1 00:00:01,280 --> 00:00:04,320 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production 2 00:00:04,360 --> 00:00:13,440 Speaker 1: of I Heart Radio. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:13,560 --> 00:00:17,280 Speaker 1: I'm Tracy V. Wilson and I'm Holly Frying. I've had 4 00:00:17,400 --> 00:00:21,159 Speaker 1: Maggie Lena Walker on my episode shortlist for really a 5 00:00:21,200 --> 00:00:24,200 Speaker 1: long time now, so when her name came up just 6 00:00:24,520 --> 00:00:28,360 Speaker 1: in passing in our recent episode on Olivia Ward Bush Banks, 7 00:00:28,800 --> 00:00:30,400 Speaker 1: it seemed like a good time to move her up 8 00:00:30,440 --> 00:00:33,080 Speaker 1: to the top of that list. As we said in 9 00:00:33,080 --> 00:00:36,440 Speaker 1: that earlier episode, Maggie Lena Walker was the first black 10 00:00:36,479 --> 00:00:39,600 Speaker 1: woman in the United States to charter a bank. She 11 00:00:39,680 --> 00:00:41,920 Speaker 1: was also the first black woman in the US to 12 00:00:42,040 --> 00:00:46,319 Speaker 1: serve as a bank's president. But the bank was just 13 00:00:46,479 --> 00:00:49,680 Speaker 1: one of her many, many endeavors. A lot of her 14 00:00:49,920 --> 00:00:53,240 Speaker 1: life's work was described in the language of the time 15 00:00:53,320 --> 00:00:56,280 Speaker 1: as race work. This is work that was undertaken by 16 00:00:56,480 --> 00:01:00,520 Speaker 1: black people for other black people to try to dismantled 17 00:01:00,560 --> 00:01:04,280 Speaker 1: the effects of racism and oppression and to collectively improve 18 00:01:04,400 --> 00:01:07,880 Speaker 1: the lives of the whole black community. Some elements of 19 00:01:07,880 --> 00:01:11,120 Speaker 1: this would go on to be professionalized in the field 20 00:01:11,160 --> 00:01:13,680 Speaker 1: of social work, which is also something that came up 21 00:01:13,680 --> 00:01:16,759 Speaker 1: a little bit in that episode on Olivia Ward Bush Banks. 22 00:01:17,760 --> 00:01:21,560 Speaker 1: As a note up front, in this episode, we are 23 00:01:21,640 --> 00:01:24,400 Speaker 1: going to be talking about a number of tragedies that 24 00:01:24,640 --> 00:01:29,000 Speaker 1: Walker experienced in her life, and that includes an accidental 25 00:01:29,040 --> 00:01:32,840 Speaker 1: shooting death that took place within her immediate family. And 26 00:01:32,920 --> 00:01:36,680 Speaker 1: the early part of this episode also includes a discussion 27 00:01:36,720 --> 00:01:40,280 Speaker 1: of sexual consent, and that's in the context of Walker's 28 00:01:40,360 --> 00:01:44,880 Speaker 1: mother and biological father. Maggie Lena Walker was born Maggie 29 00:01:44,959 --> 00:01:49,200 Speaker 1: Lena Draper on June fifteenth, but there are contradictory reports 30 00:01:49,240 --> 00:01:52,560 Speaker 1: about what year in her adult life she often gave. 31 00:01:52,560 --> 00:01:55,120 Speaker 1: Her birth year is eighteen sixty seven, a couple of 32 00:01:55,240 --> 00:01:57,280 Speaker 1: years after the end of the U. S Civil War, 33 00:01:58,200 --> 00:02:02,440 Speaker 1: but various diary entries, family papers, and census records suggests 34 00:02:02,440 --> 00:02:04,440 Speaker 1: that she may have been born as early as eighteen 35 00:02:04,480 --> 00:02:07,760 Speaker 1: sixty four, before the end of the Civil War, when 36 00:02:07,760 --> 00:02:12,240 Speaker 1: her birthplace of Richmond, Virginia, was the capital of the Confederacy. 37 00:02:12,480 --> 00:02:16,960 Speaker 1: Maggie's mother, Elizabeth Draper, was probably enslaved from birth, but 38 00:02:17,120 --> 00:02:20,079 Speaker 1: by the time Maggie was born, she was a free, 39 00:02:20,360 --> 00:02:24,359 Speaker 1: paid cook's assistant in the home of unionist and abolitionist 40 00:02:24,440 --> 00:02:29,000 Speaker 1: Elizabeth van lew. Elizabeth Draper gave birth to Maggie on 41 00:02:29,200 --> 00:02:33,080 Speaker 1: the Van Low estate. If that happened in eighteen sixty four, 42 00:02:33,200 --> 00:02:35,639 Speaker 1: when the Civil War was still going on, then Van 43 00:02:35,760 --> 00:02:39,440 Speaker 1: Lou was at the time running a massive and successful 44 00:02:39,520 --> 00:02:43,440 Speaker 1: spy network for the Union. That's something that was covered 45 00:02:43,480 --> 00:02:47,000 Speaker 1: in our most recent Saturday Classic on one of that network, spies, 46 00:02:47,280 --> 00:02:52,240 Speaker 1: Mary Elizabeth Bowser. Maggie's biological father was Eccles Cuthbert, who 47 00:02:52,360 --> 00:02:55,120 Speaker 1: was born in Ireland and in the words of an obituary, 48 00:02:55,200 --> 00:02:58,040 Speaker 1: he immigrated to the US quote while a mere lad. 49 00:02:58,720 --> 00:03:01,040 Speaker 1: He ended up in South care Lina, where he joined 50 00:03:01,040 --> 00:03:04,480 Speaker 1: the militia before the start of the Civil War. Eccles 51 00:03:04,560 --> 00:03:07,760 Speaker 1: became injured or ill while stationed in Richmond and was 52 00:03:07,800 --> 00:03:10,600 Speaker 1: reassigned from the infantry to working as a clerk at 53 00:03:10,600 --> 00:03:14,520 Speaker 1: a convalescent hospital there. It is possible that he visited 54 00:03:14,639 --> 00:03:18,959 Speaker 1: or even boarded at the Van Lou estate. So Maggie 55 00:03:19,000 --> 00:03:21,560 Speaker 1: being the daughter of a free black woman and a 56 00:03:21,600 --> 00:03:24,600 Speaker 1: Confederate soldier isn't the kind of detail that we can 57 00:03:24,639 --> 00:03:27,480 Speaker 1: just drop into the episode without some more context, because 58 00:03:27,480 --> 00:03:30,880 Speaker 1: it brings up immediate and obvious questions about whether this 59 00:03:31,120 --> 00:03:34,280 Speaker 1: was or even could have been consensual. And then this 60 00:03:34,360 --> 00:03:37,680 Speaker 1: is compounded by the fact that we don't know Elizabeth's 61 00:03:37,720 --> 00:03:41,400 Speaker 1: birth year for sure. If Maggie was born in eighteen 62 00:03:41,440 --> 00:03:44,280 Speaker 1: sixty four, then Eccles would have been twenty two at 63 00:03:44,280 --> 00:03:48,480 Speaker 1: the time, but historians put Elizabeth's age at that point 64 00:03:48,520 --> 00:03:52,640 Speaker 1: as anywhere between fourteen and nineteen. One end of that 65 00:03:52,680 --> 00:03:57,080 Speaker 1: spectrum obviously horrifying, and the other like a twenty two 66 00:03:57,160 --> 00:04:00,640 Speaker 1: year old and a nineteen year old still would beats 67 00:04:00,680 --> 00:04:05,080 Speaker 1: pretty typical in a lot of contexts today. Another complication 68 00:04:05,160 --> 00:04:10,480 Speaker 1: here is that many modern descriptions of this repeat unsubstantiated details. 69 00:04:10,520 --> 00:04:14,560 Speaker 1: Some describe Ecol's Cuthbert as an abolitionist, sometimes specifying but 70 00:04:14,640 --> 00:04:19,039 Speaker 1: he became an abolitionist after meeting Elizabeth van lou But 71 00:04:19,080 --> 00:04:22,800 Speaker 1: accounts that make this claim don't cite any sources for it, 72 00:04:23,520 --> 00:04:26,240 Speaker 1: And there are also write ups on Maggie Lena Walker's 73 00:04:26,279 --> 00:04:29,039 Speaker 1: life that note that Elizabeth Draper and Eccles would have 74 00:04:29,040 --> 00:04:32,760 Speaker 1: been legally prohibited from marrying, but there's no documentation that 75 00:04:32,839 --> 00:04:35,600 Speaker 1: suggests that they ever wanted to. Yes, some of this 76 00:04:35,839 --> 00:04:38,279 Speaker 1: really comes across to me almost as an effort to 77 00:04:38,320 --> 00:04:41,400 Speaker 1: like romanticize or sanitize something that we just don't have 78 00:04:41,520 --> 00:04:45,480 Speaker 1: the details on. We also don't have a clear sense 79 00:04:45,560 --> 00:04:49,080 Speaker 1: of what Maggie's or her mother's feelings were about this 80 00:04:49,200 --> 00:04:53,400 Speaker 1: during their lifetimes. After the war, Eccles became a widely 81 00:04:53,440 --> 00:04:57,680 Speaker 1: known newspaper correspondent, and in her adult life, Maggie wrote 82 00:04:57,680 --> 00:05:00,479 Speaker 1: an account where she described him as quote a writer 83 00:05:00,800 --> 00:05:04,120 Speaker 1: who was writing and making history. Directly after the close 84 00:05:04,240 --> 00:05:07,920 Speaker 1: of the war. When Maggie gave birth to her first son, 85 00:05:08,240 --> 00:05:12,200 Speaker 1: she named him Russell Eccles Talmudge Walker, which doesn't really 86 00:05:12,240 --> 00:05:15,719 Speaker 1: suggest that Eccles Cuthbert was a painful memory for the family. 