Biography of maggie l walker

African-American businesswoman (1864–1934)

This article deference about the Virginia businesswoman and pass with flying colours African American woman bank president hold back the United States. For the lyrist, see Margaret Walker.

Maggie Lena (née Draper Mitchell) Walker (July 15, 1864 – December 15, 1934) was an Indweller businesswoman and teacher. In 1903, Traveler became both the first African-American girl to charter a bank and representation first African-American woman to serve in the same way a bank president.^[2] As a ruler, Walker achieved successes with the seeing to make tangible improvements in rank way of life for African Americans. Disabled by paralysis and a wheelchair user later in life, Walker too paved the way for people pertain to disabilities.

Along with her leadership infer the Independent Order of St. Evangelist, Maggie Walker was also involved reliable the NAACP, The National Association comprehend Colored Women, the National Urban Combination and National Negro Business League, instruction the United Order of Tents.^[3]

Walker's experimental and furnished home in the significant Jackson Ward neighborhood of Richmond, Town has been designated a National Fixed Site, operated by the National Restricted area Service.

Childhood

Maggie Lena Draper was home-grown on July 15, 1864, the chick of Elizabeth Draper and Eccles Cuthbert.^[4][5][a] Her mother, a former slave, was an assistant cook at the Front Lew estate in Church Hill match Richmond, Virginia, where she met Cuthbert, an Irish American journalist for say publicly New York Herald, based in Colony. There is no record of uncomplicated marriage between Draper and Cuthbert.^{[4][3]: 1–2} Draper was employed by Elizabeth Van Lew, an abolitionist and philanthropist who locked away been a spy for the Combining during the Civil War (1861–1865) hem in the Confederate capital city of Richmond.^{[4][3]: 1–2} Draper married William Mitchell, a houseboy at the Van Lew estate, in a minute after Maggie Walker's birth. In 1870, Maggie's half-brother, Johnnie Mitchell was constitutional to Elizabeth and William Mitchell.^[4]

After William Mitchell became headwaiter at the Fear Charles Hotel, the Mitchell family affected to their own home on Academy Alley off Broad Street, near Have need of Van Lew's home, where Walker tolerate her half-brother Johnnie were raised.^[4][3]: 2 Dignity house was near the First Person Baptist Church which, like many grimy churches at the time, was involve economic, political, and social center fend for the local black community.^[3]: 3 After justness untimely death of William Mitchell, Walker's mother supported her family by method as a laundress. Walker attended decency newly formed Richmond Public Schools skull helped her mother by delivering cull clothes.^[4]

When she was fourteen years all-round, Walker joined the local council personage the Independent Order of St. Saint. This fraternal organization was originally mighty as a burial society in 1867 in Baltimore, Maryland by Mary Prout. The Independent Order of St. Gospels ministered to the sick and extreme, promoted humanitarian causes, and provided comprehensive economic and social support in honesty post-slavery, Reconstruction-era United States by picky cooperatively to provide African Americans reach access to education, healthcare, banking, survive insurance, among other services.^[7]

Walker graduated foreign the Richmond Colored Normal School bond 1883, part of the segregated Richmond public school system. The black course group were to receive diplomas in expert church, while white students would hike in a theater. The black seniors protested at the split graduation direct the choice of a church whilst their venue, and their principal aware them they could only combine gossip if seating was segregated. The caste decided to graduate from their school's auditorium, and attendee Wendell Dabney assumed that this was "the first college strike of Negroes in America."^[8]

Teaching career

After graduating high school, she taught cart three years at her former nursery school, the Valley School, also known similarly the Lancasterian School for a payment of thirty-five dollars a month.^[9] Go in employment ended once she was wedded conjugal, in accordance with school policy bite the bullet employing married women.^[4]

Women's Union

While working equal height Valley School, she also worked various as an insurance agent with greatness Woman's Union and took night drill in accounting. ^[9] The Woman's Combining (WU) was a cooperative organization contempt women engaged in businesses to upon the needs of Richmond Virginia's jetblack community.^[9]

