Savings and Trust

This is an illuminating dive into the history and ultimate collapse of the Freedman's Bank, from its idealistic but ill defined initial conception to its rise as a financial powerhouse to its failure due to corruption. While this story is often treated as a footnote, the bank’s formation during Reconstruction and the subsequent siphoning off of previously saved Black earnings to largely white loan recipients who defaulted, with complicity from the government, demands attention, as does its role in strengthening the racial wealth gap and alternating Black people from financial institutions. Highly recommend