Killer Mike is part of a new business group that will be launching a digital bank in January 2021 focusing on supporting Black and Latin consumers.
Michael “Killer Mike” Render partnered with Bounce TV founder Ryan Glover to create Greenwood, and the bank’s leadership group also includes former Atlanta Mayor Andrew J. Young. The project has been in the works since 2018, but it took on a new level of urgency this year when civil rights protests ignited after the brutal and senseless murder of George Floyd.
“Modern Banking for the Culture. A mobile banking experience made for Black and Latinx customers.” –Greenwood
Greenwood’s new platform launched this past Thursday, after the new venture raised more than $3 million in seed funding. The site has already been inundated with requests to create new accounts, and there’s already a waiting list.
“I will say we’re in the tens of thousands,” Glover said in an interview with CNN Business. “That number is increasing by the day.”
Killer Mike, Andrew J. Young, Ryan Glove (Photo: Black Business)
Greenwood is certainly not the first digital bank on the market, but what makes it unique is it’s specifically targeting Black and Latino communities, and “anyone else who wants to support Black and Latino-owned businesses.” Black and Latino-owned businesses have statistically had a harder time securing loans from the mainstream banking world, so there has been a vast need for an institution specializing in supporting those entrepreneurs.
“Black Americans are twice as likely to be denied mortgage loans by traditional banks, but minority depository institutions have a better track record of lending to non-White individuals.” – CNN
As Glover explained to CNN: “In order to build wealth, you need bank capital. We will identify qualified entrepreneurs, business owners and creatives to equip them with the capital needed to make their dreams a reality.”
The Greenwood bank is named after the former district of Tulsa, Oklahoma, an African-American business community that earned the nickname Black Wall Street before being destroyed by a mob of White Americans during what is known as the 1921 Tulsa race massacre. While being a huge stain on America’s history, the Greenwood massacre is often, shamefully omitted from American history classes.
CNN spoke to Killer Mike about the importance of Greenwood:
“Today, a dollar circulates for 20 days in the White community, but only six hours in the Black community.”
Before the massacre, Tulsa’s Greenwood district would circulate 36 times before leaving the community.
Killer Mike was recently featured on 60 Minutes, where he discussed Greenwood among other things. You can check out the clip below.
For more information, visit the official Greenwood website.
You can follow @BankGreenwood on Instagram.
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