Volume 2, No. 3 (Spring 1998) -- Women's History Month Issue

   Maggie Walker -- Early woman banker
By Alan Duckworth

Maggie Lena Walker was born with three significant strikes against her. She was born black, female and poor. Rather than succumb to these disadvantages, she overcame all obstacles to become a key figure of her era as the United States' first woman bank founder and president. Throughout her adult life, she used her economic and social position to fight for greater educational opportunities, for black pride, and for women's rights.

Maggie Walker was born on July 15, 1867. Her early years were spent in the Van Lew Mansion in Richmond, Virginia, where her mother, a former slave, worked as a cook's helper. Miss Van Lew had been an ardent abolitionist and her servants not only had an exceptionally good education, but unusual encouragements to enterprise as well. It was here that Maggie began to learn the value of an education.

When Maggie was still a child, her parents re-located the family to downtown Richmond, seeking new opportunities. Not long after, she faced her first tragedy. Her father was killed, the apparent victim of robbery and murder. His death left her mother to care for both Maggie and her younger brother. Showing a responsibility beyond her years, Maggie quickly become an assistant to her mother, helping both in her mother's laundry business and in raising her younger brother.

The strength of her convictions could also be seen at an early age. She was educated in the segregated Richmond Public Schools. Upon graduation, the white students were to receive their diplomas in a theater and the black students were to receive their diplomas in a church. The black students strongly protested. In the end, the black students were conferred their degrees in the school auditorium.

Religion would also be a crucial part of her life. During her childhood, she was active in the Old First Baptist Church, participating in the Thursday Sunday School meetings. As a result of this involvement, she met her future husband, Armstead Walker, a young contractor. Through her faith, Maggie became involved in the organization which would provide the framework for her life's work. At the age of 14, she joined the Independent Order of St. Luke.

In 1886, she married Armstead. She stopped teaching to devote herself full-time to her new family. However, she was a woman of boundless energy. She became increasingly involved with the I.O.S.L. The Order was basically an insurance company for blacks started in 1867 to help the sick and bury the dead in the post-Civil War South. The broader goals included self-help and racial solidarity - ideas which interested Maggie Walker.

She rapidly rose through the ranks of the I.O.S.L, first being elected Secretary of the Good Idea Council. She was then named Grand Sentinel. In 1890, the Magdelena Council was re-named in her honor. Finally, in 1899, she became the Right Worthy Grand Secretary Treasurer.

When Maggie became treasurer, the organization was in financial trouble. The treasury contained $31 and that was balanced against a number of unpaid bills. There were only about 1,000 members. Under her steady hand, the organization's finances prospered. By increasing memberships, opening a department store and creating a bank, the Order's treasury became worth in excess of $3 million by 1924.

Her work for the Order was not all financial. She felt the need for a newspaper to discuss community concerns and to increase communication between the community and the Order. In 1902, she established The St. Luke Herald. The paper was regularly in the center of controversy. The first issue espoused lofty ideals and came out foursquare against injustice, mob law, Jim Crow laws, the curtailment of public school privileges and laws that constricted the roles of blacks in Virginia politics. She remained editor for 30 years.

She is best known as the first black female president of the bank which she convinced the I.O.S.L. to open. First, the bank helped the Order gather and store funds from its expanding operations. Second, it aided the black community by providing mortgages for home ownership. The result of her efforts was the St. Luke's Penny Thrift Saving Bank. The bank still exists today, now called the Consolidated Bank and Trust Company. As with the newspaper, Maggie Walker did not just aid in the creation of the bank, she served as the president of the Bank until 1932, when poor health forced her to take a less active role. At that time, she became Chairman of the Board.

In 1907, she convinced the Order to open a store. After two years of hard work, she acquired the necessary property for St. Luke’s Emporium. The store stayed open despite countless obstructions, including the creation of a white retailers’ association, legislation to create commissions aimed at crippling black enterprise, being forced to pay cash for wholesale goods, and constant vicious harassment. The bank, newspaper and emporium were important also, because they provided employment for community members.

In the early 1900s, more than half of the white collar, non-teaching black women in Richmond worked for Maggie Walker. Her good works were not limited to I.O.S.L. She aided in establishing a Community House in Richmond. She also assisted the Piedmont Tuberculosis Sanitarium for Negroes. Founder of the Council of Colored Women and co-founder of the Richmond NAACP, she served on the board of the National NAACP, Colored Women’s Clubs, National Urban League, and the Virginia Interracial Committee. She was a trustee for Virginia Union University.

Despite her consuming passion for charity and public service, Maggie Walker still managed to have a full personal life. She had two sons, Russell and Melvin, and another son who died in infancy. In 1905, the family moved into a two story house which was eventually expanded to include 22 rooms and housed her entire extended family.

In 1915, Armstead died as a result of a serious accident, in which Russell mistook his father for a prowler and killed him. Russell was eventually acquitted, but the catastrophe weighed heavily on him and he died in 1922. In 1907, Maggie Walker fell on her front steps. The injury was both painful and debilitating, making her continued contributions all the more impressive. On December 15, 1934, at the age of 68, Maggie Lena Walker died. However, her legacy of service and enterprise continues, both through her bank and through the countless people she touched and inspired.