Granville, Onie B.
1916-1998 · Contribution: 1964
Founded the first Black-owned commercial bank west of Kansas City
Portraits are AI-generated interpretations, not photographs.
Impact on the world
Founded the Bank of Finance in Los Angeles in 1964, the first Black-owned commercial bank west of Kansas City, after witnessing firsthand the discriminatory lending practices Black families faced trying to buy homes in the city.
Life & background
Born on a farm in Navarro County, Texas, Granville earned his degree from Tillotson College before pursuing postgraduate studies in real estate, banking, and finance at the University of Southern California. As a Los Angeles real estate broker, he saw how routinely Black families were denied loans and housing despite a growing Black population of over 600,000 in the city, leading him to found the Bank of Finance in 1964, the first Black-owned commercial bank west of Kansas City, offering checking accounts, loans, and other services largely denied to Black residents by existing banks.
Sources
- Los Angeles Urban League (Remembering Onie B. Granville); BlackPast.org; Smithsonian NMAAHC
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