In Conjunction With Juneteenth, Two Chicagoans Urge Consumers To Open Accounts At Black-Owned Banks

CHICAGO (CBS) -- As part of Juneteenth, there is a push to support Black-owned businesses around the country, including banks.

There is one Black-owned bank in Chicago, and as CBS 2's Marissa Parra reported Thursday, two Chicagoans are behind an effort to get people to open accounts there.

"When I'm looking at the bank, I'm like, 'Hey, this may be a great place to kick off this new initiative,'" said Ronald Smith.

The initiative Smith is using with his co-sponsor is #WeBankBlack, and the goal is to drive business to the GN Bank, 4619 S. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, starting on Juneteenth.

"It's a day of liberation," Smith said. "What's a more liberating thing can we do than put money into Black banks?"

The Bronzeville bank known today as GN was founded in 1934, when, as their website describes, "It was all but impossible for people of color to obtain mortgage loans."

Deborah Farmer said decades ago, there were at least eight local Black-owned banks in Chicago. Now, GN Bank is the last one standing.

"As I look here in 2020, we're still dealing with those same issues - lack of funding, lack of confidence in Black-owned businesses, let alone Black-owned banks," Farmer said.

For Farmer, it's personal. Her mother worked at banks around the city and taught her one lesson – the power of knowing where you're spending your money and whom you're supporting.

"It's not saying for us to take all our money out of Chase, Citibank, Wells Fargo and the like, but we can also put our money in our own banks that are geared toward us," Smith said.

That applies in particular on Juneteenth, a day also known as Liberation Day.

On June 19, 1865, official word finally got to the enslaved people of Texas that they were free – two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed.

"We want to make sure that on Juneteenth, you're not just going out and protesting," Farmer said. "We're not minimizing that, but the power of the dollar - that is so important."

And while the effort starts on Friday, Smith and Farmer want to keep the momentum going beyond that.

"Just the beginning of a long journey," Smith said. "I'm thinking 100, 200 years down the line."

"We want to make this move beyond tomorrow," Farmer said. "That's why it's a movement, not just a moment."

Smith and Farmer have some specific goals for their promotion. They ask that parents and guardians open custodial accounts for their children and customers open emergency savings accounts at Black-owned banks, and that Black businesses, leaders, and politicians also bank Black.

If you'd like to join, they'll be at GN Bank on Friday from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. to help in the process. Smith and Farmer also provided a list of Black-owned American banks.