32 Black-Owned Banks and Credit Unions

[dropcap]I[/dropcap]t has been well documented over the decades that many banks and lending institutions have traditionally practiced institutionalized racism. Most recently, Mississippi-based BancorpSouth was fined $10.6 million for redlining, using race and ethnicity to determine mortgage eligibility. In efforts of leveling the playing fields in the money market, many blacks have looked towards black-owned alternatives to the banking system that is currently in place.

In fact, entertainment celebrities Killer Mike, Usher and Jermaine Dupri have recently spoken about the need for the black community to withhold their financial capital from big banks and other powerful entities until they stand up against racism and violence. Of the most vocal entertainers in this movement, Killer encouraged everyone to bank black during an interview with Hot 107.9.

Within five days of the interview, Atlanta-based Citizens Trust Bank opened at least 8,000 new account accounts. With a new account having a minimum requirement of $100 to open, that comes to at least $800,000 moved into a Black-owned banking establishment. Killer was publicly thanked by Citizens Bank CEO Cynthia N. Day via Twitter for his call to action. “Together, we can change the conversation,” she tweeted from the bank’s account @CTBank.

Continuing the domino effect to bank black, Houston rappers Willie D, Paul Wall and many others lined up to open new accounts at Houston’s Black-owned UNITY Bank. In efforts to help strengthen that black dollar, dollar bill y’all, below is a list of 32 black-owned institutions across the country.