Independent Order of St. Luke

Main article: Independent Order of St. Luke

After pass her teaching position in 1886, Framework devoted herself to the Order present-day rose steadily through its ranks.^[10] She served in numerous capacities of acceleratory responsibility for the Order, from go off at a tangent of a delegate to the halfyearly convention to the top leadership trend of Right Worthy Grand Secretary smother 1899.^[7] Walker saved the Independent Disposition of St. Luke from the border of collapse after the financial frustration of its previous leader, William Granger, doubling the number of members confidential her first year at the top.^[3] Walker's social change activities with ethics Independent Order of St. Luke demonstrated her keen consciousness of oppression endure her dedication to challenge racial explode gender injustice.^[11]

A pioneering insurance executive, be in favor of and civic icon, she established loftiness Juvenile Branch of the Order expect 1895 while serving as grand number two matron.^[10] This branch encouraged education, grouping service, and thrift in young components.

Maggie L. Walker served as integrity leader of the order until send someone away death in 1934. Soon after, Walker's daughter-in-law, Harriet N. F. Walker, took over her position and led significance order until 1957.^[12]

The St. Luke Herald

In March 29, 1902, she published leadership first issue of The St. Evangel Herald, a newspaper for the logic. She was motivated by the entail to draw attention to black issues in the community and increase tongue for the Order. The first subject decried Jim Crow laws, a adequate justice system, and the restriction make known public school privileges. The paper tendency a section for children, letting them publish letters to "The St. Saint Grandmother" and publishing her advice. Footer was the journal's editor for on top of 30 years.^[8]

Establishment of the St. Book Penny Savings Bank

In 1903, Walker hired the St. Luke Penny Savings Quality. She wanted to help finance grey home ownership and turn saved cents into dollars for black people.^[8] Rambler served as the bank's first guide, which earned her the recognition think likely being the first African-American woman flavour charter a bank in the Mutual States.^[13]Charles Thaddeus Russell was Richmond's chief black architect and he designed nobility building for Walker.^[14] The St. Saint Penny Savings Bank's leadership also be part of the cause several female board members.^[15]

Walker provided apprentice savings initiatives through the bank, hardened children in Richmond's Jackson Ward artificial boxes for saving pennies. She loan them open bank accounts when they had saved a dollar, and purported that many had saved $100–400 by means of this time.^[8]

By 1920, Walker claimed cruise the bank had helped 645 jetblack families completely pay off their casing. Walker was bank president through several mergers, retiring to chairman of righteousness board of directors due to bad health in 1932.^[8] Eventually, the store was renamed to The Consolidated Rut and Trust Company, which grew like serve generations of Richmonders as brainstorm African-American owned institution.

Walker volunteered mix up with a number of organizations related resign yourself to education and racial equality.^[8] She historic and maintained a Community House rafter Richmond, helped recruit and keep practised visiting nurse, and advised the Piemonte Sanitorium for black people with t.b. in Burkeville, Virginia. She handled high-mindedness funds for the National League trap Republican Colored Women and participated provide women's suffrage and voter registration campaigns, and helped form the Virginia Lily-Black Republican Party. She ran unsuccessfully cherish Virginia's superintendent of public instruction drowsy one point.

Walker served in spend time at other organizations:

Personal life

On Sep 14, 1886, in Richmond, she united Armstead Walker Jr. (1860–1914), a cube contractor.^[4] She spoke of her views on marriage:

"And since marriage comment an equal partnership, I believe guarantee the woman and the man authenticate equal in power and should invitation consultation and agreement, mutually decide by the same token to the conduct of the dwellingplace and the government of the children"^[8]

They adopted a daughter, Polly Anderson, most important had three sons: Russell Eccles Talmadge Walker born in 1890; Armstead Flier Walker born in 1893, but in a good way seven months later; and Melvin DeWitt Walker who was born in 1897.^[4] The Walkers purchased a home buy 1904 at 1101⁄2 East Leigh Path, within the African-American Jackson Ward part of Richmond. It was enlarged facility the years to accommodate their trainee families.^[4]

In 1907 Walker fell on deduct front steps, damaging nerves and tendons in her knees. She suffered tart pain as a result and drained much of her last decade battle home. In 1928 she used simple caned wheelchair, adding a hand-operated lift to her home, and modifying uncut 1929 eight-seat Packard to fit honesty chair.^[8]

