VS 9c:Maggie L. Walker

Harry F. ByrdArthur Ashe

L. Douglas WilderCreated by Mrs. Julia Davis

Maggie L. Walker

Maggie’s Childhood

• Maggie was an African American. She was born in Richmond in 1867, right after the Civil War.

Maggie’s Childhood

• Maggie’s mother was a freed slave who ran a laundry service for white people.

• Maggie spent a lot of time helping her mother by delivering laundry to rich white people.

Maggie’s Childhood

• Maggie noticed that most white people had better jobs and more money than black people. This made her upset, and she decided to do something about it.

The Order of St. Luke

• So Maggie joined the Order of St. Luke. This was a group that helped African Americans find better jobs and make more money. The group also helped old and sick African Americans.

Maggie’s Education

• Maggie decided to become a teacher so she could help African American kids have a better education.

• Maggie also went to school herself! She took accounting classes in the evenings.

Maggie’s Bank

• The Order of St. Luke decided to start a bank to help its members.

• They needed someone to be president of their bank.

• They needed a strong leader who knew things about accounting.

• Can you guess who they choose?

Maggie’s Bank• That’s right! Maggie L.

Walker stepped up to be president of the new bank.

• No woman had ever been president of a bank before. Some people didn’t think a woman could do it.

• But that didn’t stop Maggie!

Maggie’s Bank

• St. Luke’s Penny Savings Bank opened in 1903, with Maggie as its president.

• Maggie L. Walker became the first woman to be president of a bank.

• Of course, this also meant she was the first African American woman to be a bank president too.

Maggie’s Bank

• Maggie wanted to help teach African Americans how to save money.

• “Let us have a bank that will turn the nickels into dollars,” she always used to say.

Maggie’s Bank

• Maggie also thought it was important for kids to learn how to save money.

• She let kids start a savings account at her bank with only $1.00.

Maggie’s Bank

• Maggie stayed president of her bank for 26 years. • The bank is still around today, although it has been

renamed “The Consolidated Bank & Trust.” • The bank has been open for 103 years! That makes

it the oldest African-American bank in the U.S.• And of course, kids can still open a savings account

there with only $1.00.

Other Things Maggie Did:• Although Maggie is most famous for her

bank, here are some other things she accomplished:

–started the St. Luke Herald newspaper–started a store called the St. Luke Emporium–became rich and owned a big house in the middle of Richmond. It had 28 rooms and an elevator!

                                                        

Maggie L. Walker’s House

Here is Maggie’s House in downtown Richmond. You can visit it and take a tour of the house. The house still looks the way it did when Maggie died there in

1934.

Maggie L. Walker1867-1934

1. She was the first _____________________________ woman to become a __________ _____________ in the UnitedStates.Maggie wanted her bank to be a place where people could“turn nickels into dollars.” She even let kids open savingsaccounts.

2. She was also the first ______________ tobecome a __________ __________________.Her bank opened in Richmond in 1903. It is still around today! Kids can still open an account there with only $1!

VS 9c: Famous Virginians of the Twentieth Century

Harry F. Byrd

Harry’s Childhood

• Harry was a white man who was born in 1887.

• He grew up in the Shenandoah Valley.

• His family earned money growing and selling apples.

Harry’s Childhood

• Harry grew up during Jim Crow Laws. Segregation was everywhere!

• He did not go the same schools, restaurants, or businesses as African Americans.

• Everyone was used to segregation, and no one Harry knew thought anything was wrong with it.

Harry & the Newspaper

• Harry’s daddy owned a newspaper.

• When Harry was 15, he took over running the newspaper.

• Unfortunately, his dad had left the newspaper in big trouble.

Harry & the Newspaper

• The newspaper owed $2,500 to the company that gave it newsprint paper.

• The paper company said it wouldn’t give the newspaper any more paper until it paid the debt.

Harry & the Newspaper

• How could the newspaper be printed without any paper?

• It looked like the newspaper would be shut down.

• Fortunately, Harry was able to make a deal with the paper company.

Harry & the Newspaper

• It took a long time to pay off that debt.

