{"product_id":"binga-the-rise-and-fall-of-chicagos-first-black-banker-9780810140905","title":"Binga: The Rise and Fall of Chicago's First Black Banker","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eBinga\u003c\/i\u003e is the definitive full-length biography of Jesse Binga, the first black banker in Chicago. Born into a large family in Detroit, Binga arrived in Chicago in 1892 in his late twenties with virtually nothing. Through his wits and resourcefulness, he rose to wealth and influence as a real estate broker, and in 1908 he founded the Binga Bank, the first black-owned bank in the city. But his achievements were followed by an equally notable downfall. \u003ci\u003eBinga\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003e recounts this gripping story about race, history, politics, and finance. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e The Black Belt, where Binga's bank was located, was a segregated neighborhood on Chicago's South Side--a burgeoning city within a city--and its growth can be traced through the arc of Binga's career. He preached and embodied an American gospel of self-help and accrued wealth while expanding housing options and business opportunities for blacks. Devout Roman Catholics, he and his wife Eudora supported church activities and various cultural and artistic organizations; their annual Christmas party was the Black Belt's social event of the year. But Binga's success came at the price of a vicious backlash. After he moved his family into a white neighborhood in 1917, their house was bombed multiple times, his offices were attacked twice, and he became a lightning rod for the worst race riots in Chicago history, which took place in 1919. Binga persevered, but, starting with the stock market crash of October 1929, a string of reversals cost him his bank, his property, and his fortune. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e A quintessentially Chicago story, \u003ci\u003eBinga \u003c\/i\u003etells the history of racial change in one of the most segregated cities in America and how an extraordinary man stood as a symbol of hope in a community isolated by racial animosity.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Northwestern University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 11\/15\/2019\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780810140905\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 312\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.02lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.70d","brand":"Don Hayner","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":36644274831516,"sku":"9780810140905","price":21.21,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/products\/img_6a7b9fdb-4b0d-439e-90a9-63a731cc9ea7.jpg?v=1603858242","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/binga-the-rise-and-fall-of-chicagos-first-black-banker-9780810140905","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}