Have you ever been told you couldn’t do something? She was told time and time again that she could not, should not, will not, but she did not let that stop her. She chartered a bank, launched a boycott, scared some powerful men and then designed her own wheelchair! She didn’t do some things, she did everything!

So, Who is She? is about telling the stories of women the world forgot to mention and whose accomplishments were buried, forgotten or lost. This episode will feature one woman’s amazing story. Be sure to listen to the end where I will reveal her name.

References for story:

National Park Service

• Biography of Maggie L. Walker

• Memorable Quotes from Maggie L. Walker

• Russell E.T. Walker

• Armstead Walker

State & Regional History

• Encyclopedia Virginia — Maggie Lena Walker (1864–1934)

• Encyclopedia Virginia — Richmond Colored Normal School

• Virginia Museum of History & Culture — Maggie Lena Walker

• Virginia Museum of History & Culture — Jim Crow to Civil Rights in Virginia

• Library of Virginia — Dictionary of Virginia Biography

• Library of Virginia — Virginia Changemakers: Maggie Lena Walker

Banking & Economic History

• Library of Congress — First Black Woman to Charter a Bank

• FDIC — Maggie Lena Walker: America's National Treasure in Banking

• Federal Reserve — St. Luke Penny Savings Bank

• Harvard Business School — Maggie Lena Walker and the Independent Order of St. Luke

Fraternal Order

• National Museum of African American History & Culture — Independent Order of St. Luke

• Britannica — Independent Order of St. Luke

Journalism & Media History

• The UncommonWealth (Library of Virginia) — Banker, Editor, Activist, Woman: Maggie Walker's St. Luke Herald

Women's Suffrage & Civil Rights

• National Women's History Museum — Biography

• Liberty University Digital Commons — Black Women and the Suffrage Movement

• Power in Place Project — Maggie Lena Walker: Financial Pioneer, Suffragist, and Advocate

General Biography

• Biography.com — Maggie Lena Walker

• PBS American Masters — Civil Rights Activist and Entrepreneur

Virtual Tour

• Google Arts & Culture — In Her Footsteps: A Virtual Tour of Maggie L. Walker's Home