Rise in African American consumers opening and making deposits in African American-owned banks

African American protest takes an economic turn as thousands move their money to African American-owned banks.

In reaction to the wave of killings of unarmed black men by police in addition to economic empowerment, thousands of African Americans across the United States are moving their money to African American-owned banks.

A grassroots initiative led by rapper Killer Mike has spurred African American consumers to opening checking and savings accounts in African American-owned banks. The initiative is quickly gaining momentum – since Friday July 8, more than 8,000 new deposit accounts were opened in the Atlanta-based Citizen’s Trust bank alone.

The move towards African American-owned banking represents not only an economic protest movement, but also an intentional shift back toward building a community from the local level.

“I think it’s a very positive effort to get the community to step up and say look, nobody is going to support us if we don’t support ourselves,” Michael Grant, president of the minority trade organization National Bankers Association, told the Atlanta Black Star. “Let’s start giving support to our own institutions, let’s support our historically black colleges, let’s support our businesses, let’s support our banks.”

Read more: Christian Science Monitor