BankBlackUSA Celebrates 6 Years!
July 9th marks six years since BankBlackUSA was created. We are so excited to see what this next year brings to the work we’re doing. A big thanks to all of our allies and partnerships in this journey. Check out these reflections from a few of our founders.
LaToya Benjamin
For the first 6 years, BBUSA has revolutionized what social justice activism can be. We have developed a sustainable model of cross sector collaborations that address the economic needs within both urban and rural Black communities. We are now providing solutions to industry leaders, communities of interests and families on the value of Black financial institutions, ownership and so much more. The next 10 years will be nothing short of legendary. Congratulations BBUSA Team
Christopher Williams
A digital call to action; to empower our people with SOMETHING in a time of heightened distress; to form a virtual community that delivers tangible tools for improving the lives of others– 6 years ago, 7 of us gathered online to answer that call and 6 years later we continue to expand our community, to sharpen our tools, and to remind us all that we have the power to fight back.
Happy Anniversary BankBlackUSA! Cheers to the BBUSA team, all who have supported us and all who have dedicated their work to supporting Black people!
Stephone Coward II
The last six years have been nothing short of amazing. It has been an incredible honor to be able to work beside my cofounders and for us to take this moment to reflect on how much we have grown. We started off as a group of individuals with questions and now we are a team providing our thoughts and solutions. We went from being a source of truth on where our Black owned banks have been and currently are to now being able to show where they can go.
Ecosystem building and collaboration are at the heart of everything we do. Our love of leveraging data to help people make informed decisions has led us to ongoing partnerships with major universities. We even have more universities who are joining us now! It’s exciting to think about where we are headed next. I’m so proud to be a part of this organization! Join us!
Robert Herring III
Six years ago, driven by a similar purpose, and crowding around the campaign to divest from majority institutions and reallocate those investments into Black owned and run institutions. BankBlackUSA coalesced from the unlikeliest, remote corners of the internet. And the pivot began. Moving your investments is signaling, but where you choose to move them is equally as important; the relationships those institutions have with our communities, the support they have within their vertical, and the products they’re sourced to offer all have vital relevance. So, BankBlackUSA continued its deep dive into the socioeconomics of Blacks in this country, understood where our role was forced to expand, and the fruition of that realization was The COWRIE Initiative.
Today, both stand as effectual tools and apparatuses in the space for fiscal advocacy by: recognizing and challenging our institutions to remain steadfast as allies and conduits for the accrual of Black assets and wealth; by developing strategic, research and scholastic partnerships to further investigate historical trend, present fallout, and generate modern solutions to address systemic, economic lock out; and ultimately, by creating tools and dialogue that promote literacy and autonomous decisions for the individual while strengthening options for moving and sharing as a collective. Here’s to six years strong, and to however many more remain necessary to collect our due, and to create pertinent changes within our communities and how they’re acknowledged in all spaces.
