"Jesse Binga"{April 10,1865-June 13,1950}

Born in Detroit the son of William W.Binga,a barber and a native of Ontario,Canada,and Adelphhia Lewis Binga,the owner of extensive property in

Rochester and Detroit.As a teenager he dropped out of high school and at first collected rents on his mama's property in Detroit.Jesse later moved to
Seattle & Tacoma,Washington and then Oakland,California,working as a barber in each city.Jesse also worked as a Pullman porter and during that time acquired property Pocatello,Idaho,which he profitably sold.
Jesse settled in Chicago in 1893 where his first real estate ventures were relatively modest.Jesse began by purchasing run down buildings,repairing and renting them.He also married Eudora Johnson who provided him with additional assets and considerable social prestige and by 1908 Jesse had built
up enough wealth that was able to weight brighter aspirations.As the African American population of Chicago began to grow in the first two decades of the 20th Century Jesse opened the Binga State Bank
in 1921 with deposits of over $200,000.Within three years the bank had deposits of over $1.3 million.
The Binga State Bank provided Chicago's African American community with an option other than relying on
white-owned banks,which often discriminated and with predatory lenders who often entrapped working class African Americans residents who wanted to purchases homes or establish businesses.The bank also employed a number of African Americans in rare,well-compensated white-collar occupations and created a sense of pride and achievement in African American community business ventures.Jesse,became the owner of a number South Side Chicago properties also became a leading philanthropist.
Also a successful entrepreneur,Jesse,chose to move his family into an all-white neighborhood where he and his family became a target of terrorist who opposed his residence outside the African American community.His home was bombed five times in 1919 in an attempt to get him and his family to leave the neighborhood.In 1929 Jesse opened the Arcade Building,a five-story office building which was stunning with richly,decorated interior.Built at the corner of 35th and South State Streets,just north of Chicago's existing African American business district;the building held offices,stores,and even a dance floor.Jesse faced other challenges with the beginning of the Great Depression.In 1930 the Binga State Bank was closed.On March 25,Jesse was arrested for banking irregularities he was acquitted at trial.In 1933 he was tried again at trial he was convicted of embezzlement.Jesse was sentenced to ten years in prison,the African American community rallied behind him-despite their losses from his dealings-and he was freed in 1938.His wife had died in 1933,and by the time of his release from jail,Jesse had become a Catholic.He went to work as a handman at St.Anselm's Catholic Church,a position he held the rest of his life.Jesse died from a stroke that caused him to fall down the stairs of his nephew's house,where he gone to live.