Restored to the way it looked in the 1930s, where mrs. Walker lived here almost 30 years. We will see are a reflection of Maggie Walker and to journey through her life being one of the bestknown Women Leaders of the Fraternal Organization and one of the first woman to open a bank, and the first africanamerican woman to be a Bank President during the height of jim crow segregation. We are in the home of maggie l. Walker, which has been restored by the National Park service to the way it appeared during the last seven years of maggie l. To 1934. Life from 1928 however, mrs. Walker lived in this home beginning in 1905 iner purchasing the house 1904. She took time to have the house ofovated to take advantage the most modern conveniences. She would do these changes throughout her time. The house had become a way to show what could be done with determination, perseverance, education. That if you worked hard, you could achieve the same kind of things that Maggie Walker did. So when we come into the house, come into the front foyer and into the parlor, the front room here. When you look around, you see a grand piano, fine chairs and the home,ughout furnishings you may not have expected that in mrs. Walkers day to belong to an africanamerican woman. What she would do is show what could be done if you applied your self. She was not born wealthy at all. Her mother was a laundress who was raising maggie and her younger brother johnny on her nie on her own after her stepfather was killed. After that, Maggie Walker had to work alongside her mother to make ands meet. Her mother made a point, though, to make sure her daughter got a great education through the normal school. She graduated and then became a teacher. But her career is cut short because of the laws of virginia, that said a woman had to be single in order to be a teacher. When she married her husband, armstead walker, she had to leave the teaching profession. And all of that training that she got, she redirected all of her energy, all of the knowledge she had gotten, and her knowledge of working with Young Children, her love of working with Young Children to direct that towards her organization, the fraternal order, the independent order of st. Luke. It is from that that she begins become wellknown as a figure, a leader in richmond and across the nation. Through the order of st. Luke, when Maggie Walker takes the that as the right worthy grand secretary of the independent order of st. Luke, she began to try to mold the organization so that it is one that benefits women. Black women. Sheuse as a black woman, knew exactly what it was like to people who are prejudiced against you because you were a woman and people prejudiced against you and tying you down because you were black. And that became her lifes work. To work for the betterment and opportunities for black women. Using the tools available to her, economic tools. Bank,ack, create a black create opportunities for working in a place where White Society would not have allowed you to work, and pull people together in unity. We are very fortunate that we have items here that the long that belonged to Maggie Walker and her family. About 90 of what you see is original to the family when you walk through this home, from the grand piano her grandchildren would play for special guests and visitors to the vases and statues. Another part of mrs. Walkers story is about the obstacles and hardship she faced throughout her life. Mrs. Walker had many personal tragedies throughout. Is i would like to focus on in the story of this rolling chair. We reproduced this chair based off of the portrait you see on the wall just above and behind it, where you see mrs. Walker sitting, working hard. You could hardly tell that in that photograph, she is paralyzed from the waist down. Mrs. Walker suffered from consequences of diabetes. In 1928, she completely lost the use of her legs. But that did not stop Maggie Walker from continuing to work as hard as she ever did. She would, as you see in that speeches,writing her keeping a smile on her face, inspiring others to do and work as hard as they ever had. When you see the chair, you see how she had it adapted with the foot rest on the bottom and wheels and also handholds. Lets go into the next room across the way. Maggie walker was one who inspired others, but there are times you need inspiration yourself. What we are coming to now is her library. When she bought the home, she bought it from a physician who added this section to the house and used it as his office, his examining office. Maggie walker over the years converted it into a library, a place of study and reflection, a place of inspiration. When you are looking in this room, it is very narrow. However, it tells a big story. Booksl hundred volumes of original to Maggie Walker. And another smaller bookcase over here. It shows how much she enjoyed reading and new that what you could learn, just by reading and having books all around you. If you look up a little further, there are diplomas on the wall. The one with the blueribbon is mrs. Walkers diploma before she got married. So it is maggie mitchell, graduating from the richmond public schools. The richmond colored normal schools. Beside it is her son russell and her other son melvin. Graduate from school, and melvin eventually graduates from melvin university. University. Thing that strikes people when they walk into this room