Richmond, Va., and the National Park Service celebrated recently the life and achievements of an African American woman born in the post-Civil War south, who became a teacher, founded a newspaper, was the leader of a national fraternal humanitarian order and the first African American woman to charter a bank.
Maggie Lena Walker was born Maggie Mitchell on July 15, 1864; on July 15 and 16, the City of Richmond, the National Park Service and the Black History museum celebrated her legacy, the NPS announced earlier this month.
"The first African American woman to charter a bank and serve as its president, Mrs. Walker dedicated herself to a life of civic engagement, challenging racial discrimination and gender bias," the NPS states in the announcement. "Her story of leadership and self-determination continues to resonate with and inspire people around the world."
Walker's rise to national prominence began when she joined the Independent Order of St. Luke, a fraternal society founded in 1867 in Baltimore. She served the humanitarian organization in several capacities; in 1899, Walker was named to the top leadership position of Right Worthy Grand Secretary, a "position she held until her death," the NPS states in a biography of Walker.
In 1902, Walker started the St. Luke Herald newspaper; in 1903, she founded the St. Luke Penny Savings Bank and served as its president and later as its board chair. Walker was active in multiple civic organizations and served on the boards of many civil and women's rights groups, including the NAACP and the the Virginia Interracial Commission, according to the NPS biography.
“Mrs. Maggie L. Walker is one of Richmond’s and Virginia’s most notable trailblazers," Monroe Harris Jr., chairman of the board of directors for the Black History Museum, said in the announcement." As an African American as well as a woman who led the way for others in the fight for social justice, financial success, and ultimately, freedom for Black people, we are honored to participate in the celebration of what would be her 158th birthday."
The July celebrations included a presentation at the Black History Museum commemorating the fifth anniversary of the unveiling of a statue of Walker, the announcement states. Celebrants also took part in a garden beautification project and a sidewalk clean-up in the Jackson Ward area where Walker lived, according to the NPS.
