Black-owned banks were going to close the racial wealth gap—so what happened? Harini Bhat dives into the history books to explore the financial struggles faced by Black Americans from segregation to redlining and examines the role Black banks have played in the economic empowerment of the communities they serve.

Editorial Note: Before Reconstruction, there was the Freedmen’s Savings Bank disaster. The Freedmen’s Savings Bank was established under President Lincoln in 1865 to be a savings bank for almost 4 million newly freed African American depositors. The bank was eventually mismanaged and lost millions of dollars in savings, setting the Black community back by a decade or more. The earliest Black banks like the Alabama Penny Savings Bank and St. Luke’s Penny Savings Bank were established decades later.

PBS Member Stations rely on viewers like you. To support your local station, go to: http://to.pbs.org/DonateORIG

Check out more from our host Harini Bhat on ‪@tilscience‬!

Subscribe to PBS Origins so you never miss an episode! ⇨ ‪@pbsorigins‬
And keep up with PBS Origins on:
⇨Facebook:   / pbsdigitalstudios  
⇨Twitter/X: https://x.com/PBSDS
⇨Instagram:   / pbsds  

IN THE MARGINS is a new series that covers the history they didn’t teach in school, exploring obscure, yet captivating tales that offer unique insights into their time and place.

IN THE MARGINS is produced by Alabama Public Television, PBS Utah, and WHYY for PBS. This program was produced by Alabama Public Television, which is solely responsible for its content.

0:00 What is the racial wealth gap?
1:20 Black Banking Barriers
1:41 Discriminatory Lending & Alabama Penny Savings Bank
5:00 Housing Discrimination & St. Luke's Penny Savings Bank
8:33 Economic Segregation & Black Wall Street / Mechanic & Farmer's Bank
11:41 How do we close the racial wealth gap?

Citation: Baradaran, M. (2017). The Color of Money: Black Banks and the Racial Wealth Gap. First edition. Cambridge: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.

#racialwealthgap #BlackWallStreet #blackhistory #americanhistory #history #money #finance #banking #hamilton #InTheMargins