Black Figures in Finance

Frederick Douglass

In early 1874, Frederick Douglass was brought on as the President of the Freedman’s Bank, the first National African American bank. Douglass saw the importance of the bank’s economic power, and even invested thousands of his own dollars into the bank. Unfortunately, due to mismanagement by the bank’s white board of directors, it was forced to cease operation in late June of 1874.

Jesse Binga

Jesse Binga, one of ten children from a Detroit family, moved to Chicago in 1892 when he was in his late twenties. He went on to found the first privately owned Black bank in 1920s Chicago. Though his beliefs made him a target of white hatred and multiple bombings, Binga and his businesses survived. Unfortunately, Binga’s bank became the first Chicago bank to close in 1930 due to the Great Depression.

Norman McGhee

Norman McGhee founded the first Black securities firm, McGhee and Company, to obtain a National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) license. His firm was founded in Cleveland, OH in 1952, and specialized in the sale of shares of leading mutual investment funds.

Lilla St. John

Lilla St. John, a certified investment counselor with Oppenheimer and Company on Wall Street, was the first Black woman to pass the New York Stock Exchange exam for financial advisors. When she passed the exam, she was 25 years old with two children, and had only crammed for two months.

June Middleton

June Middleton became the first Black woman stock broker working for the New York Stock Exchange firm Merrill Lynch the early 1960s. She is a graduate of Columbia University, majoring in economics and managerial accounting, and Touro Law School where she received her Juris Doctor degree. She started her career advising small businesses on all aspects of their operations, helping to create business plans, and budgets.

Harvey Thomas, Forrest Tomlinson, and George W. King

In January of 1965, Thomas, Tomlinson, and King were the first Black men stockbrokers hired by a major, mainstream brokerage firm, Merrill Lynch. These three men were the only people of color out of 2,550 total account executives at that time.

Travers Bell and Willie Daniels

In 1971, Bell and Daniels founded the first Black firm, Daniels & Bell Inc. in the New York Stock Exchange. The firm started with only $175,000 in capital, and by the time of Bell’s untimely passing in 1988, had grown to have a net worth of $15 million. Daniels had left the company early on to go into the restaurant business.

Gail Pankey-Albert

In 1981, Gail Pankey-Albert became the first Black woman working on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Despite her family’s inability to send her to college, she still found herself a position at the NYSE. By June of 1971, she was working as a carrier on the floor, and was soon promoted to squad messenger. She held many positions with the NYSE, and by 1981, she became the first minority and Black woman seat holder representing York Securities. Pankey-Albert went on to hold a position as vice president and director of floor operations for Fahnestock and Co. Inc, and eventually launched her own institutional trading firm.

Franklin Raines

In the mid-80s, Franklin Raines became the first Black man to be made partner at a major investment bank, Lazard Freres and Co. In 1991, he became Fannie Mae’s Vice Chairman, which he left in 1996 when he joined the Clinton Administration as the Director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget. He served until 1999. Following this position, he returned to Fannie Mae as CEO.

Garland E. Wood

Garland E. Wood was the first Black partner at Goldman Sachs where he distinguished himself as a municipal bond innovator in the mid 80s. In 1992, Black Enterprise Magazine featured him as one of the top 25 black professionals on Wall Street. He retired from the firm in 1994, but continued to serve as an adviser to the firm for many years after.