From the Transformative Justice Coalition and the Voting Rights Alliance
HAPPY BLACK HISTORY MONTH!
We hope you enjoy our #VRABlackHistory Series 2025
Please note, if you’d like to opt out from only the upcoming daily Black History Month Voting Rights Alliance #VRABlackHistory series, please email carnwine@tjcoalition.org. Unsubscribing at the bottom of this email unsubscribes you to all Transformers, not just from this special February Series.
Maggie Lena Walker (1864 – 1934)
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Authored by:Caitlyn Arnwine (formerly Caitlyn Cobb)This article was written in 2020. Sources are cited throughout the article with a complete reference list at the bottom of the page. For more about the #VRABlackHistory Series 2025, see underneath source list.
Today, February 18th, 2025, we honor Maggie Lena Walker. Maggie organized pre-registration meetings in in 1920 in Richmond, Virginia after the ratification of the 19th Amendment. Those meetings led to a huge voter registration drive for African American women and resulted in the highest rate of African American women registered to vote in Richmond that year. Not only did Maggie lead this voter registration movement, fighting against discrimination and racism in the voter registration process for Black women. In 1921, Maggie became the first and only African American woman to run on a gubernatorial ticket in Richmond. While Maggie is best remembered for founding the Saint Luke Penny Savings Bank in Richmond, Virginia, she also founded or was an active member of organizations which supported women’s suffrage.
