Supporting black businesses today carries more than just economic meaning, it carries social and cultural importance as well. With the frameworks of linked fates and double duty dollars in an effort to “uplift the race”, supporting black businesses in the 7th Ward was just as important then. The Brown and Stevens banks came in and gave more than business loans; they gave hope and upliftment and a sense of community. People invested their money and confidence. Yet eventually this was exploited and misused for personal gain — setting up the same distrust created by the legacy that allowed for the “economic detour” situation in the first place. The massive withdrawals and eventual closing of the banks is part of the narrative of black agency that Hunter writes on. He wants to illuminate the ways in which black citizens actively shaped the destination of the 7th Ward as non-passive participants.

Yet after reading the chapter I couldn’t help but think about the importance of context. Slavery and the imperialistic stripping of raw materials from African countries were two examples that came to mind when I thought of the ways America has profited off black bodies. Even the modern prison industrial complex can be viewed as another development in this saga. Of course, we cannot forget about the fact that the Ferguson police department actually utilized its black majority as a financial resource through purposeful fines and arrests. So when Hunter discussed the Freedman’s Bank as “a black bank using the savings and income of black depositors to advance the economic fortunes of whites who had at their disposal mainstream banks that excluded blacks” it was not really a shock  (Hunter 29). Hunter speaks on black agency and how their actions led to a crashing economy in the 7th Ward. But I think it’s equally important to really remember the context that might have shaped the actions taken. No one exists in a vacuum, and there was only a 51 year gap between the Freedmen’s Bank’s disastrous closings and the closing of the 7th Ward’s black banks. There were plenty of people who would’ve remembered the pain of losing it all. There were plenty of people who would’ve remembered being brought up by parents and grandparents only a few years removed from being economic property themselves. I’m interested in exploring these connections in class on Tuesday, I think there’s a lot Hunter decides to leave out to make his argument.