• After that, Harry hated debts! He decided that no matter what, he didn’t want to borrow money again!

Harry as Governor

• Harry was elected governor of Virginia in 1925.

• Harry saw that Virginia’s government hadn’t been using its tax money very wisely.

• He also thought the government had more people working for it than it needed.

Harry as Governor

• So the first thing Harry did was modernize Virginia’s state government.

• He updated the way the government used tax money.

• He also changed some government jobs around to make things work better.

The “Pay As You Go” Plan

• Harry saw that Virginia needed more and better roads.

• But of course, he didn’t want the government to go into debt to pay for new roads.

The “Pay As You Go” Plan

• So Harry came up with the “Pay As You Go” Plan for road improvements.

• He passed a two cent tax on gas to pay for the new roads.

• This way, Virginia could have its new roads, but it wouldn’t go into debt!

The “Pay As You Go” Plan

• Harry built new roads to help farmers in rural areas get their crops to market.

• He built new highways to connect Virginia’s cities together.

• Altogether, Harry added over 2,000 miles of roads to Virginia through his “Pay As You Go Plan.”

Harry as Senator

• Harry served as a United States Senator from 1933-1965.

• He worked hard to keep the United States government out of debt too!

Brown vs. Board of Education

• In 1954, the Supreme Court decided the Brown vs. Board of Education case.

• It said that all public schools had to integrate.

Massive Resistance

• Harry knew that most white Virginians were against the integration of public schools.

• He decided to pass laws to keep Virginia’s schools segregated.

Massive Resistance

• Harry took away money from any schools that tried to integrate.

• This was called the Massive Resistance movement.

• Without money, these schools had to close.

Massive Resistance

• Many people were upset about the schools being closed.

• These people tried to stop Massive Resistance.

• Massive Resistance failed. Virginia’s public schools were integrated!

Harry F. Byrd, Sr.1887-1966

1. led the __________________________________ movement against the_________________ of public schools

2. was known for his “______ ____ __________” policy for ________ improvementsVirginia needed more and better roads. But Harry didnot want the state to go into debt to pay for them.

Harrypaid for the new roads by a two cent tax on gas.

3. ___________________ Virginia’s stategovernmentHarry changed the way Virginia’s government was set up. He made it do a better job for less money. The changes saved the state millions of dollars.

Arthur Ashe

Arthur’s Childhood

• Arthur Ashe, Jr. was born in Richmond in 1943.

• Everything in Richmond was segregated when Arthur was a kid.

• Arthur was a very skinny little kid. People said he was “skinny as straw.”

Arthur’s Childhood

• Arthur started playing tennis at a black playground when he was little.

• From the first time he picked up a racquet, people could tell he was going to be good at it!

Arthur the tennis champion

• In high school and college, Arthur won lots of tennis tournaments.

• At first he only played in segregated black tennis games.

• Then he started playing in white tennis championships too.

• Arthur won them all!

Arthur the tennis champion

• When Arthur was done with college, he started playing in bigger, more important tennis tournaments.

• Arthur was usually the only African American in each of these games.

• He kept winning! Soon he was a famous tennis star!

Arthur the tennis champion

• In 1968, Arthur won the U.S. Open.

• That made him the #1 tennis player in the world!

• He was the first and only African American man to do this.

Arthur the tennis champion

• In 1975, Arthur went on to win the men’s singles championship at Wimbledon.

• Wimbledon is like the Super Bowl of tennis.

• Arthur is the first and only African American man to do this!

Arthur the Author• Arthur wrote many books after he retired from

tennis.

• He wrote books telling people how to be better at tennis.

• He wrote four books about how African Americans were discriminated against in many sports, but still worked hard to win. These books were made into a movie that won the Emmy Awards.

• He also wrote an autobiography called Days of Grace.

Arthur the Spokesperson

• Arthur was also a spokesperson for social change.

• When he saw people being treated unfairly, he spoke out about it.

• Because he was famous, people listened to him.

Arthur the Spokesperson

• For example, the country of South Africa was famous for its big tennis tournament.

