Savings and Trust

The Rise and Betrayal of the Freedman's Bank

By: Justene Hill Edwards

Narrated by: Diana Blue

In the years immediately after the Civil War, tens of thousands of former slaves deposited millions of dollars into the Freedman's Bank. African Americans envisioned this new bank as a launching pad for economic growth and self-determination. But only nine years after it opened, their trust was betrayed and the Freedman's Bank collapsed.

Fully informed by new archival findings, historian Justene Hill Edwards unearths a major turning point in American history in this comprehensive account of the Freedman's Bank and its depositors. She illuminates the hope with which the bank was first envisioned and demonstrates the significant setback that the sabotage of the bank caused in the fight for economic autonomy. Hill Edwards argues for a new interpretation of its tragic failure: the bank's white financiers drove the bank into the ground, not Fredrick Douglass, its final president, or its Black depositors and cashiers. A compelling story filled with both well-known figures like Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, Jay and Henry Cooke, and General O. O. Howard, and less well-known figures like Dr. Charles B. Purvis, John Mercer Langston, Congressman Robert Smalls, and Ellen Baptiste Lubin. Savings and Trust is a must-listen for those seeking to understand the roots of racial economic inequality in America.

©2024 Justene Hill Edwards (P)2024 Ascent Audio

No final accounting

Good book exposing not unexpected financial shenanigans.I would have liked a final accounting of how many people lost how much money and where it all went.

Very Boring

The text is terribly repetitive. The author seemed like they must emphasize the least important details. The narrator however had a pleasant voice, so there's that. Pity she had to stick to the text.

Important story, terrible narration

Important story. The robotic narration that sounded like Siri made it difficult to tell whether the story was poorly written or just poorly read. The narrator mispronounced words and read sentences as if coming across the words for the first time. It was tough to tell if this was read by a human or an AI bot.

Enlightening and Engaging

The content and pace of the book were perfect to absorb and process. I’ve recommended the book on my social media platform—it’s just that profound

Interesting history

Reading style was choppy and distracted from the material. Pronunciation of malfeasance drove me to distraction.