Black Americans Who Broke Barriers on Wall Street — and Beyond

For Black History Month, we’d like to recognize African Americans who made significant contributions in finance, economics and business. These professionals helped move their industries forward, opening more opportunities for future generations.

Even so, significant structural barriers have prevented black Americans from fully participating in these fields. Challenges still remain as the number of black chief executive officers fell to a 17-year low in 2018, the percentage of black employees at some of the biggest U.S. banks has declined and some of these same banks have settled racial-discrimination class-action suits.