• It was also being very mean to the African people that lived there.

• Some people in the government were actually murdering Africans!

Arthur the Spokesperson

• As the #1 tennis player in the world, Arthur asked to play in South Africa’s tennis tournament.

• At first, they said no—just because he was black!

• So Arthur started telling Americans about how blacks in South Africa were being treated so cruelly. Americans listened.

Arthur the Spokesperson

• The U.S. government passed some laws to stop how South Africa was treating its people.

• Soon South Africa let Arthur play in their tennis tournament.

• They also started treated African people better.

The End of His Life

• Arthur had a heart attack in 1979.

• He had to have two heart surgeries.

• He also had to stop playing tennis.

• He became a spokesperson for the American Heart Association.

• He helped raise money to help people that had heart disease.

The End of His Life

• Unfortunately, in one of his heart surgeries, he was given blood that had the disease AIDS in it.

• Arthur became a spokesperson about AIDS too. He raised money to help find a cure for the disease.

• Arthur died of AIDS in 1993.

Remembering Arthur

• In 1996, the city of Richmond honored Arthur by putting a statue of him on Monument Avenue. It is next to statues of Robert E. Lee and “Stonewall” Jackson.

Remembering Arthur

• The largest tennis stadium in the world was named after Arthur Ashe. It is in New York.

• The stadium holds 23,000 people. The U.S. Open Grand Slam tennis championships are played here every year.

•As people come to the Arthur Ashe Stadium each year, they remember not only how good Arthur was at tennis, but also the things he did to help others.

Arthur Ashe, Jr.1943-1993

1. was the first ___________ _____________ winner of a major’s men _____________singles championship.Arthur won the Davis Cup, the United States Open, andWimbledon. (Wimbledon is the Super Bowl of tennis!)

2. was an ______________.He wrote several books about tennis & AfricanAmericans.

3. was an eloquent __________________ for______________ change.After he retired from tennis, Arthur went around the U.S. speaking to people about AIDS, the American Heart

Association, and helping poor children play tennis.

VS 9c continued: Famous Virginians

L. Douglas Wilder

His Childhood

• L. Douglas Wilder was born in Richmond in 1931. His grandparents had been slaves.

• He went to a segregated elementary school.

• Then he went to a segregated high school.

• Finally, he graduated from a segregated college.

Douglas in the Army

• After he finished college, Douglas joined the army.

• He fought in the Korean War.

• He was given the Bronze Star, a medal of honor for bravery.

Douglas as a Lawyer

• When Douglas got home from the war, he went back to college to study law.

• He soon became a successful lawyer. He helped put criminals in jail.

• But Douglas decided he wanted to do more than punish people that broke the law. He wanted to help make new laws!

Douglas as Senator

• So Douglas ran for State Senator in 1969.

• He won!• That made him the

first African American senator in Virginia since Reconstruction.

Douglas as Senator

• Douglas was a Senator for 15 years. He helped make many important laws.

• He made a law to punish people that use illegal drugs.

• He also made a law that says all kids have to go to school.

• Finally, he helped make Martin Luther King Day a state holiday.

Douglas as Lieutenant Governor• In 1984, Douglas

decided to run for Lieutenant Governor of Virginia.

• He won again!• That made him the

Virginia’s first African American Lt. Governor.

Douglas as Governor

• In 1989, Douglas decided to run for state governor.

• He won again! (But it was a very close race!)

• That made him the first African American to be elected a state governor in the United States.

Douglas as Governor

• Douglas was governor of Virginia from 1990-1994.

• He kept Virginia from going into debt.

• He refused to raise taxes.

• He also helped to stop crime.

L. Douglas Wilder as Mayor

• Douglas is still alive today.• Right now he is the mayor of

Richmond.• He has won lots of awards for being a

good leader.

L. Douglas Wilder1931-

1. is a former _________________ of Virginia He was governor of Virginia from 1990-1994.

2. was the first _________________ _________________ to be elected a state ________________ in the United States.He also was the first African American to

serve in the Virginia Senate since Reconstruction

3. is currently the _____________ of Richmond