Celebrating American History

Entrepreneur

A Black entrepreneur and landowner who helped found the Greenwood District in Tulsa, Oklahoma, famously known as “Black Wall Street.” He purchased land exclusively for Black ownership and played a key role in building one of the most prosperous Black communities in the United States at the time.

First Female Black Bank President

A Black businesswoman and civil rights leader who became the first Black woman in the United States to charter and serve as president of a bank. Through her leadership of the St. Luke Penny Savings Bank and the Independent Order of St. Luke, she promoted economic independence and financial empowerment in Black communities in the early 20th century.

Founder of First Black-Owned Brokerage Firm

A Black entrepreneur and community leader who founded McGhee & Co., the first Black-owned brokerage firm in the U.S. and became the first African American licensed stock dealer in the Midwest.

CEO

An accomplished academic, diplomat, and business leader who was one of the first Black CEOs of a Fortune 500 company, heading TIAA-CREF one of the world's largest pension funds with assets of $260 billion. Later he was appointed by then President Bill Clinton to be the first African American Deputy Secretary of State.

Investment Couselor

A Black businesswoman and property owner who was the first Black woman to pass the New York Stock Exchange exam in 1953.

Founder

A prominent educator, minister, and banker who founded the first professional organization of African Americans in finance, the Negro Bankers Association, now known as the National Bankers Association, in 1927.