87 00:05:16,440 --> 00:05:20,040 Speaker 1: There's also some suggestion that Eccles left Maggie some money 88 00:05:20,160 --> 00:05:22,760 Speaker 1: when he died in nineteen o two, and that Maggie 89 00:05:22,839 --> 00:05:25,840 Speaker 1: used that money to help fund her endeavors. And then 90 00:05:25,839 --> 00:05:29,159 Speaker 1: in the late nineteen twenties, Maggie seems to have provided 91 00:05:29,240 --> 00:05:33,080 Speaker 1: some biographical detail to the publication Who's Who in Colored 92 00:05:33,120 --> 00:05:37,840 Speaker 1: America that actually named Eccles Cuthbert as her father. At 93 00:05:37,839 --> 00:05:40,480 Speaker 1: the same time, Eccles does not seem to have had 94 00:05:40,560 --> 00:05:44,560 Speaker 1: much involvement in Elizabeth Draper's or Maggie's lives beyond that 95 00:05:45,360 --> 00:05:48,320 Speaker 1: he reportedly offered to pay for Maggie to be educated 96 00:05:48,320 --> 00:05:51,240 Speaker 1: in Baltimore, but if he made that offer, there is 97 00:05:51,279 --> 00:05:54,520 Speaker 1: no evidence that it was accepted. There is also an 98 00:05:54,560 --> 00:05:57,080 Speaker 1: account in a diary that Maggie kept as an adult, 99 00:05:57,160 --> 00:06:00,480 Speaker 1: which is repeated in family lore, that ecl sent her 100 00:06:00,520 --> 00:06:03,520 Speaker 1: a dress when she graduated from high school, and that 101 00:06:03,640 --> 00:06:07,000 Speaker 1: her mother threw that dress into the stove. Yes, so 102 00:06:07,040 --> 00:06:10,480 Speaker 1: there's a lot here that is vague and contradictory and 103 00:06:10,520 --> 00:06:15,760 Speaker 1: could be interpreted in a number of ways. Regardless though, 104 00:06:16,040 --> 00:06:20,240 Speaker 1: of how Elizabeth Draper and her daughter Maggie each viewed this, 105 00:06:20,640 --> 00:06:24,400 Speaker 1: their lives would have been very difficult during Maggie's earliest year, 106 00:06:24,480 --> 00:06:27,479 Speaker 1: since her mother was a young single mom working as 107 00:06:27,480 --> 00:06:32,400 Speaker 1: a domestic but then, on May eighteen sixty eight, Elizabeth 108 00:06:32,440 --> 00:06:36,440 Speaker 1: Draper married William Mitchell, that was Elizabeth Van Lew's butler. 109 00:06:36,720 --> 00:06:39,760 Speaker 1: They got married at First African Baptist Church in Richmond. 110 00:06:40,520 --> 00:06:45,159 Speaker 1: After this, William raised Maggie as his own daughter. In 111 00:06:45,240 --> 00:06:49,360 Speaker 1: eighteen seventy, William and Elizabeth had a son named Johnny. 112 00:06:49,520 --> 00:06:52,600 Speaker 1: William eventually got a job as a waiter or possibly 113 00:06:52,600 --> 00:06:55,600 Speaker 1: as head waiter, at the St. Charles Hotel, which at 114 00:06:55,640 --> 00:06:58,960 Speaker 1: the time was the most prominent hotel in Richmond. He 115 00:06:59,080 --> 00:07:01,200 Speaker 1: was making enough money that the family was able to 116 00:07:01,240 --> 00:07:03,800 Speaker 1: move off of the Van Loo property and to a 117 00:07:03,839 --> 00:07:05,800 Speaker 1: small home of their own on what was known as 118 00:07:05,839 --> 00:07:08,800 Speaker 1: College Alley, which was close to the hotel and to 119 00:07:08,880 --> 00:07:12,680 Speaker 1: their church. But this period of relative prosperity for the 120 00:07:12,720 --> 00:07:16,280 Speaker 1: family did not last for very long. In February of 121 00:07:16,360 --> 00:07:19,480 Speaker 1: eight seventy six, William's body was found in the James 122 00:07:19,600 --> 00:07:22,360 Speaker 1: River after he had been missing for about five days. 123 00:07:23,160 --> 00:07:26,320 Speaker 1: His death was ruled a suicide, but Elizabeth Draper Mitchell 124 00:07:26,440 --> 00:07:29,200 Speaker 1: was convinced that he had been murdered, possibly in the 125 00:07:29,240 --> 00:07:33,200 Speaker 1: course of a robbery. So once again Elizabeth was a 126 00:07:33,240 --> 00:07:36,920 Speaker 1: single parent, and there was really only one job available 127 00:07:36,920 --> 00:07:39,200 Speaker 1: to her as a black woman that would have allowed 128 00:07:39,200 --> 00:07:41,880 Speaker 1: her to stay home with her children, and that was 129 00:07:41,960 --> 00:07:45,800 Speaker 1: to take in laundry. In the South, until the development 130 00:07:45,840 --> 00:07:49,920 Speaker 1: of washing machines and the establishment of commercial laundry businesses, 131 00:07:50,440 --> 00:07:53,720 Speaker 1: this work was overwhelmingly done by black women who were 132 00:07:53,720 --> 00:07:58,560 Speaker 1: working from their homes. Doing laundry by hand was incredibly demanding, 133 00:07:58,640 --> 00:08:01,800 Speaker 1: It was time consuming, and it could also be dangerous 134 00:08:01,840 --> 00:08:05,720 Speaker 1: since it involved working with things like boiling water, lie soap, 135 00:08:05,840 --> 00:08:08,160 Speaker 1: and irons that would have been heated in a fire. 136 00:08:08,960 --> 00:08:12,760 Speaker 1: The combination of difficult, dangerous work, long hours, and low 137 00:08:12,800 --> 00:08:15,880 Speaker 1: wages was part of laundry work all over the South, 138 00:08:16,080 --> 00:08:18,560 Speaker 1: and this is what led to laundry workers in Atlanta 139 00:08:19,000 --> 00:08:22,600 Speaker 1: forming a union and going on strike in eighteen eighty one. 140 00:08:23,280 --> 00:08:27,480 Speaker 1: So the Atlanta Washerwoman's Strike took place eleven years after 141 00:08:27,520 --> 00:08:31,720 Speaker 1: Maggie's stepfather died. When that happened, Maggie would have been 142 00:08:31,760 --> 00:08:35,160 Speaker 1: somewhere between nine and twelve years old. She was attending 143 00:08:35,200 --> 00:08:37,960 Speaker 1: the public schools for black children that had been recently 144 00:08:38,080 --> 00:08:41,800 Speaker 1: established in Richmond, and she started helping her mother with 145 00:08:41,840 --> 00:08:44,920 Speaker 1: this home laundry business in addition to going to school. 146 00:08:45,559 --> 00:08:48,199 Speaker 1: Later on, she would say quote, I was not born 147 00:08:48,280 --> 00:08:50,240 Speaker 1: with a silver spoon in my mouth, but with a 148 00:08:50,360 --> 00:08:54,959 Speaker 1: laundry basket practically on my head. Maggie attended three public 149 00:08:55,000 --> 00:08:58,479 Speaker 1: schools between about eighteen seventy two and eighteen eighty three. 150 00:08:58,920 --> 00:09:02,280 Speaker 1: The first, known as Old Lancastrian School, had originally been 151 00:09:02,280 --> 00:09:05,360 Speaker 1: a school run by Quakers for white children, but it 152 00:09:05,400 --> 00:09:07,920 Speaker 1: had been renovated and reopened as a school for black 153 00:09:08,000 --> 00:09:11,520 Speaker 1: children in eighteen seventy one. From there, she went to 154 00:09:11,600 --> 00:09:14,360 Speaker 1: Navy Hill School, which was the only school in Richmond 155 00:09:14,400 --> 00:09:17,080 Speaker 1: that had a black faculty, although the school still had 156 00:09:17,120 --> 00:09:21,439 Speaker 1: a white principle. She finished her education at Richmond Colored 157 00:09:21,480 --> 00:09:25,440 Speaker 1: Normal School. It was while she was attending the Normal 158 00:09:25,559 --> 00:09:28,600 Speaker 1: School that Maggie joined an organization that would play an 159 00:09:28,720 --> 00:09:31,120 Speaker 1: enormous role in the rest of her life, and she 160 00:09:31,160 --> 00:09:34,320 Speaker 1: would play an enormous role in it. That was the 161 00:09:34,400 --> 00:09:37,880 Speaker 1: Independent Order of St. Luke. We'll talk more about that 162 00:09:38,120 --> 00:09:50,440 Speaker 1: after a sponsor break. The Independent Order of St. Luke 163 00:09:50,679 --> 00:09:53,400 Speaker 1: started out in Baltimore in eighteen sixty seven as a 164 00:09:53,480 --> 00:09:57,679 Speaker 1: secret society that was founded by Mary Prout. It followed 165 00:09:57,679 --> 00:10:00,480 Speaker 1: in the footsteps of Mutual Aid Society I das that 166 00:10:00,520 --> 00:10:04,320 Speaker 1: had been established before the Civil War. These had to 167 00:10:04,400 --> 00:10:08,160 Speaker 1: be secret because of laws that banned black people from congregating. 