Last updated: July 31, 2019
Lesson Plan
“Nickels to Dollars”: Maggie L. Walker's Quest for African American Economic Empowerment
- Grade Level:
- Middle School: Sixth Grade through Eighth Grade
- Subject:
- Literacy and Language Arts,Math,Science,Social Studies
- Lesson Duration:
- 90 Minutes
- Common Core Standards:
- 6-8.RH.1, 6-8.RH.2, 6-8.RH.3, 6-8.RH.4, 6-8.RH.7, 6-8.RH.8, 6-8.RH.9
- State Standards:
- Virginia
Civil War and Postwar Eras
VS.8 the students will demonstrate knowledge of the reconstruction of Virginia following the Civil War
VS. 9 the student will demonstrate knowledge of twentieth- and twenty-first-century Virginia - Thinking Skills:
- Understanding: Understand the main idea of material heard, viewed, or read. Interpret or summarize the ideas in own words. Analyzing: Break down a concept or idea into parts and show the relationships among the parts. Creating: Bring together parts (elements, compounds) of knowledge to form a whole and build relationships for NEW situations. Evaluating: Make informed judgements about the value of ideas or materials. Use standards and criteria to support opinions and views.
Essential Question
How did Maggie Walker use banks for African American economic advancement during the Jim Crow era?
Este plan de clase con actividades incluido también está disponible en español.
Objective
1. Explore ways that African Americans overcame legal and social segregation during the Jim Crow era.
2. Learn economic and banking principles.
3. Practice using the scientific method to make observations and inferences of 3D printed artifacts.
4. Practice writing letters and expressing thoughts and feelings in a structured way.
Background
Following Reconstruction-era gains, Jim Crow laws reversed the course of African American social progress in an attempt to reinstate a slavery-era power structure. Jim Crow was a period in United States history when African Americans were socially and legally treated as second-class citizens. This history is important because the tools used to combat Jim Crow can still be used to fight modern day discrimination.
While institutionalized racism and segregation was the common practice prior to the late 19th century, the Supreme Court ruling of Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896 officially legalized those practices in a post-emancipation America. The verdict of Plessy v. Ferguson marked a period where white Americans used the United States Constitution to legalize the segregation and discrimination of African Americans. This practice lasted up until the passing of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. The term “Jim Crow” referred to a 19th-century caricature depicting enslaved Africans as unintelligent and lazy. The Jim Crow caricature became a widespread stereotype of African Americans. Jim Crow laws sanctioned economic, educational, political, and social policies designed to make African Americans unequal in the eyes of the law. These restrictions took place in predominantly white communities not just in the South but across the country.
While Jim Crow laws were an official part of the legal system in many states, the concept of “separate but equal” was adopted in every part of post-Reconstruction America. However, separate and unequal became the practice across the country. Institutions - from schools to banks to businesses - discriminated against African American communities, fostering a cycle of perpetual poverty and denigration. The policies and practices of the Jim Crow period were enforced through violent acts of terror, giving rise to groups like the Ku Klux Klan (KKK), who threatened and hurt any African American who tried to stand up against Jim Crow policies and practices. The accomplishments of Maggie Walker and her contemporaries are extraordinary given the discriminatory laws and social practices of the Jim Crow era.
Maggie Lena Walker was born Maggie Lena Draper in Richmond, Virginia in 1864, the last year of legalized slavery in the United States. Her parents were Elizabeth Draper, a formerly enslaved woman, and Eccles Cuthbert, a white Irish Confederate soldier. Little is known about Maggie's relationship with her birth father. She was raised by her mother, who made her living as a laundress, after Maggie’s stepfather, an African American waiter named William Mitchell, died when Walker was eleven years old. Walker grew up determined to better herself, the African American community of Richmond, and African Americans across the country. In spite of her very humble beginnings, she became a successful businesswoman and community activist.
As a young woman, Walker joined the Independent Order of St. Luke (IOSL), a fraternal organization that was formed to help take care of the sick and elderly in the African American community. Walker saw the IOSL as an opportunity for further uplift of African Americans.
