Rapper Killer Mike has teamed up with Bounce TV founder Ryan Glover to launch an online banking service called Greenwood. The platform was unveiled Thursday, and is tailored to the Black and Latinx communities.
The name of the service comes from the Greenwood neighborhood in Tulsa, Oklahoma, which was known as the “Black Wall Street” in the early 1900s. However, the area was burned down by a white mob in 1921, in what became known as the Black Wall Street Massacre.
“Today, a dollar circulates for 20 days in the white community but only six hours in the Black community,” Killer Mike said in a press release announcing the bank. “Moreover, a Black person is twice as likely as a white person to be denied a mortgage. This lack of fairness in the financial system is why we created Greenwood.”
Killer Mike, whose real name is Michael Render, said he is using the service as a way to assist organizations that work toward creating change for people of color.
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Since the launch of the Greenwood site on Thursday, Oct. 8, co-founder Glover told CNN Business there is a waiting list for people hoping to open an account.
“I will say we’re in the tens of thousands,” Glover said. “That number is increasing by the day.”
Greenwood will offer savings and checking accounts to customers who sign up before the end of the year. Plus, they have pledged to donate five free meals to a family in need for every new customer who signs up.
For every swipe of a Greenwood debit card, a donation will be made to the United Negro College Fund, Goodr (a food waste management app to connect businesses with local charities) and the NAACP. A $10,000 monthly grant will also be disbursed to different Black and Latinx small business owners.
Killer Mike will be honored at this year’s Billboard Music Awards with the Change Maker Award. Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms will present the award at the historic African American Panoramic Experience Museum in Atlanta.
The awards show will air live on NBC from the Dolby Theatre at 8 p.m. EDT. on Wednesday, Oct. 14.
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