Banking While Black

Photo by Charlie Leight/ASU News

The project blends art and history to tell stories of the Black Wall Streets of Tulsa, Oklahoma, Durham, North Carolina and Richmond, Virginia, including stories of Black excellence that blossomed in those communities before they were destroyed. The interactive bank experience is enriched with trivia that explores the systemic racism and the economic and physical violence inflicted on Black Americans in the past and present.

The physical installation re-creates a walkable open-air bank space, complete with teller booths, deposit tables, marble slabs, brass fittings, chandeliers and carved doors from the artist’s personal collection of vintage bank components. Guests can interact with the bank by scanning deposit slips at virtual teller windows to learn stories and trivia.