Walker rose in the ranks of the IOSL and became its Right Worthy Grand Secretary in 1899. At that time, the IOSL was struggling to meet its mission: it was low on funds and in need of new leadership. Instead of letting the IOSL come to an end, Walker instituted her ideas of how to recruit members and build up funds. Through sound fiscal policies, a talent for public relations, and enormous energy, she gave life to a dying organization and helped it thrive.
One of Walker’s goals was to build wealth in African American communities. Walker's wealth-building efforts were a direct strategy to combat the disenfranchisement of Jim Crow. She believed that if African Americans were to spend money, they should put it back into their communities. She therefore encouraged boycotts of white-owned businesses in favor for black-owned ones. In her speeches, Walker reasoned,
First we need a savings bank. Let us put our moneys together; let us use our moneys; let us put our money out at usury among ourselves, and reap the benefit ourselves. Let us have a bank that will take the nickels and turn them into dollars." (Maggie Walker speaking at the Independent Order of St. Luke Annual Convention, August 20, 1901.)
In 1903, Walker founded the St. Luke Penny Savings Bank, thus earning the recognition of being the first African American woman to charter a bank in the United States. She served as the bank’s first president and later chair of the board of directors when the bank merged with two other Richmond black-owned banks under the new name, The Consolidated Bank and Trust Company. Until its purchase in 2005 by Adams National Bank, Consolidated was the oldest continually operated African American bank in the United States.
One of Walker’s most effective initiatives was the Juvenile Department within the IOSL, which she co-founded in 1895. Its motto of "As the twig is bent, the tree is inclined," emphasized the communal responsibility of raising children to be contributing members of the community. The Juvenile Department provided a venue where children learned a sense of responsibility to themselves and their community. Children learned to work hard in school and save their money. They paid dues to the Order for their membership and insurance coverage, which instilled in them fiscal responsibility. The IOSL distributed pocket banks to the children, which they filled with pennies they earned. Maggie Walker encouraged children to take the coins from their pocket bank and open savings accounts at the St. Luke Penny Savings Bank. The pocket banks became a symbol of Walker’s goal to teach economic uplift and inspire independence for African Americans during the oppressive period of Jim Crow.
The 1904 IOSL cadet pocket bank was a precursor to the 1927 Education Loan Fund. This program was one of Walker’s final economic initiatives to establish funds for African American students to go to college or receive vocational training. Each sub council within the IOSL would receive a metal collections bank large enough to hold 5 dollars in dimes. After all the sub councils met their goals, the IOSL would have $10,000 to invest in a 6% security bond. The bond interests would then be doled out as small loans for education.
In addition to her work for the IOSL, Maggie Walker was active in civic groups. As an advocate of African American women's rights, she served on the board of trustees for several women's groups. Among them were the National Association of Colored Women (NACW) and the Virginia Industrial School for Girls. She was a member of the Virginia Interracial Commission and the national NAACP board. She also served as vice president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Richmond chapter.
In 1904, Walker purchased a house at 110-1/2 East Leigh Street in the heart of Jackson Ward, a predominantly black community in Richmond. Jackson Ward became the center for Walker’s entrepreneurship, social activism, and family life. Today, Walker’s home is a furnished museum and national historic site. The museum serves as a monument to her accomplishments and serves as a center for future generations to learn about Walker's plan for economic empowerment.
Walker’s ideas for economic advancement worked, as seen in her own life and the lives of other African Americans within Richmond. Although we no longer see the legally- and socially-condoned racism as Walker did during the Jim Crow era, we continue to live in a discriminatory world with race and gender-based disparities in income, education, housing, and employment opportunities. We can use the stories of Maggie Walker and other historical figures like her to make connections to modern society and learn ways to help better the world we live in today.
Preparation
Supplies
- Paper, pencils or pens, and rulers.
- 3D printed replicas or computer aided models of the Maggie Walker collection bank.
- Internet access for computer or tablet (if teachers are unable to print artifacts)
Steps to Print the Bank
- Go to the Sketchfab website to the Maggie Walker Coin Tin (VCU_3D_3569)
- Click the download tab.
- If printing, open the model in printer software. If the file is a polygon file or another non compatible file you will need to download MeshMixer and export to an STL format.
- Check the model for any problems.
- Add filament to printer and print.
