JULY 15, 1867
Maggie Lena Walker, the first African-American and first known female bank president to charter a bank in the United States, was born in Richmond, Virginia. She championed help for the impoverished and gave loans to Black Americans starting businesses.
“Let us have a bank,” she said, “that will take the nickels and turn them into dollars.”
She also opened a store for Black Americans, so they no longer had to use side or back entrances. In 2017, Richmond honored Walker with a statue — the first of a series aimed at honoring such unsung heroes.