Maggie Lena Walker, Letter, c. 1920s

Like many “race leaders” in the early 20th century, Maggie L. Walker rose to prominence from modest beginnings as a result of her intellect, education, and business acumen. Her mother was a formerly enslaved woman and her father had served in the Confederate army and worked as a reporter. After her mother married, Maggie took her stepfather’s surname of Mitchell. His death under mysterious circumstances left his family in poverty, and her mother took in laundry—with her daughter’s assistance—to support the family. Maggie Mitchell graduated from the Richmond Colored Normal School and taught school before marrying Armistead Walker, a member of a prominent construction/bricklaying family in town. They moved into a home on Leigh Street in Richmond’s Jackson Ward neighborhood, where they raised two sons.

In 1899, Maggie Walker became the Right Worthy Grand Secretary of the organization, a position she held until her death in 1934. Under her dynamic leadership, the organization went from the verge of bankruptcy to a vibrant business conglomerate, supporting not only the mutual benefit (life insurance) sector of the organization, but also running a department store in Richmond, a newspaper for its members across several states, and the St. Luke Penny Savings Bank, established in 1903. Walker became the first Black woman in the United States to charter and serve as president of a bank. The bank later merged with Consolidated Bank and Trust and was known as the longest-running Black-owned bank in the United States until it was purchased in 2009. Under Walker's management, the Independent Order of St. Luke transformed from a failing organization to one with more than 100,000 members in twenty-four states, with about $3.5 million collected and over $100,000 in cash reserves.

Not only was she a successful businesswoman, Walker was a well-known civil rights advocate and community activist, who helped lead a boycott to protest segregated streetcars in 1904 and led voter registration efforts when women gained the right to vote in 1920. Throughout her life, she gave speeches exhorting Black citizens to support themselves and each other, and to work for justice. In addition, by establishing the St. Luke's connected businesses, she created professional employment opportunities for Black men and women.

Walker’s business achievements can be seen in this letter asking for donations for the St. Luke furniture fund. This fund supported the establishment of the St. Luke Building, constructed in Jackson Ward in 1902 to house the central operations of the order. The four-story building towered over the neighborhood, standing as a monument to Black excellence and achievement, and in this letter, she is asking members to contribute to the success.

Citation: Maggie L. Walker, Read Every Word Carefully: Act at Once. Richmond, Va., 192-. Broadside 192- .W3 BOX, Special Collections, Library of Virginia.

Learn more about Maggie L. Walker in her Dictionary of Virginia Biography entry online.

Preview Activity

Scan It: Scan the letter. Identify and list any words that stand out to you and explain what you think they may indicate about the subject of the letter.

Post Activities

Analyze: Re-read Maggie Walker's letter asking for donations to the Saint Luke Furniture Fund.  What is the tone of the letter?  What language does Walker use to make her appeal direct and powerful? Why do you think having this kind of furniture in the building mattered?

Art Exploration: Create an advertising poster for the Saint Luke Penny Savings Bank that would encourage members of Maggie Walker's community to save and invest in her banking venture.