In February, the External LinkSmithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture highlighted A Great Moral and Social Force: A History of Black Banks, a Kansas City Fed book released this year.

The museum hosted a conversation with the author—the Bank’s executive writer, Tim Todd—in a virtual program titled “Historically Speaking: A Great Moral and Social Force.” The event, part of the museum’s Black History Month observances, was moderated by Michael Fletcher of ESPN’s “The Undefeated.”

The program explored the book’s content, which focuses on the stories of Black banks in five cities: Richmond, Virginia; Boley, Oklahoma; Chicago, Illinois; Memphis, Tennessee; and Detroit, Michigan. The book examines factors that contributed to the dismantling of Black banks and why that has played a role in hurdles that many Black people face today regarding financial security and amassing generational wealth. A video recording of the Smithsonian program is available at External Linkyoutu.be/4wvEc1ZJ-Ns.

Learn more about A Great Moral and Social Force: A History of Black Banks and order the free book.