are the hundreds, it seems, of photographs. These photographs show people mrs. Walker worked with or who were part of the independent order of st. Luke. I would like to look at this photograph, this poster here. 101 prominent colored people. Blackws, in 1905, 101 leaders. Mrs. Walker is part of that group. Here she is, right beside the critique washington beside booker t. Washington. One of only ten women on this poster. The poster was put out in 1905, the very year she moved into this home. It shows you that she was already being recognized for the work she was doing in the community, particularly because she started the st. Luke penny 1903, thusk in becoming the first africanamerican woman president of a chartered bank. That was not the only thing she did through the order of st. Luke. Reading, going forth to become the editor of the newspaper, the st. Luke h erald, which became the oregon for people in the organization to communicate with each other. So i like to think of her sitting at this desk we have photographs of her sitting at and most writing veryy reflecting in this room. Mrs. Walker would have folks gather, and they would come to visit her. The place they could gather was right in the dining room. We are very fortunate that the house comes through the National Park service there mrs. Walkers family. Her daughter made a point of preserving the home and keeping things in place, because she knew this would be a museum, should be a museum to honor her mother in law. She then transfers the home to the National Park service. In 1978. Then it becomes a National Park, and we restored it, opening the house to the public in 1985. As we are working on restoring the home, we were able to speak with mrs. Walkers grandchildren and get inside stories of how each of these rooms were used. What they remembered about being here in this home with their grandmother. The dining area. You can see how formally it is laid out. The grandchildren recall that they would come here for special andsions or holiday meals how they could gather right in here. Because of the home was not only a showplace, it was a family home. Lets go upstairs to mrs. Walkers room. Around, we see mrs. Walkers suite of rooms. On this side. Renovations major done in 1922, she also converted this area into a sitting room for herself. And the view of the bathroom there. When she was paralyzed and in a wheelchair, she had to figure out a way to avoid all of those stairs. So she would come in from the back of the house, and there is an elevator she had installed that would ring her upstairs bring her upstairs, and she would come through the bathroom area into the sitting area here into her own room. This room really reflects mrs. Walker and all of her causes and interests. And her passions. When you look around the room, you see on the walls, again, photographs. They are photographs of people very close to her. Her four grandchildren. And photographs of her son, russell. Of her mother on the mantelpiece. Of my favorite images of offices ater in her the order of st. Luke. As you look around the walls, there is Something Else reflective of mrs. Walker. Her deep faith was away she could keep going when times were rough and obstacles were coming from all sides. An areaker also had where she could go out and still porch enclosed where she could go out and still be involved in the community of jackson ward. When she was the grand matron of the juvenile department, a department she founded with the order of saint luke in 1890 five, before she even stepped up as leader of the entire organization, she started the ofanizations division youth, the juvenile division. When she was more confined to home and could not get out to see the juveniles parade, they rerouted the parade to come under her window, so she could still be a part. Maggie walker died here in her 19 34,is summer 15th, surrounded by her family. She had fallen into a diabetic,. Diabetic coma. Her community pours out to mourn Maggie Walker. The streets in front of her house are packed with people as they were coming out to go to ,he funeral for Maggie Walker because of the impact she had on their lives. The symbol of determination and perseverance that she showed was an example, not only here in richmond, not only in virginia, but throughout the united states. After her death, Maggie Walkers organization did as she asked them to do. One of her last words was to say have hope, have faith, have courage, and carry on. That is what they did do. Her newspaper caps going on. The independent order of st. Luke cap going on unto the late until kept going on the late 1980s. But the bank she started in 19 oh three, the st. Luke penny savings bank, the banks she guided to merge with two other black banks through the Great Depression continued on for another 100 years as an independent black owned bank. When visitors leave this place, i hope the main thing they leave with is a feeling of inspiration. That is what i walk away with. If Maggie Walker and her community, people in this jackson ward community, is they can survive some of the things that were thrown at them in with fewer opportunities then i enjoy today, i can do it, too. [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2017] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org] the National Law Enforcement museum is currently under construction and set to open in 2018 in washington, d. C