Materials
Download Activity #1: Artifact Analysis, front of Maggie Walker bank
Download Activity #1: Artifact Analysis, back of Maggie Walker bank
Download Activities #1-3: Explanation for Teacher
Download Student Worksheets for Activities #1-3
Download En Espanol: Actividad
Lesson Hook/Preview
Watch the NPS video, “Carry On: The Life and Legacy of Maggie Lena Walker."
Read: Maggie L. Walker: Pioneering Banker and Community Leader (Trailblazer Biographies) by Candice F. Ransom. ISBN - 978-0822566113.
Procedure
Step 1: Gather supplies. Choose whether students will view the bank on a computer or tablet, or if the 3D replica of the bank will be printed. If the bank will be printed, arrange for several copies.
Step 2: Watch the video, "Carry On: The Life and Legacy of Maggie Walker" and read Maggie L. Walker: Pioneering Banker and Community Leader. Present the Background Information to students.
Discuss with students the legal, social, and economic restrictions of the post-Civil War and Jim Crow eras. What tools did Maggie Walker and her colleagues use to oppose and rise above the oppression and prejudice of Jim Crow?
During the discussion, ensure that students grasp the facts and themes of Maggie Walker’s life. They should be able to define keywords such as, Activism, Banking, and Civil Rights. Students should also identify community activism, entrepreneurship, and economics as the tools used by Walker and her colleagues to combat these prejudices.
Step 3: Complete Activity #1, in which students analyze the bank.
Step 4: Complete Activity #2, in which students create a classroom bank account.
Step 5: Complete Activity #3, in which students write a letter to a friend about what they have learned about banking.
Step 6: Conduct the Assessment by leading the class through answering questions about the content of the lesson.
Vocabulary
Activism: The policy or action of using vigorous campaigning to bring about political or social change. Maggie L. Walker and her family were activists for social change, specifically legal rights and equality for African Americans.
Bank: A place where businesses and individuals deposit, save, and invest their money. Banks also provide loans to help people open business and buy homes.
Civil Rights: Rights to personal liberty established by the 13th, 14th, and 15th, and 19th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution and certain Congressional acts. These rights are especially applied to an individual or a minority group that has been denied the same and equal treatment as other U.S. citizens.
Community Activism: Activities surrounding actions when a group or person sees a need within their community for change, whether it be a better quality of life or political representation, and enacts those changes using grassroots movements and legislation.
Discrimination: Treatment or consideration of, or making a distinction in favor of or against, a person or thing based on the group, class, or category to which that person or thing belongs rather than on individual merit.
Economics: Pertaining to the production, distribution, and use of income, wealth, and commodities.
Entrepreneur: A person who organizes and operates a business or businesses, taking on greater than normal financial risks in order to do so.
Jim Crow: A period of practices and policies in the U.S. that treated African Americans as second class citizens. This period is usually defined as beginning with the end of Reconstruction in the mid-1870s until the passage of key Civil Rights legislation in the 1960s.
Segregation: The act or practice of separating or setting apart from others or from the main body or group. In reference to Jim Crow, African Americans were separated in all areas of public life from white Americans, generally receiving poorer treatment or refusal of service.
Assessment Materials
AssessmentLead the class in a discussion to answer questions about Maggie Walker, the Jim Crow era, and the significance of the banks.
What tools did African Americans use to rise above and advance their communities during the Jim Crow era?
What were some of Maggie L. Walker’s major achievements? Which of Maggie Walker’s goals does the pocket bank symbolize?
How can we use the tools of Maggie Walker and her contemporaries to support neighborhoods and communities that are still dealing with modern day racism?
Additional Resources
National Park Service (NPS)
“Maggie L Walker National Historic Site.” National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior.
National Park Service.
“Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site.”
Marlowe, Gertrude Woodruff.
2003 A Right Worthy Grand Mission Maggie Lena Walker and the Quest for Black Economic Empowerment. Howard University Press.
Ransom, Candice F.
2008 Maggie L. Walker: Pioneering Banker and Community Leader. Twenty-First Century Books, CT.
Related Lessons or Education Materials
NPS subject links:
Civil Rights Movement, 1941-1954
Remarkable Legacies of American Women