168 00:10:09,040 --> 00:10:13,040 Speaker 1: This grew into a fraternal organization that provided support and 169 00:10:13,120 --> 00:10:15,600 Speaker 1: care when its members were sick and at the end 170 00:10:15,640 --> 00:10:19,200 Speaker 1: of their lives, including paying for people's burials. So it 171 00:10:19,320 --> 00:10:23,200 Speaker 1: was part service organization, part insurance plan. People paid a 172 00:10:23,280 --> 00:10:26,880 Speaker 1: fee to join. They paid regular dues, and then benefits 173 00:10:26,880 --> 00:10:29,680 Speaker 1: were paid out if they became sick or disabled or 174 00:10:29,760 --> 00:10:34,160 Speaker 1: upon their death. After some internal divisions, the Richmond organization 175 00:10:34,240 --> 00:10:37,520 Speaker 1: split off in eighteen seventy seven under the leadership of 176 00:10:37,520 --> 00:10:41,240 Speaker 1: William Forrester. When Maggie Lena Mitchell became a member in 177 00:10:41,280 --> 00:10:43,560 Speaker 1: eighteen eighty one, it was as part of the Good 178 00:10:43,600 --> 00:10:47,160 Speaker 1: Idea Council Number sixteen of the Independent Order of the 179 00:10:47,200 --> 00:10:50,760 Speaker 1: Sons and Daughters of St. Luke's. At that point, she 180 00:10:50,880 --> 00:10:54,280 Speaker 1: was a student at the Richmond Colored Normal School. She 181 00:10:54,400 --> 00:10:57,080 Speaker 1: was initially supposed to graduate from that school in eighteen 182 00:10:57,120 --> 00:10:59,880 Speaker 1: eighty two, but the school board added a requirement for 183 00:11:00,040 --> 00:11:04,760 Speaker 1: students to study Latin, French or German, so Maggie's entire 184 00:11:04,880 --> 00:11:08,120 Speaker 1: graduating class was delayed by a year because none of 185 00:11:08,160 --> 00:11:12,520 Speaker 1: them had had that instruction. Along with other socioeconomic factors, 186 00:11:12,640 --> 00:11:15,080 Speaker 1: that meant that no one graduated from the school in 187 00:11:15,120 --> 00:11:18,160 Speaker 1: eighteen eighty two, and then only ten students did in 188 00:11:18,200 --> 00:11:21,720 Speaker 1: eighteen eighty three. Plans for the eighteen eighty three commencement 189 00:11:21,800 --> 00:11:25,120 Speaker 1: ceremony may have been one of Maggie's first experiences with 190 00:11:25,280 --> 00:11:28,960 Speaker 1: organized protests. It seems likely that she was involved, but 191 00:11:29,000 --> 00:11:34,000 Speaker 1: it's not concretely documented. Graduation for Richmond's white public school 192 00:11:34,040 --> 00:11:37,520 Speaker 1: students was held at the Richmond Theater, but ceremonies for 193 00:11:37,600 --> 00:11:40,280 Speaker 1: black students were held at one of the city's black churches. 194 00:11:41,160 --> 00:11:44,600 Speaker 1: Students from the Normal Schools eighteen eighty three graduating class 195 00:11:44,720 --> 00:11:47,559 Speaker 1: wanted to have the same graduation ceremony that the white 196 00:11:47,559 --> 00:11:51,600 Speaker 1: students got. Students convinced the city's black churches to tell 197 00:11:51,640 --> 00:11:54,720 Speaker 1: the school board that their facilities were not available for 198 00:11:54,800 --> 00:11:59,280 Speaker 1: commencement that year. Maggie's classmate, Wendell P. Dabney, who would 199 00:11:59,320 --> 00:12:02,840 Speaker 1: go on to at a biography of her in, wrote 200 00:12:02,880 --> 00:12:06,280 Speaker 1: a letter stating that the black children's parents paid the 201 00:12:06,360 --> 00:12:09,920 Speaker 1: same taxes as the white children's parents did, so they 202 00:12:09,920 --> 00:12:14,520 Speaker 1: should have access to the same taxpayer funded graduation at 203 00:12:14,559 --> 00:12:18,520 Speaker 1: the Richmond Theater. The Richmond Theater agreed to allow black 204 00:12:18,559 --> 00:12:21,920 Speaker 1: students at the graduation ceremony, but only if the seating 205 00:12:22,000 --> 00:12:25,640 Speaker 1: was segregated with the black students in the balcony. This, 206 00:12:25,760 --> 00:12:29,120 Speaker 1: of course, was not acceptable to the students. In the end, 207 00:12:29,480 --> 00:12:32,520 Speaker 1: commencement was held at the assembly hall at the Normal School, 208 00:12:32,559 --> 00:12:35,280 Speaker 1: which just wasn't big enough for the event, so the 209 00:12:35,320 --> 00:12:38,120 Speaker 1: school had to limit how many friends and family members 210 00:12:38,160 --> 00:12:41,719 Speaker 1: students could bring. This is one of the earliest protests 211 00:12:41,720 --> 00:12:46,840 Speaker 1: against segregation in public schools in the United States. After graduating, 212 00:12:47,000 --> 00:12:50,600 Speaker 1: Maggie Lena Mitchell taught public school for three years. This 213 00:12:50,720 --> 00:12:53,640 Speaker 1: included the only year during this era that there were 214 00:12:53,720 --> 00:12:58,000 Speaker 1: any Black principles in Richmond's public schools. They were hired 215 00:12:58,080 --> 00:13:00,480 Speaker 1: in the wake of reforms that had been in instituted 216 00:13:00,520 --> 00:13:04,280 Speaker 1: by the Readjuster Party, which was formed and took control 217 00:13:04,400 --> 00:13:07,520 Speaker 1: of the Virginia Legislature during this period, and then the 218 00:13:07,520 --> 00:13:10,840 Speaker 1: black principles that had been hired were fired a year 219 00:13:10,960 --> 00:13:15,560 Speaker 1: later after the Democratic Party went a majority. Instead, married 220 00:13:15,600 --> 00:13:18,880 Speaker 1: women were not permitted to teach, so Maggie left her 221 00:13:18,960 --> 00:13:23,560 Speaker 1: job after marrying Armstead Walker Jr. On September fourteenth, eighty six. 222 00:13:24,440 --> 00:13:27,960 Speaker 1: Armstead worked in his family's brick masonry and construction business, 223 00:13:28,280 --> 00:13:30,559 Speaker 1: and they had met at a Sunday school program at 224 00:13:30,559 --> 00:13:34,520 Speaker 1: First African Baptist Church. They went on to have three children, 225 00:13:34,920 --> 00:13:38,200 Speaker 1: Russell Eccles tow Mudge Walker on December nine, eight nine, 226 00:13:39,000 --> 00:13:44,080 Speaker 1: Armstead Mitchell Walker on July eighte and Melvin DeWitt Walker 227 00:13:44,120 --> 00:13:49,200 Speaker 1: on August tenth, eight Sadly, the younger Armstead Walker died 228 00:13:49,240 --> 00:13:52,240 Speaker 1: when he was just about seven months old, and Maggie's 229 00:13:52,240 --> 00:13:54,920 Speaker 1: half brother, Johnny died just a few months after that. 230 00:13:55,240 --> 00:13:59,520 Speaker 1: On April twenty three, eight four, Maggie seems to have 231 00:13:59,640 --> 00:14:04,040 Speaker 1: throw herself into her work after these losses. Really throughout 232 00:14:04,080 --> 00:14:07,600 Speaker 1: her life, both her faith and her works tended to 233 00:14:07,600 --> 00:14:09,920 Speaker 1: be huge sources of comfort to her after things like 234 00:14:09,960 --> 00:14:13,480 Speaker 1: this happened. She had been rising through the leadership of 235 00:14:13,520 --> 00:14:16,560 Speaker 1: the Independent Order of St Luke, and around this time 236 00:14:16,600 --> 00:14:19,800 Speaker 1: she started working to establish a juvenile department, which would 237 00:14:19,920 --> 00:14:24,320 Speaker 1: emphasize values like thrift and responsibility and young people, and 238 00:14:24,400 --> 00:14:28,120 Speaker 1: also provide life insurance for children. It was also during 239 00:14:28,120 --> 00:14:31,920 Speaker 1: these years that one of Armstead's relatives, Polly Anderson, also 240 00:14:32,000 --> 00:14:35,480 Speaker 1: came to live with the Walkers. She's described in family 241 00:14:35,520 --> 00:14:39,160 Speaker 1: records as a foster or adopted daughter, and it's clear 242 00:14:39,200 --> 00:14:41,280 Speaker 1: that she was considered to be a member of the family, 243 00:14:42,040 --> 00:14:44,640 Speaker 1: but at some points she also earned a salary for 244 00:14:44,720 --> 00:14:49,320 Speaker 1: her work in the household. In eight nine, after thirteen 245 00:14:49,400 --> 00:14:53,640 Speaker 1: years with the organization, Walker was elected right worthy Grand 246 00:14:53,720 --> 00:14:56,720 Speaker 1: Secretary of the Independent Order of St Luke, which was 247 00:14:56,760 --> 00:15:00,280 Speaker 1: its highest role. In spite of Walker's work to make 248 00:15:00,360 --> 00:15:03,880 Speaker 1: changes and to start the juvenile Department, the organization was 249 00:15:03,960 --> 00:15:06,840 Speaker 1: really struggling. It had a little more than a thousand 250 00:15:06,880 --> 00:15:10,280 Speaker 1: adult members and only thirty one dollars in change in 251 00:15:10,320 --> 00:15:13,960 Speaker 1: the treasury, but it had at least four hundred dollars 252 00:15:13,960 --> 00:15:18,240 Speaker 1: in outstanding bills. William Forrester, who had led the Order 253 00:15:18,360 --> 00:15:21,640 Speaker 1: since breaking away from the organization in Baltimore, had refused 254 00:15:21,680 --> 00:15:25,440 Speaker 1: to continue leading it, maintaining that the organization was dying, 255 00:15:26,240 --> 00:15:29,560 Speaker 1: but Walker had plans to turn the Order around. In 256 00:15:29,600 --> 00:15:33,360 Speaker 1: her words, her quote first work was to draw around 257 00:15:33,400 --> 00:15:37,520 Speaker 1: me women. The first executive Board elections after she took 258 00:15:37,520 --> 00:15:39,800 Speaker 1: on the role were held in nineteen o one, and 259 00:15:40,000 --> 00:15:43,960 Speaker 1: six of the nine elected board members were women. Walker 260 00:15:44,080 --> 00:15:49,040 Speaker 1: was a charismatic, powerful, and incredibly effective speaker, and on 261 00:15:49,120 --> 00:15:52,320 Speaker 1: August twenty, nineteen o one, she gave a speech at 262 00:15:52,360 --> 00:15:55,520 Speaker 1: the Order's annual convention in which she announced a plan 263 00:15:56,160 --> 00:16:00,560 Speaker 1: specifically to improve the lives of black women. In a speech, 264 00:16:00,600 --> 00:16:04,720 Speaker 1: she said, quote, who is so circumscribed and himmed in 265 00:16:04,720 --> 00:16:07,880 Speaker 1: in the race of life, in the struggle for bread, meat, 266 00:16:07,960 --> 00:16:11,680 Speaker 1: and clothing as the Negro woman? They are even being 267 00:16:11,680 --> 00:16:15,440 Speaker 1: denied the work of teaching Negro children. Can't this great 268 00:16:15,560 --> 00:16:19,200 Speaker 1: order in which there are so many good women, willing women, 269 00:16:19,640 --> 00:16:24,000 Speaker 1: hard working women, noble women, whose money is here, whose 270 00:16:24,080 --> 00:16:28,240 Speaker 1: interest is here, whose hearts and souls are here do 271 00:16:28,440 --> 00:16:31,200 Speaker 1: something towards giving to those who have made it what 272 00:16:31,360 --> 00:16:34,600 Speaker 1: it is. She laid out a plan that would she 273 00:16:34,760 --> 00:16:38,960 Speaker 1: hoped to become self sustaining. The order would start a newspaper, 274 00:16:39,160 --> 00:16:42,680 Speaker 1: a bank, a department store, and factories which would make 275 00:16:42,680 --> 00:16:45,960 Speaker 1: clothing that could be sold in the store. Although the 276 00:16:46,040 --> 00:16:49,400 Speaker 1: plan to open factories did not come to fruition. The St. 277 00:16:49,480 --> 00:16:52,960 Speaker 1: Luke Harold began publishing in nineteen o two, with Walker 278 00:16:53,040 --> 00:16:56,680 Speaker 1: acting as managing editor. This was followed by the St. 279 00:16:56,760 --> 00:17:00,400 Speaker 1: Luke Penny Savings Bank in en three with Walker as president. 280 00:17:01,040 --> 00:17:05,719 Speaker 1: Then the St. Luke Imporium opened in nive. Each of 281 00:17:05,720 --> 00:17:09,720 Speaker 1: these ventures had multiple purposes. A big one for all 282 00:17:09,760 --> 00:17:13,240 Speaker 1: of them was to provide jobs. The jobs that were 283 00:17:13,240 --> 00:17:17,720 Speaker 1: available to black people in Richmond overwhelmingly involved manual labor, 284 00:17:17,920 --> 00:17:21,640 Speaker 1: a lot of it degrading or dangerous. But the newspaper 285 00:17:21,680 --> 00:17:27,000 Speaker 1: would employ black writers, editors, photographers, printers, The bank would 286 00:17:27,000 --> 00:17:31,600 Speaker 1: employ black cashiers, and the department store would employ black clerks, 287 00:17:31,640 --> 00:17:35,679 Speaker 1: stock workers, sales staff, and the like. At the same time, 288 00:17:35,840 --> 00:17:38,880 Speaker 1: the St. Luke Harold would keep subscribers informed of St. 289 00:17:38,960 --> 00:17:42,879 Speaker 1: Luke's business, along with local news, civil rights issues, and 290 00:17:42,920 --> 00:17:45,600 Speaker 1: what was happening at the bank and the emporium. It 291 00:17:45,640 --> 00:17:48,679 Speaker 1: would cover the suffrage movement as it related to black women, 292 00:17:49,000 --> 00:17:51,800 Speaker 1: as well as lynchings and crimes against black people that 293 00:17:51,840 --> 00:17:55,000 Speaker 1: the white press was not covering. It would be, in 294 00:17:55,080 --> 00:17:58,119 Speaker 1: Walker's words, quote, a trumpet to sound the orders, so 295 00:17:58,160 --> 00:18:00,720 Speaker 1: that the st Luke upon the mountaintop and the st 296 00:18:00,800 --> 00:18:03,240 Speaker 1: Luke dwelling by the side of the sea can hear 297 00:18:03,280 --> 00:18:06,680 Speaker 1: the same order, keep step to the same music, march 298 00:18:06,720 --> 00:18:10,440 Speaker 1: in unison to the same command, although miles and Miles intervene. 299 00:18:11,240 --> 00:18:15,200 Speaker 1: The Penny Savings Bank would, in Walker's words quote, take 300 00:18:15,240 --> 00:18:18,760 Speaker 1: the nickels and turn them into dollars. It would provide 301 00:18:18,800 --> 00:18:21,560 Speaker 1: services that black people were excluded from at the all 302 00:18:21,640 --> 00:18:26,040 Speaker 1: white banks, including loans and mortgages. That would also encourage 303 00:18:26,080 --> 00:18:28,800 Speaker 1: people to save their money, no matter how little money 304 00:18:28,880 --> 00:18:31,919 Speaker 1: they had to start with. The bank was funded by 305 00:18:31,920 --> 00:18:34,520 Speaker 1: the purchase of shares, with the Order of St. Luke 306 00:18:34,600 --> 00:18:38,520 Speaker 1: purchasing two hundred shares and account holders encouraged to buy 307 00:18:38,520 --> 00:18:41,520 Speaker 1: at least one share at a cost of ten dollars, 308 00:18:41,560 --> 00:18:45,280 Speaker 1: which could be paid for in ten monthly installments. The 309 00:18:45,320 --> 00:18:49,080 Speaker 1: bank also distributed physical banks for people to keep at home, 310 00:18:49,200 --> 00:18:52,639 Speaker 1: to encourage people, especially children, to save up their change 311 00:18:52,680 --> 00:18:55,440 Speaker 1: until they could make a deposit. Although this was not 312 00:18:55,560 --> 00:18:58,320 Speaker 1: the only black owned bank in Richmond, it was the 313 00:18:58,359 --> 00:19:01,480 Speaker 1: first to be run primarily by women. Although when the 314 00:19:01,480 --> 00:19:05,080 Speaker 1: bank first opened the only experienced Black cashier that Walker 315 00:19:05,119 --> 00:19:08,439 Speaker 1: could find was a man, over time it had account 316 