"Maggie Lena Walker"(July 15,1867-December 15,1934).

Was an African American teacher and businesswoman.Maggie was the first African American

female banker president and the first woman to charter a bank in the United States.As a leader,she achieved successes with the vision to make tangible improvements in the way of life for African Americans and women.Disable by paralysis and limited to a wheelchair later in life,Maggie also became an example for people with disabilities.She was born Maggie Lena Mitchell in Richmond,Virgina to William Mitchell and Elizabeth Draper Mitchell 2 years and 2 months after the end of the American Civil War.Her mother was a former slave and assistant cook in the Church Hill mansion Elizabeth Van Lew,who had been a spy in the Confederate capital city of Richmond for the Union during the war.The Mitchell family moved to their own home nearby Ms Van Lew's home where Maggie and her brother Johnnie were raised.After the untimely death of William Mitchell Maggie mother supported her family by working as a laundress.Young Maggie attended  newly formed Richmond Public Schools and helped her

mother by delivering the clean clothes.She taught grade school for three years until, in 1886,when she married Armstead Walker Jr, a brick contractor.Her husband earned a good living,and she was able to leave teaching to take care of her family and her work with the Independent Order of St.Luke.Maggie and Armstead Walker Jr.had sons, Russell and Melvin,and purchased a home in 1904.When she was fourteen Maggie joined the local council of the Independent order of St.Luke.This fraternal burial society,established in 1867 in Baltimore Maryland,administered to the sick and aged,promoted  humanitarian causes and encouraged individual self-help and integrity.She served in numerous capacities of increasing responsibility for the order,from that of a delegate to the biannual  convention to the top leadership position of Right Worthy Grand Secretary in 1899,a position she held until her death.In 1902,she established a newspaper for the organization,The St.Luke Herald.Shortly thereafter,she chartered the St.Luke Penny Savings Bank.Mrs.Walker  served as the bank's first president,which earned her the recognition of being the first woman to charter a bank in the United States.Later she agreed to serve as chairman of the board of directors when the bank merged with two other richmond banks to become The Conssolidated Bank and Trust Company, which grew to serve generations of Richmonds as an African-American owned institution.Tragedy struck in 1915 when her husband was accidentally killed,leaving Mrs. Walker to manage a large household,Her work and investments kept the family comfotably situated.When her sons married they brought their wives home.Ms. Walker received an honorary Masters degree from Virgina Union University ( A historically black university in Richmond) in 1923 and was inducted into the Junior Achievement U.S. Business Hall of Fame in 2002.Mrs. Walker was also an activist for African Americans  and women rights.She was a member of the National Association of Colored Women,and also the vice president of the NAACP  for the Richmond Chapter.Mrs. Walker health gradually declined and by 1928 she was using a wheelchair due to paralysis.Despite her physical limtations,she remained actively commited to her life work including serving as leader of the Independent Order of St. Luke and chairman of the bank until her death on December 15,1934.She is buried in Richmond Evergreen Cemetery.