The Ridge Historical Society is sponsoring an upcoming program at the Givins Castle that is sure to be excellent. On Sunday, April 7, at 2:00 p.m., presenter Don Hayner will discuss his book, "Binga, The Rise and Fall of Chicago’s First Black Banker," scheduled for release in November 2019.
Jesse Binga (1865 – 1950) was a prominent real estate businessman who founded the first privately owned African-American bank in Chicago in 1908 to serve black clients denied service at white-owned banks. Binga built a home in a white area and his house and offices were bombed numerous times. Animosity between whites and blacks led to a major Chicago race riot in 1919.
Binga's bank closed when the Great Depression hit. He refused to seize the property of the black churches and societies that could not meet their mortgage payments. He was accused and convicted of embezzlement and served time in prison. He received a full pardon in 1941. He died in poverty and is buried in Oak Woods Cemetery.
Author Don Hayner, a lifelong Chicagoan living in Beverly, retired as editor-in-chief of the Chicago Sun-Times newspaper in 2012. During his tenure, the paper won multiple national and local awards for investigative reporting and breaking news, including the Pulitzer Prize for local reporting in 2011. He has co-authored three books including "Streetwise Chicago, A History of Chicago Street Names."
“'Binga, The Rise and Fall of Chicago’s First Black Banker,' tells the story of the beginning of a sad saga that Chicagoans have lived through for more than a century. It's the story of racial change in the neighborhoods of a city, which is one of the most segregated in America, but at its core, it's a story of how Jesse Binga represented hope to a community shut out and isolated by racial animosity,” said Hayner in a description of this program.
The cost of the program is $10 per person and all proceeds will go to the Castle Restoration Fund. The Beverly Unitarian Church, owner of the Castle, has started an initiative to raise money for repairs to the Castle turrets. Donations to this fund will be used for preservation of the Castle, not for church operations. The BUC has already raised more than $400,000 in donations and pledges from its own members. A total of at least $800,000 is needed for the beginning work. RHS supports the preservation of this most iconic of all local landmarks.
As space is limited, reservations are suggested, and may be made by calling RHS at 773/881-1675 or emailing ridgehistory@hotmail.com. Tours of the Castle will be available following the program. Light refreshments will be served. The address of the Castle is 10244 S. Longwood Drive, Chicago.
Photo1: Jesse Binga, the first African-American banker in Chicago.
Photo 2: Don Hayner, presenter, author of upcoming book on Jesse Binga and retired editor-in-chief of the Chicago Sun-Times.