"LET US HAVE A BANK"
When the St. Luke Penny Savings Bank opened in 1903, Walker became the first woman bank president in the United States. After federal regulations forced the bank to separate from the Independent Order of St. Luke, and the Great Depression led to bank mergers, Walker became chairman of the board of the Consolidated Bank and Trust Company, Richmond's only bank for blacks. By World War II, Consolidated was one of only six black-owned banks in the country. It still exists today.
bank interior
Valentine Richmond History Center, Richmond, Virginia.


Spurred by the success of St. Luke’s insurance and banking ventures, Walker founded a department store, the St. Luke Emporium (1905-1911). Although short-lived, the store served a broad economic mission: to keep African American dollars in the black community, to provide a store where African American customers were treated with respect, and to foster upward mobility by creating jobs for black women.
St Luke's emporium
National Park Service, Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site.

Maggie Lena Walker (1867-1934) was the first woman bank president in the United States. She became the leader of the Independent Order of St. Luke, a mutual aid and insurance society for African Americans, in 1899 and transformed it into a highly successful financial institution. Through St. Luke, she began business ventures run by African Americans for the black community in Richmond, Virginia. Walker's financial genius was aimed at racial empowerment. Working through a network of black women reformers, Walker supported African American social causes and encouraged other blacks to contribute some of their savings to enterprises that promoted racial progress.

Maggie Walker was born in the same year as Madam C. J. Walker, part of the first African American generation born into freedom. Both women did laundry for many years to earn money. Maggie recalled, "I was born . . . with a laundry basket practically on my head." While training to be a teacher, Walker joined the Independent Order of St. Luke and rose quickly through its ranks to the top position of Right Worthy Grand Secretary. Building on the society's meager assets, she founded the St. Luke Penny Savings Bank (1903) and encouraged thrift, cooperative enterprise, and economic independence. St. Luke published a newspaper, the St. Luke Herald, which supported a thriving printing business, reported the society's activities, and served as a forum for political debate in the black community. Spurred by success, Walker founded a department store, St. Luke Emporium (1905-1911), which provided jobs for black women.

Undaunted by poor health, Walker led St. Luke and its bank and other enterprises from her wheelchair.

ENCOURAGING CHILDREN TO SAVE
Walker started a juvenile department in the Independent Order of St. Luke, headed by the Council of Matrons, to train children in the habits of a successful life: race pride, thrift, and mutual responsibility. She encouraged children to open bank accounts, even with just a few pennies, "to turn their nickels into dollars."
walker with boys
National Park Service, Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site. St. Luke Penny Savings Bank, Richmond, Virginia.

Portrait at top— Maggie Lena Walker, c. 1900; Valentine Richmond History Center, Richmond, Virginia.