Maggie Lena Walker was one of the foremost female business leaders in the United States. She gained national prominence when she became the first woman to own a bank in the U.S. Walker's entrepreneurial skills transformed black business practices while also inspiring other women to enter the field.
Walker was born to enslaved parents on July 15, 1864 in Richmond, Virginia. After the Civil War, her mother worked as a laundress and her father as a butler. Walker's father was killed and she had to help her mother financially by working. She joined an African American benevolent organization when she was 14.
In 1915, Walker's husband was killed by her son, after he mistook him for a burglar. By 1924, the Penny Savings Bank had spread to other parts of Virginia and included more than 50,000 members. Although limited in movement, Walker remained a leader in the Richmond African American community. For much of her life Walker served as board member of the Virginia Industrial School for Girls.
Walker was the first woman of any race to charter a bank in the United States. The Penny Savings Bank was a powerful representation of black self-help in the segregated South. Walker worked to appeal to children by passing out banks which encouraged them to save their money.
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