Residents of the District of Columbia Jail celebrated their completion of a seven-week financial literacy course taught by Industrial Bank, one of the largest Black-owned banks in the country, at the Central Detention Facility on Wednesday, June 12.
The celebration featured speeches from the Industrial Bank team, a ceremony bestowing a certificate of completion to each participant, and even a special meal, which included cabbage, rice, pasta and chicken.
“It’s been a couple years since I’ve had chicken! It’s about to go down,” program participant Chad Hawthorne proclaimed when thinking of his time behind bars.
The special meal was a small gift from the Industrial Bank leadership team for completing a course that Industrial Bank leaders contend offers many benefits and rewards in the long run — related to both financial literacy and individual growth.
“With education comes a sense of self-worth, the more they learn, the better they’ll feel about themselves,” B. Doyle Mitchell Jr., president and CEO of Industrial Bank, told The Informer.
Mitchell began the ceremony by offering encouraging words to the graduates.
“You all are important and you matter,” he said, before emphasizing to the incarcerated District residents that he’ll see them “outside.”
The goal of Industrial Bank’s program is to arm participants with tools to thrive financially outside of the confines of the D.C. Jail.
“[Financial literacy] is important so they can make better and more informed decisions, not only for them but their families too,” said Melanee Woodard, Industrial Bank’s vice president and marketing manager.
Program participants, who were required to have no disciplinary infractions for at least the 60 days preceding, learned about financial literacy through topics like credit, mortgages, stocks, bonds, and real estate. The course complements offerings at the Resources to Empower and Develop You (READY) Center, a hub for formerly incarcerated D.C. residents.
Mitchell particularly highlighted the importance of such a program in helping participants of color and their families.
“[Black communities] have [less] access to resources and our families don’t talk about [finances] as much,” the Industrial Bank CEO said.
From taking the seven-week class, Antonio Hawley learned the benefits of putting one’s money in the bank, as opposed to under the mattress and other creative hiding places.
“It taught me how to manage money,” said Hawley. “Usually people from my area, we’ll put our money in a shoebox or a safe instead of a bank where it can gain interest.”
Johnny Wilkins shared some of the valuable lessons he learned, while simultaneously celebrating the completion of the course by playing a game of chess.
“Credit is super important, it just takes consistency and it can make your future much easier,” Wilkins told The Informer.
This article is very timely critically important for our community. I am attempting to get the Divine 9 to come to the table with Mr. Mitchell,
to stop talking black and start doing black, supporting our own. Industrial is an interstate bank capable of providing the services of any other interstate bank. Omega Phi Psi Fraternity