00:19:08,520 --> 00:19:11,880 Speaker 1: holders all over the Southeast, thanks in part to Walkers 317 00:19:11,920 --> 00:19:15,320 Speaker 1: extensive travels to spread the word about the bank, and 318 00:19:15,359 --> 00:19:18,159 Speaker 1: the emporium provided a place for black people to shop 319 00:19:18,200 --> 00:19:22,120 Speaker 1: without the discrimination or harassment that they generally faced at 320 00:19:22,160 --> 00:19:25,760 Speaker 1: white owned stores, which forced black customers to use a 321 00:19:25,800 --> 00:19:29,359 Speaker 1: separate entrance, barred them from eating at lunch counters, and 322 00:19:29,400 --> 00:19:31,960 Speaker 1: refused to allow them to try on clothing and hats. 323 00:19:32,800 --> 00:19:36,960 Speaker 1: The emporium also prioritized black owned suppliers, keeping the money 324 00:19:37,000 --> 00:19:40,359 Speaker 1: that was spent there within the black community. As Walker 325 00:19:40,400 --> 00:19:43,639 Speaker 1: said in a speech in nineteen o six, quote by black, 326 00:19:44,119 --> 00:19:46,320 Speaker 1: every time you set foot in a white man's store, 327 00:19:46,640 --> 00:19:50,000 Speaker 1: you were making the lion of prejudice stronger and stronger. 328 00:19:50,880 --> 00:19:53,320 Speaker 1: As all of this was going on, which is a 329 00:19:53,359 --> 00:19:57,000 Speaker 1: lot for one person to home. In four Walker bought 330 00:19:57,000 --> 00:19:59,439 Speaker 1: a new home on East Lee Street in the Richmond 331 00:19:59,480 --> 00:20:03,080 Speaker 1: neighborhood known as Jackson Ward, which was nicknamed the Harlem 332 00:20:03,119 --> 00:20:06,320 Speaker 1: of the South. The Walkers moved in after about a 333 00:20:06,400 --> 00:20:10,240 Speaker 1: year of upgrades and renovations, including converting the gas lighting 334 00:20:10,240 --> 00:20:14,200 Speaker 1: to electric and adding indoor plumbing, complete with a bidat 335 00:20:14,200 --> 00:20:18,000 Speaker 1: in the upstairs bathroom. Over the years, the Walkers added 336 00:20:18,000 --> 00:20:20,239 Speaker 1: on to this home as the family grew larger, with 337 00:20:20,320 --> 00:20:22,960 Speaker 1: Russell and Melvin getting married and living in the house 338 00:20:23,000 --> 00:20:26,280 Speaker 1: with their wives and their children. Polly Anderson lived with 339 00:20:26,359 --> 00:20:29,719 Speaker 1: them as well, eventually marrying Maurice Payne and moving with 340 00:20:29,800 --> 00:20:33,720 Speaker 1: him to an apartment over the garage. Maggie's mother, Elizabeth, 341 00:20:33,720 --> 00:20:36,440 Speaker 1: who started working as a midwife during this same period, 342 00:20:36,760 --> 00:20:39,600 Speaker 1: lived in the home as well. As the years went on, 343 00:20:39,760 --> 00:20:43,159 Speaker 1: this home was increasingly busy and bustling, and it was 344 00:20:43,240 --> 00:20:48,560 Speaker 1: always exquisitely decorated. I will say that Maggie Lena Walker 345 00:20:48,600 --> 00:20:53,879 Speaker 1: herself was also always exquisitely dressed. Every single picture of 346 00:20:53,880 --> 00:20:58,959 Speaker 1: her she looks amazing. Yes, yes, she uh knew how 347 00:20:59,000 --> 00:21:00,960 Speaker 1: to wear a garment for sure, and to pick like 348 00:21:01,160 --> 00:21:04,920 Speaker 1: beautiful clothes. And she carried herself in all of these 349 00:21:04,960 --> 00:21:08,520 Speaker 1: pictures like she has a very distinctive posture in all 350 00:21:08,600 --> 00:21:12,480 Speaker 1: of them. Anyway, She obviously was a woman who cared 351 00:21:12,640 --> 00:21:17,080 Speaker 1: very much about her appearance and looking good and having 352 00:21:17,080 --> 00:21:21,160 Speaker 1: a household that looked and felt beautiful. Holding the top 353 00:21:21,200 --> 00:21:23,960 Speaker 1: post at the Independent Order of St. Luke and starting 354 00:21:23,960 --> 00:21:27,320 Speaker 1: a newspaper and chartering a bank and establishing a department 355 00:21:27,359 --> 00:21:30,479 Speaker 1: store is a lot, as Holly said earlier, but that 356 00:21:30,600 --> 00:21:33,879 Speaker 1: was not all she was doing. In nineteen o four, 357 00:21:34,160 --> 00:21:37,720 Speaker 1: Walker helped organize a boycott of the Virginia Passenger and 358 00:21:37,800 --> 00:21:41,600 Speaker 1: Power Company. In April of that year, Virginia had passed 359 00:21:41,640 --> 00:21:44,960 Speaker 1: a law allowing street car companies to decide whether to 360 00:21:45,040 --> 00:21:49,080 Speaker 1: segregate their cars, and the Virginia Passenger and Power Company 361 00:21:49,119 --> 00:21:52,840 Speaker 1: had announced that it would be segregating. Richmond's black community. 362 00:21:52,920 --> 00:21:55,879 Speaker 1: Boycotted the street cars for about two years, and the 363 00:21:55,920 --> 00:21:59,320 Speaker 1: company went out of business in nineteen o six. In 364 00:21:59,440 --> 00:22:02,159 Speaker 1: nineteen o seven, Walker became a founding member of the 365 00:22:02,240 --> 00:22:06,480 Speaker 1: Virginia State Federation of Colored Women's Clubs. In nineteen o eight, 366 00:22:06,520 --> 00:22:09,600 Speaker 1: she donated five hundred dollars to the National Training School 367 00:22:09,640 --> 00:22:12,879 Speaker 1: for Women and Girls in Washington, d c. Under the 368 00:22:12,880 --> 00:22:16,359 Speaker 1: condition that her friend, Nanny Helen Burrows, who was raising 369 00:22:16,400 --> 00:22:18,920 Speaker 1: money for the school, did not say where the money 370 00:22:18,960 --> 00:22:23,000 Speaker 1: came from. Although Burrows technically didn't, she did use the 371 00:22:23,040 --> 00:22:25,639 Speaker 1: money to build a dormitory that was named Maggie L. 372 00:22:25,720 --> 00:22:29,520 Speaker 1: Walker Hall. In nineteen ten, the St. Luke Penny Saver 373 00:22:29,680 --> 00:22:33,800 Speaker 1: Bank became a separate entity from the Independent Order of St. Luke. 374 00:22:34,520 --> 00:22:37,520 Speaker 1: This followed the passage of a new law that prohibited 375 00:22:37,680 --> 00:22:41,240 Speaker 1: secret orders from running banks, and it also followed an 376 00:22:41,240 --> 00:22:45,400 Speaker 1: embezzlement scandal at a different bank run by a different organization, 377 00:22:45,480 --> 00:22:48,399 Speaker 1: the Grand Fountain of the United Order of True Reformers 378 00:22:49,000 --> 00:22:53,159 Speaker 1: that was another fraternal society. This scandal combined with a 379 00:22:53,240 --> 00:22:56,679 Speaker 1: number of large loan defaults to put the True Reformers 380 00:22:56,680 --> 00:23:01,080 Speaker 1: Bank into receivership, and that Order never really everard. We 381 00:23:01,160 --> 00:23:04,080 Speaker 1: mentioned earlier that St. Luke paid out disability and death 382 00:23:04,119 --> 00:23:07,320 Speaker 1: benefits much like an insurance company, and in the nineteen 383 00:23:07,359 --> 00:23:10,760 Speaker 1: teens it started to face more and more insurance regulations. 384 00:23:11,600 --> 00:23:14,920 Speaker 1: Often people had joined St. Luke and similar organizations when 385 00:23:14,920 --> 00:23:18,280 Speaker 1: they were relatively young, and then the organizations had invested 386 00:23:18,359 --> 00:23:21,639 Speaker 1: or otherwise used the dues that they collected in various 387 00:23:21,760 --> 00:23:25,359 Speaker 1: enterprises which may or may not have been financially successful. 388 00:23:26,280 --> 00:23:29,480 Speaker 1: This led to questions and concerns about what would happen 389 00:23:29,600 --> 00:23:32,800 Speaker 1: is more and more members got older and died, especially 390 00:23:32,800 --> 00:23:35,680 Speaker 1: when the organization that was paying out death benefits also 391 00:23:35,840 --> 00:23:39,720 Speaker 1: ran the bank or many of its members deposited their money. 