The New #Bank Black Movement

Why banking in our own community may offer better financial advantages and outcomes.

- Tamara E. Holmes 

Last summer, in the aftermath of the police shoot-ing deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, the #BankBlack hashtag on social media urged African Americans to move their money from mainstream financial institutions to those for us, by us. It resulted in a surge of business for the institutions that have historically been key to our economic growth.

Up until the 1970’s, “most banks avoided providing financial services to African-American communities on the theory that the customers in these communities are high risk,” says Preston D. Pinkett III, chairman of the National Bankers Association, the trade association for minority owned banks. In response, Black owned banks sprang up to make loans available to Black consumers.

Today the Equal Credit Opportunity Act makes it illegal for lenders to discriminate based on race, but evidence suggests that Black Americans still don’t always get a fair deal. For example, just last summer the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau sued BancorpSouth Bank for rejecting Black mortgage applicants and charging them more for loans than their White counterparts.

“In determining the credit worthiness of an individual seeking a loan at a Black bank, race will never be a factor,” says Michael A. Grant, president of the National Bankers Association. But even more important, the money put in Black banks continues to circulate in our communities, providing capital for mortgages, college loans, small-business loans and other financial needs. “The Black bank is still there playing its role of serving the community,” says Grant. “Now what we’ve got to do is get the community to come back to the Black bank.” Read on to discover how you can add your dollars to the mix.

ONEUNITED BANK YEAR FOUNDED: 1968 ASSETS: $655 MILLION*