Maggie Walker
Maggie Lena Walker, born Maggie Mitchel, became an inspiration to many African American women striving to be more than they were expected to be in the south during the 1800s and 1900s. She came from a line of individuals attempting to change America, as her mother was a spy for the Union during the Civil War. As a child, Maggie’s family lived near the first black Baptist Church, which became a pinnacle for social, economic, and political discussion throughout the community. She watched as her mother supported their family after her mother died, which may have played a part later in her role as a bank president. Moreover, when Maggie was a teen, she joined the Independent Order of St. Luke, which was a society meant to help the elderly in communities while also helping members become more empathetic humanitarians throughout society. While with the Order, Maggie served in various different positions, expanding her knowledge not only of business, but of people.
As prominent member of the organization, Maggie published The St. Luke Herald, a newspaper for the order and later when the order started a bank, Maggie Walker became known as the bank’s first president. In doing so, she became the first black woman in the United States to Charter a Bank. Moreover, she did so in 1902 prior to women even having won the right to vote. In addition to this, Maggie had been placed in the position of president in the South while Jim Crow laws were still being instituted. Without her steady membership with the Order, she would not have been able to make this achievement, inspiring women all over the country to believe they could do the same.
