The Rise and Fall of the Freedman’s Bank

Here and there over the last few years, I’ve come across references to the Freedman’s Savings Bank, an institution formed after the Civil War—which then collapsed nine years later. When I saw that Professor Justene Hill Edwards had written Savings and Trust: The Rise and Betrayal of the Freedman's Bank, I jumped at the opportunity to bring her on Skipped History.

Professor Hill Edwards (University of Virginia) and I discussed the good intentions that led to the bank’s founding, and how those good intentions were soon corrupted by, in my estimation, the equivalent of 1870s tech bros. We also explored the continued ramifications of the bank’s demise and how, if you want to get to the heart of “the fraught relationship between African Americans and the financial services industry today,” you have to discuss the Freedman’s Bank.