In this video I unpack and tell the mostly untold story of The Freedman’s Bank, as created by President Abraham Lincoln immediately after the American Civil War, on March 3rd, 1865. Businessman and abolitionist Frederick Douglass went on to run the bank following Lincoln’s assassination the next month, April, 1865.
The Freedman’s Bank was ultimately placed right across from the White House and the U.S. Treasury Department, on Pennsylvania Avenue, which further accounts to and for its historical and strategic importance to both President Lincoln, and the nation. This building was until recently commonly referred to (for 100 years) as the U.S. Treasury Annex Building. Thanks to the encouragement of Operation HOPE, and the active support from Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, the Treasury Annex Building was ‘renamed’ on January 7th, 2016, as the Freedman’s Bank Building.
Here is the story and the history, that almost no one knows. This is our continuing Silver Rights Movement. Please pass it on.
Footnote: I tell the story of the Freedman’s Bank in my now bestselling book, “How The Poor Can Save Capitalism: Rebuilding the Path to the Middle Class,” and we continue the unfinished work and legacy of President Lincoln and Dr. King, with the launch and continued expansion of our HOPE Inside locations nationwide, snd soon internationally; which are raising credit scores and the viability of economic opportunity for all in our underserved communities. All of this work is based and rooted in the organization I founded almost 25 years ago, Operation HOPE.
