Register Now: UVA Professor to Discuss the Rise and Betrayal of the Freedman’s Bank

ALEXANDRIA, VA — A powerful and often overlooked chapter of American history — one with direct ties to Alexandria — will be explored on Sunday, February 1, 2026, when Justene Hill Edwards, a professor of history at the University of Virginia, comes to Alexandria to discuss her acclaimed book, Savings and Trust: The Rise and Betrayal of the Freedman’s Bank.

The program, hosted by Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, will take place from 3 to 4 p.m., followed by a reception and book signing from 4 to 5 p.m. The event will be held in person and online, offering multiple ways for the community to participate.

Established after the Civil War, the Freedman’s Bank was created to help formerly enslaved people safeguard their earnings and begin building economic security in a newly emancipated America. Tens of thousands of African Americans entrusted the bank with their life savings — money earned through years of labor, military service, and sacrifice.

But the promise of the bank was ultimately betrayed. Mismanagement and corruption by White leaders led to the bank’s collapse, wiping out $3.2 million in deposits — the equivalent of approximately $89 million today — and devastating families who had placed their trust in the institution.

Dr. Hill Edwards’ talk traces the rise and fall of the Freedman’s Bank and examines how its failure reverberates today, contributing to persistent racial and economic inequality and the ongoing wealth gap in the United States.

For Alexandrians, the story is especially personal. The Freedman’s Bank operated a branch in Alexandria, placing the city squarely within this national narrative of hope, trust, and loss—a local connection often absent from traditional history lessons.

Hill Edwards is a leading scholar of African American history whose work centers the economic lives of enslaved and formerly enslaved people and the relationship between economic opportunity and political freedom. In addition to Savings and Trust, she is the author of Unfree Markets: The Slaves’ Economy and the Rise of Capitalism in South Carolina. Her scholarship has earned numerous honors, including the prestigious Andrew Carnegie Fellowship, and she serves on multiple editorial boards and nonprofit boards focused on history and education.

Organizers say the program is intended not only to illuminate the past but also to foster thoughtful conversation about how historical injustices continue to shape modern economic realities.

Event details:
Sunday, February 1, 2026
3–4 p.m. program | 4–5 p.m. reception & book signing
Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, 100 W. Luray Ave., Alexandria
In person & online, please register here: www.gslutheran.net/anti-racism