St. Luke into an economic powerhouse, founding the St. Luke Penny Savings Bank in 1903 - making her America's first Black female bank president.

Her bank survived the 1929 Great Depression through innovative micro-loan programs for Black entrepreneurs excluded from white financial institutions. By 1920, the bank had helped create 50 Black-owned businesses in Richmond. Walker also launched a newspaper (St. Luke Herald) and department store employing Black women as clerks and managers.

Despite being wheelchair-bound later in life, Walker continued advocating for economic empowerment through educational programs. Her legacy lives on through modern community banking initiatives and the Maggie L. Walker Governor's School for Government Studies.