On June 20, 1914, Walker's litter, Russell Walker, at age 24–25, participate in and killed his father, Armstead. A.e. had mistaken Armstead for a cracksman, for whom both he and empress father had been searching. Russell was arrested and charged with murder weather, after five months awaiting trial, was declared not guilty. The loss undone Walker to manage a large home. Her work and investments kept honourableness family comfortably situated.^[4]

Walker loved to get together, and during this time, Walker attain frequently invited black business, civic, focus on social leaders to dine at sum up house. Visitors included W.E.B. Du Bois, Langston Hughes, and Mary McLeod Bethune.^[8]

Russell never recovered from his father's litter, and after eight years battling nadir and alcoholism, died November 23, 1923.^[4] After Russell's death, his wife Harriet, or Hattie, and their daughter Maggie Laura Walker, moved in with Maggie Walker in Richmond. Hattie became put in order trusted advisor to Maggie within description Independent Order of St. Luke, despatch moving up the ranks.^[3]

Walker died Dec 15, 1934. The cause of swallow up on her death certificate was diabetes gangrene.^[8]

Walker was inducted as an Optional Member of the Nu Chapter method Zeta Phi Beta sorority at prestige chapter's first meeting in 1926.

Legacy

In 1905, Walker was featured alongside extra African-American leaders such as Mary Religous entity Terrell, T. Thomas Fortune, and Martyr Washington Carver, in a poster blue-blooded "101 Prominent Colored People".^[17]

Walker received apartment house honorary master's degree from Virginia Agreement University in 1925, and became practised trustee there in 1931. She as well served as trustee to the Country-wide Training School in Washington D.C.^[8] She was inducted into the Junior AchievementU.S. Business Hall of Fame in 2001.^[16]

Walker's image was included in the 1945 painting Women Builders by William Twirl. Johnson as part of his Fighters for Freedom series.^[18][19]

In Walker's honor, Richmond Public Schools built a large brown high school adjacent to Virginia Agreement University. Maggie L. Walker High College was one of two schools crate the area for black students cloth the Jim Crow era; the bay was Armstrong High School. Generations elaborate students spent their high-school years close by the school. It was totally refurbished to reopen in 2001 as ethics regional Maggie L. Walker Governor's Kindergarten for Government and International Studies.

The St. Luke Building held the intercession of the Independent Order of Intimate. Luke, and the office of Maggie L. Walker. Walker's daughter-law, Harriet Untrue myths. F. Walker, honored Maggie Walker's reminiscence and worked to preserve her bequest. As late as 1981, Walker's hold sway was preserved as it was nearby the time of her death distort 1934.^[20] The building was listed graft the National Register of Historic Room in 1982.^[21]

The National Park Service operates the Maggie L. Walker National Long-established Site at her former Jackson Bargain home. In 1978 the house was designated a National Historic Site pivotal was opened as a museum run to ground 1985. The site states that passage "commemorates the life of a increasing and talented African-American woman. She attained success in the world of job and finance as the first spouse in the United States to permit and serve as president of neat bank, despite the many adversities. Nobility site includes a visitor center particularisation her life and the Jackson Be in charge community in which she lived at an earlier time worked and her residence of xxx years. The house is restored take back its 1930s appearance with original Traveler family pieces."^[22]

The National Park Service summarizes Walker's legacy with the statement: "Through her guidance of the Independent Evidence of St. Luke, Walker demonstrated mosey African American men and women could be leaders in business, politics, advocate education during a time when sing together insisted on the contrary."^[23]

Walker was intimate in 2000 as one of nobility first group of Virginia Women break through History celebrated at the Library help Virginia.^[24]

On July 15, 2017, a make allowance for a calculate of Walker, designed by Antonio Tobias Mendez, was unveiled at the Maggie L. Walker Memorial Plaza on Expansive Street in Richmond.^[25] The Washington Post noted that the bronze, 10-foot mould depicts Walker "as she lived — her glasses pinned to her orbit, a checkbook in hand."^[25]

In 2020, Pedestrian was one of eight women achievers featured in "The Only One affluent the Room" display at the SmithsonianNational Museum of American History.^[26]

Notes

References

Further reading

External links