392 00:23:39,920 --> 00:23:42,080 Speaker 1: Walker and the rest of the leadership at the Independent 393 00:23:42,200 --> 00:23:44,879 Speaker 1: Order of St. Luke wanted their operations to be above 394 00:23:45,000 --> 00:23:49,600 Speaker 1: board and to comply with these newly introduced regulations in 395 00:23:49,640 --> 00:23:52,920 Speaker 1: both banking and insurance, and as far as the bank went, 396 00:23:53,000 --> 00:23:56,800 Speaker 1: these efforts were successful. In nineteen eleven, the bank successfully 397 00:23:56,840 --> 00:24:01,679 Speaker 1: made it through a thorough investigation. As the nineteen teams progressed, 398 00:24:01,760 --> 00:24:05,920 Speaker 1: the Order itself continually made adjustments to its insurance programs 399 00:24:05,960 --> 00:24:10,000 Speaker 1: to keep them in compliance with these evolving regulations. But 400 00:24:10,040 --> 00:24:14,680 Speaker 1: the St. Luke Emporium was not as successful. Throughout its existence, 401 00:24:14,760 --> 00:24:18,280 Speaker 1: it had faced retaliation from white business owners, including the 402 00:24:18,320 --> 00:24:22,639 Speaker 1: formation of an all White Retail Dealers Association, which was 403 00:24:22,760 --> 00:24:26,280 Speaker 1: established to drive black owned stores out of business. This 404 00:24:26,359 --> 00:24:29,800 Speaker 1: included spreading the word among wholesalers that the association would 405 00:24:29,880 --> 00:24:34,479 Speaker 1: boycott anyone who sold products through black owned stores. The 406 00:24:34,480 --> 00:24:39,040 Speaker 1: emporium also faced reluctance from black shoppers, who feared retaliation 407 00:24:39,160 --> 00:24:42,240 Speaker 1: if they didn't keep shopping at white owned stores, or 408 00:24:42,280 --> 00:24:44,800 Speaker 1: who couldn't afford to pay a higher price that often 409 00:24:44,840 --> 00:24:48,639 Speaker 1: came along with shopping at a smaller business. So in 410 00:24:48,760 --> 00:24:53,159 Speaker 1: nineteen eleven, the emporium closed. Wendell P. Dabney described it 411 00:24:53,200 --> 00:24:58,240 Speaker 1: as closing quote in defeat but not disgrace. Walker kept 412 00:24:58,359 --> 00:25:01,720 Speaker 1: taking on new leadership role, including becoming president of the 413 00:25:01,840 --> 00:25:05,480 Speaker 1: Richmond Council of Colored Women, which was founded in nineteen twelve. 414 00:25:06,240 --> 00:25:10,280 Speaker 1: But in nineteen fifteen, the Walker family experienced a horrific tragedy, 415 00:25:10,359 --> 00:25:12,320 Speaker 1: and we're going to talk about that after we first 416 00:25:12,320 --> 00:25:24,000 Speaker 1: take a sponsor break. We noted at the top of 417 00:25:24,040 --> 00:25:27,119 Speaker 1: the show that there was an accidental shooting in Maggie 418 00:25:27,240 --> 00:25:32,320 Speaker 1: Lena Walker's immediate family that happened on June nineteen fifteen, 419 00:25:32,480 --> 00:25:36,000 Speaker 1: after her son Russell mistook her husband Armstead his father 420 00:25:36,280 --> 00:25:41,359 Speaker 1: for a burglar. Walker called this an indescribable tragedy and 421 00:25:41,440 --> 00:25:45,080 Speaker 1: the most trying ordeal of her life. A crew had 422 00:25:45,119 --> 00:25:47,400 Speaker 1: been working on the roof of the Walker family home, 423 00:25:47,720 --> 00:25:50,040 Speaker 1: and on June nineteenth, they had left a ladder propped 424 00:25:50,040 --> 00:25:52,960 Speaker 1: against the back of the house. Some of the Walkers 425 00:25:52,960 --> 00:25:54,960 Speaker 1: had been worried that someone might use the ladder to 426 00:25:55,040 --> 00:25:57,800 Speaker 1: break into the house, especially since the warm weather met 427 00:25:57,840 --> 00:26:01,439 Speaker 1: the upstairs windows were open. That night, some of the 428 00:26:01,440 --> 00:26:03,960 Speaker 1: Walkers thought they heard an intruder on the roof and 429 00:26:04,040 --> 00:26:07,600 Speaker 1: called the police, but the police found nothing. The family 430 00:26:07,680 --> 00:26:11,200 Speaker 1: was still concerned on the so Armstead borrowed a gun 431 00:26:11,359 --> 00:26:14,000 Speaker 1: from a family friend and put it in his bedroom drawer. 432 00:26:15,080 --> 00:26:18,240 Speaker 1: That night, a child who lived across the street came 433 00:26:18,280 --> 00:26:20,760 Speaker 1: to the Walker house to say that his mother had 434 00:26:20,760 --> 00:26:25,280 Speaker 1: seen someone on their roof. Armstead and Russell both went 435 00:26:25,359 --> 00:26:28,879 Speaker 1: to investigate, with Russell getting the gun from his father's drawer. 436 00:26:29,480 --> 00:26:32,240 Speaker 1: When Russell saw a man on the porch, he fired 437 00:26:32,280 --> 00:26:34,640 Speaker 1: one shot, then returned to the living room and told 438 00:26:34,680 --> 00:26:38,240 Speaker 1: his mother, I got him. Maggie replied, got who, to 439 00:26:38,280 --> 00:26:41,679 Speaker 1: which Russell had answered the man he's on the back porch. 440 00:26:42,560 --> 00:26:45,240 Speaker 1: When Russell, Maggie, and Polly all went out to the porch, 441 00:26:45,320 --> 00:26:52,040 Speaker 1: they discovered Armstead's body. The whole family was, of course horrified, traumatized, 442 00:26:52,119 --> 00:26:57,520 Speaker 1: and completely grief stricken. Rumors started to spread almost immediately 443 00:26:57,600 --> 00:27:01,159 Speaker 1: that this shooting had not been an accident. It. Walker 444 00:27:01,240 --> 00:27:04,880 Speaker 1: was criticized for calling a doctor and an attorney immediately 445 00:27:04,920 --> 00:27:07,560 Speaker 1: after the shooting, but not calling the police, and then 446 00:27:07,600 --> 00:27:10,280 Speaker 1: by the time the police arrived at the Walker home 447 00:27:10,880 --> 00:27:14,480 Speaker 1: it was described as swarmed with thousands of people. A 448 00:27:14,480 --> 00:27:17,679 Speaker 1: coroner's inquest found that Armstead had been killed by a 449 00:27:17,720 --> 00:27:20,639 Speaker 1: pistol shot that his son, Russell, had fired, but the 450 00:27:20,680 --> 00:27:23,600 Speaker 1: coroner's jury said it could not determine quote whether the 451 00:27:23,640 --> 00:27:26,840 Speaker 1: shooting was done knowingly and maliciously, or was owing to 452 00:27:26,880 --> 00:27:30,239 Speaker 1: the son's mistaking his father for a robber, just in 453 00:27:30,240 --> 00:27:34,120 Speaker 1: case people are wondering. Russell was in his early twenties 454 00:27:34,160 --> 00:27:38,439 Speaker 1: at this point. A police court hearing followed and the 455 00:27:38,520 --> 00:27:42,280 Speaker 1: judge dismissed the case for lack of evidence. But during 456 00:27:42,320 --> 00:27:46,479 Speaker 1: the hearing, a prosecutor asked Maggie Lena Walker, quote, didn't 457 00:27:46,520 --> 00:27:48,720 Speaker 1: you say at the time of the shooting, Russell, I 458 00:27:48,760 --> 00:27:52,399 Speaker 1: told you not to do it. Walker answered no, she 459 00:27:52,520 --> 00:27:57,240 Speaker 1: did not. I'm not sure where exactly this question came from, 460 00:27:57,280 --> 00:28:00,800 Speaker 1: but it led people to speculate that mag and Russell 461 00:28:00,920 --> 00:28:05,680 Speaker 1: had conspired to kill Armstead for the insurance money. Even 462 00:28:05,680 --> 00:28:08,719 Speaker 1: though the justice at the police court hearing had dismissed 463 00:28:08,760 --> 00:28:13,080 Speaker 1: the case, rumors and suspicion about it continued, and ultimately 464 00:28:13,160 --> 00:28:16,160 Speaker 1: the case was brought before a grand jury which indicted 465 00:28:16,240 --> 00:28:20,000 Speaker 1: Russell for murder. Russell was held for about five months 466 00:28:20,040 --> 00:28:23,680 Speaker 1: before the trial started. The Independent Order of St Luke 467 00:28:23,720 --> 00:28:26,960 Speaker 1: held its annual convention during that time, and Maggie faced 468 00:28:27,000 --> 00:28:29,800 Speaker 1: calls to step down, with her critics arguing that the 469 00:28:29,920 --> 00:28:33,280 Speaker 1: organization should cut ties with anyone who was connected to 470 00:28:33,320 --> 00:28:37,159 Speaker 1: such a scandal. Then the Sunday before the trial began, 471 00:28:37,480 --> 00:28:39,920 