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Maggie Lena Walker

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PayPal and Liza Mickens Continue the Legacy of Maggie L. Walker, the First Black Woman to Charter a Bank in America

“I think that Maggie’s entire mission was to uplift African American women,” says Liza Mickens, the great-great-granddaughter of Maggie Lena Walker, the first Black woman to found and charter a bank in America. Walker didn’t just make history as the first Black woman to own and charter her own bank, but she led a civil rights movement in Richmond, Virginia in the 1920s and was the largest employer of Black women in the area. “I think her economic achievements are incredible,” said Mickens. “I’m not necessarily the most business savvy person, so I really just admire all of the political activism that she did. She was the first African-American woman to run for a statewide office in Virginia and till this day we have not seen another Black woman make it on a statewide ballot here in Virginia.” Today, Mickens continues to do in her work with Vote Equality. “I think that making sure that we are really in the political arena and making sure that we realize the true power of our vote,”...

Shanique Yates

Mar 26, 2021