Speaker 1: Maggie was walking to church with a friend when a 472 00:28:40,000 --> 00:28:43,000 Speaker 1: car nearly backed into them, and Maggie sprained her ankle 473 00:28:43,040 --> 00:28:45,840 Speaker 1: while trying to get out of the way. This added 474 00:28:45,880 --> 00:28:48,320 Speaker 1: to the ongoing issues from a previous injury that she 475 00:28:48,360 --> 00:28:50,880 Speaker 1: had sustained in nineteen o eight when she broke her 476 00:28:50,920 --> 00:28:55,720 Speaker 1: kneecap in a fall. At trial, witnesses for the prosecution 477 00:28:55,800 --> 00:28:59,640 Speaker 1: testified that they had heard or seen Russell having alter 478 00:28:59,800 --> 00:29:03,880 Speaker 1: kations with his father. The defense rested in part on 479 00:29:03,920 --> 00:29:07,080 Speaker 1: the idea that Maggie's position in the community meant that 480 00:29:07,160 --> 00:29:10,880 Speaker 1: she had powerful enemies, and that these allegations were rooted 481 00:29:10,920 --> 00:29:15,760 Speaker 1: in people feeling envious of and threatened by her. In 482 00:29:15,800 --> 00:29:19,960 Speaker 1: the end, Russell was acquitted, but he clearly carried a 483 00:29:20,000 --> 00:29:22,400 Speaker 1: lot of guilt and shame about all this for the 484 00:29:22,440 --> 00:29:26,000 Speaker 1: rest of his life. After her son had been acquitted, 485 00:29:26,080 --> 00:29:31,080 Speaker 1: Maggie Lena Walker successfully sued the Standard Accident Insurance Company 486 00:29:31,200 --> 00:29:35,080 Speaker 1: after it refused to pay Armstead's life insurance claim, citing 487 00:29:35,120 --> 00:29:39,200 Speaker 1: that same conspiracy theory. From there, she renewed her focus 488 00:29:39,280 --> 00:29:42,640 Speaker 1: on her work. In nineteen seventeen, she co founded Richmond's 489 00:29:42,720 --> 00:29:46,200 Speaker 1: chapter of the Double A CP and organized the collection 490 00:29:46,240 --> 00:29:49,080 Speaker 1: of relief supplies for World War One through St. Luke. 491 00:29:49,800 --> 00:29:52,800 Speaker 1: When the flu pandemic started in nineteen eighteen, she met 492 00:29:52,800 --> 00:29:55,880 Speaker 1: with the governor and got him to authorize an emergency hospital. 493 00:29:56,680 --> 00:29:59,960 Speaker 1: Her work on charity and relief efforts continued throughout the 494 00:30:00,040 --> 00:30:04,360 Speaker 1: pandemic and the First World War. In nineteen nineteen and 495 00:30:04,440 --> 00:30:07,640 Speaker 1: the wake of racist violence that became known as Red Summer, 496 00:30:07,760 --> 00:30:10,760 Speaker 1: which we've covered on the show before, Walker was part 497 00:30:10,760 --> 00:30:13,720 Speaker 1: of an interracial commission that was established to try to 498 00:30:13,800 --> 00:30:18,080 Speaker 1: prevent that violence. In nineteen twenty, after the nineteenth Amendment 499 00:30:18,120 --> 00:30:20,960 Speaker 1: to the Constitution went into effect, she led efforts to 500 00:30:20,960 --> 00:30:24,960 Speaker 1: try to register black women to vote. That year. When 501 00:30:24,960 --> 00:30:28,200 Speaker 1: the Republican Party ran an all white ticket in Virginia, 502 00:30:28,320 --> 00:30:32,040 Speaker 1: which was nicknamed the Lily White Ticket, Walker ran for 503 00:30:32,200 --> 00:30:36,080 Speaker 1: Superintendent of Public Instruction as part of a competing Lily 504 00:30:36,160 --> 00:30:38,920 Speaker 1: Black ticket that was of course made of all black candidates. 505 00:30:39,440 --> 00:30:42,080 Speaker 1: None of those candidates on that ticket were elected, though. 506 00:30:42,840 --> 00:30:47,800 Speaker 1: Walker's mother, Elizabeth, died on February twelve, and her son, Russell, 507 00:30:47,920 --> 00:30:52,400 Speaker 1: died on November twenty three after struggling with alcohol misuse, 508 00:30:52,440 --> 00:30:55,720 Speaker 1: and depression since the death of his father. In addition 509 00:30:55,760 --> 00:30:59,560 Speaker 1: to her profound grief, Walker was also experiencing progressive pain 510 00:30:59,680 --> 00:31:03,240 Speaker 1: and weakness in her legs. She started using leg braces. 511 00:31:03,920 --> 00:31:07,040 Speaker 1: It's not entirely clear whether this stemmed from her earlier 512 00:31:07,080 --> 00:31:09,840 Speaker 1: injuries or if it was a complication of diabetes, which 513 00:31:09,920 --> 00:31:14,920 Speaker 1: she had developed as well. An illness in compounded these issues, 514 00:31:14,960 --> 00:31:18,320 Speaker 1: and after that point she used a wheelchair. After she 515 00:31:18,400 --> 00:31:22,120 Speaker 1: started using a wheelchair, Walker had her home renovated to 516 00:31:22,160 --> 00:31:26,280 Speaker 1: make it more accessible. These renovations were managed by Charles Russell, 517 00:31:26,320 --> 00:31:29,280 Speaker 1: who was the first black architect to be licensed in Virginia, 518 00:31:29,520 --> 00:31:33,680 Speaker 1: and they included the installation of an elevator. Walker used 519 00:31:33,720 --> 00:31:36,400 Speaker 1: a standard wheelchair of the time when she was out 520 00:31:36,400 --> 00:31:39,000 Speaker 1: in public, but at home she had a custom built 521 00:31:39,080 --> 00:31:42,360 Speaker 1: cushioned chair on wheels that had a removable foot rest. 522 00:31:42,440 --> 00:31:45,920 Speaker 1: And a desk attachment. She also purchased a car that 523 00:31:45,960 --> 00:31:48,600 Speaker 1: was customized to be wheelchair accessible and she hired a 524 00:31:48,720 --> 00:31:52,760 Speaker 1: driver for it. Walker was obviously an incredibly hard worker 525 00:31:52,840 --> 00:31:55,920 Speaker 1: throughout her life, but she also did take vacations, including 526 00:31:55,960 --> 00:31:58,640 Speaker 1: two places like Hot Springs that offered her some relief 527 00:31:58,760 --> 00:32:02,000 Speaker 1: for her leg pain. In nineteen twenty five, Walker was 528 00:32:02,040 --> 00:32:06,640 Speaker 1: awarded an honorary master's degree from Virginia Union University, and 529 00:32:06,680 --> 00:32:09,200 Speaker 1: two years later many of the organizations she had been 530 00:32:09,200 --> 00:32:12,840 Speaker 1: involved with and otherwise supported declared October to be Maggie 531 00:32:12,840 --> 00:32:16,680 Speaker 1: Walker months. By the mid nineteen twenties, the Penny Saving 532 00:32:16,720 --> 00:32:20,120 Speaker 1: Bank had more than fifty thousand account holders, but in 533 00:32:20,240 --> 00:32:23,400 Speaker 1: nineteen twenty nine, that's the Great Depression was approaching, it 534 00:32:23,560 --> 00:32:27,560 Speaker 1: was clear that business was slowing down. Between nineteen twenty 535 00:32:27,680 --> 00:32:30,960 Speaker 1: nine and nineteen thirty one, it merged with two other 536 00:32:31,200 --> 00:32:35,080 Speaker 1: similarly struggling black owned banks in Richmond. Those were Second 537 00:32:35,160 --> 00:32:39,360 Speaker 1: Street Savings Bank and Commercial Bank and Trust. They formed 538 00:32:39,400 --> 00:32:45,240 Speaker 1: the Consolidated Bank and Trust Company. Unlike many many other banks, 539 00:32:45,240 --> 00:32:48,320 Speaker 1: this bank survived the Great Depression, as did the St. 540 00:32:48,400 --> 00:32:51,000 Speaker 1: Luke Harold, although it did have to drop from weekly 541 00:32:51,080 --> 00:32:55,400 Speaker 1: to monthly circulation. In nineteen thirty, Walker went to Florida 542 00:32:55,640 --> 00:32:58,560 Speaker 1: at the request of Mary McLoud Betune to talk about 543 00:32:58,640 --> 00:33:03,320 Speaker 1: establishing a national organization. That organization was the National Council 544 00:33:03,360 --> 00:33:07,800 Speaker 1: of Negro Women, which Bethune established five years later. Walker 545 00:33:08,000 --> 00:33:10,280 Speaker 1: did not live to see the start of this organization 546 00:33:10,400 --> 00:33:14,640 Speaker 1: do She died of complications from diabetes on December fifteenth, 547 00:33:14,760 --> 00:33:18,160 Speaker 1: nineteen thirty four, at the age of about seventy. Polly 548 00:33:18,200 --> 00:33:21,680 Speaker 1: Anderson Payne had really looked after her and her last years, 549 00:33:21,720 --> 00:33:26,200 Speaker 1: and Walker's reported last words were quote, have faith, have hope, 550 00:33:26,440 --> 00:33:31,040 Speaker 1: have courage, and carry on. Her funeral at First African 551 00:33:31,040 --> 00:33:35,360 Speaker 1: Baptist Church was enormous, with Richmond Public Schools observing a 552 00:33:35,400 --> 00:33:38,560 Speaker 1: half day, a processional of thousands of people, and an 553 00:33:38,600 --> 00:33:41,080 Speaker 1: honor guard made up of Boy Scouts and young people 554 00:33:41,160 --> 00:33:43,840 Speaker 1: from St. Luke and the Street Lamps and Jackson Ward 555 00:33:43,960 --> 00:33:47,320 Speaker 1: draped in black. Walker had continued to act as the 556 00:33:47,440 --> 00:33:50,440 Speaker 1: right Worthy Grand Secretary of the Independent Order of St. 557 00:33:50,520 --> 00:33:53,320 Speaker 1: Luke until the end of her life, and the time 558 00:33:53,520 --> 00:33:55,720 Speaker 1: that she was in that role, it had grown from 559 00:33:55,800 --> 00:34:00,240 Speaker 1: one thousand eighty members to a hundred thousand members in 560 00:34:00,320 --> 00:34:03,360 Speaker 1: twenty four states, and from a Treasury that had a 561 00:34:03,360 --> 00:34:05,840 Speaker 1: little more than thirty one dollars in it to having 562 00:34:05,840 --> 00:34:09,719 Speaker 1: more than a hundred thousand dollars in reserve. The Independent 563 00:34:09,800 --> 00:34:12,560 Speaker 1: Order of St. Luke continued as an organization until the 564 00:34:12,640 --> 00:34:17,040 Speaker 1: nineteen eighties. In nineteen seventy nine, the National Park Service 565 00:34:17,120 --> 00:34:19,520 Speaker 1: bought the Walker Home at one hundred ten and a 566 00:34:19,560 --> 00:34:23,319 Speaker 1: half East Lee Street, now the Walker Historic Home at 567 00:34:23,360 --> 00:34:27,600 Speaker 1: Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site. The Consolidated Bank and 568 00:34:27,719 --> 00:34:31,239 Speaker 1: Trust Company was the oldest black owned bank to be 569 00:34:31,320 --> 00:34:35,399 Speaker 1: in continual operation in the United States. Then in two 570 00:34:35,440 --> 00:34:39,320 Speaker 1: thousand five, it was sold to Abigail Adams National Bank Corps. Inc. 571 00:34:40,239 --> 00:34:43,640 Speaker 1: It remained its own business in that structure until two 572 00:34:43,640 --> 00:34:47,360 Speaker 1: thousand nine, when the Abigail Adams Corporation was sold to 573 00:34:47,520 --> 00:34:53,600 Speaker 1: Premier National Bankorps Incorporated of Huntington, West Virginia. Premier eventually 574 00:34:53,640 --> 00:34:57,359 Speaker 1: consolidated the Bank and Trust Company into its other operations. 575 00:34:57,400 --> 00:35:01,279 Speaker 1: In eleven, a statue you of Maggie NA. Walker was 576 00:35:01,320 --> 00:35:07,880 Speaker 1: erected in Richmond, and PayPal established an award named in 577 00:35:07,920 --> 00:35:12,319 Speaker 1: her honor, which recognizes quote achievements of underrepresented women who 578 00:35:12,320 --> 00:35:17,320 Speaker 1: are economically empowering their communities and creating a more inclusive world, 579 00:35:18,840 --> 00:35:23,160 Speaker 1: and that is Maggie Na Walker, so good, so incredible. 580 00:35:23,719 --> 00:35:27,520 Speaker 1: How much work one person did. I mean, she obviously 581 00:35:27,600 --> 00:35:30,480 Speaker 1: had a whole organization and people who reported to her 582 00:35:31,920 --> 00:35:40,279 Speaker 1: monumental achievements that had far reaching implications for her entire community. Yeah, 583 00:35:40,400 --> 00:35:43,320 Speaker 1: do you have a listener mail? I do. This note 584 00:35:43,480 --> 00:35:48,239 Speaker 1: came via Instagram. It is from Mallory. Instagram is not 585 00:35:48,400 --> 00:35:50,520 Speaker 1: usually a place where I see things and they get 586 00:35:50,560 --> 00:35:54,640 Speaker 1: retained in my mind. But I was so charmed by this, 587 00:35:54,719 --> 00:35:57,920 Speaker 1: and Mallory just said, listening to your first Autumn Unearthed 588 00:35:57,960 --> 00:36:02,440 Speaker 1: episode and your head stone fudge story reminded me of 589 00:36:02,480 --> 00:36:06,920 Speaker 1: this post. And Mallory had shared a post from Instagram 590 00:36:06,960 --> 00:36:13,879 Speaker 1: that was about a tombstone containing a fudge recipe. This 591 00:36:14,200 --> 00:36:18,239 Speaker 1: apparently went virals some time ago. I totally missed it. 592 00:36:18,400 --> 00:36:20,720 Speaker 1: I have no recollection of it at all until getting 593 00:36:20,719 --> 00:36:24,160 Speaker 1: this message from Mallory. The basic story here, though, is 594 00:36:24,200 --> 00:36:28,160 Speaker 1: that Katherine Andrews, who went by K, passed away back 595 00:36:28,200 --> 00:36:31,800 Speaker 1: in at the age of ninety seven, and she wanted 596 00:36:31,840 --> 00:36:34,040 Speaker 1: the whole world to have her fudge recipe, so it 597 00:36:34,160 --> 00:36:39,040 Speaker 1: is inscribed on her gravestone. If you want to get 598 00:36:39,040 --> 00:36:42,200 Speaker 1: this recipe, and make some fudge with it. You can 599 00:36:42,239 --> 00:36:45,800 Speaker 1: find it on various news outlets by googling Kay's Fudge 600 00:36:45,880 --> 00:36:50,200 Speaker 1: Tombstone or something similar like that. Um. It was initially 601 00:36:50,239 --> 00:36:52,680 Speaker 1: inscribed with a typo in it, though it called for 602 00:36:52,719 --> 00:36:57,000 Speaker 1: a tablespoon of vanilla extract instead of spoon. I mean 603 00:36:57,040 --> 00:37:01,359 Speaker 1: that's a lot. It's well and as a person who 604 00:37:01,600 --> 00:37:04,760 Speaker 1: who really loves vanilla extract, the issue was the texture 605 00:37:04,840 --> 00:37:07,759 Speaker 1: of the fudge that it created did not set up properly, 606 00:37:07,920 --> 00:37:11,440 Speaker 1: not the amount of vanilla flavor that it conveyed. So 607 00:37:12,040 --> 00:37:15,520 Speaker 1: thank you so much Mallory for sharing this. I had 608 00:37:15,600 --> 00:37:18,600 Speaker 1: totally never seen it until now, and now I kind 609 00:37:18,640 --> 00:37:22,360 Speaker 1: of want to go make some fudge. Although the fudge 610 00:37:22,360 --> 00:37:24,560 Speaker 1: recipe that has been used in my family is not 611 00:37:24,680 --> 00:37:28,000 Speaker 1: one that involves putting it on a marble slab, I 612 00:37:28,040 --> 00:37:30,440 Speaker 1: don't think now. I wish I had looked that up 613 00:37:30,480 --> 00:37:35,720 Speaker 1: before I came in here. UM. Anyway, thank you Mallory 614 00:37:35,800 --> 00:37:38,480 Speaker 1: for sharing that. If you would like to send us 615 00:37:38,560 --> 00:37:42,719 Speaker 1: an email where history podcast that I Heart radio dot com. 616 00:37:42,800 --> 00:37:44,960 Speaker 1: If you send us a message on Instagram, we might 617 00:37:45,000 --> 00:37:47,400 Speaker 1: see it. We might not. It's a little weird. No 618 00:37:47,600 --> 00:37:50,080 Speaker 1: shade for Mallory for having sent the message that way. 619 00:37:50,120 --> 00:37:53,839 Speaker 1: That was That was a post that was shared through Instagram. 620 00:37:54,040 --> 00:37:56,520 Speaker 1: We are all over social media. I miss in History, 621 00:37:56,560 --> 00:37:58,759 Speaker 1: which is where you'll find our Instagram as well as 622 00:37:58,760 --> 00:38:01,680 Speaker 1: our Facebook and our Twitter. And you can subscribe to 623 00:38:01,719 --> 00:38:04,600 Speaker 1: our show on iHeart radio app or wherever you like 624 00:38:04,680 --> 00:38:12,520 Speaker 1: to get your podcasts. Stuff you Missed in History Class 625 00:38:12,560 --> 00:38:15,640 Speaker 1: is a production of I heart Radio. For more podcasts 626 00:38:15,680 --> 00:38:19,200 Speaker 1: from I heart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, 627 00:38:19,320 --> 00:38:21,360 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.