RICHMOND, Va. — The River City is celebrating the 158th birthday of one its most iconic figures and most beloved trailblazers — Maggie L. Walker.
It will also be a 5th anniversary celebration of the Maggie L. Walker statue.
Ajena Rogers is no stranger to the story of Maggie L. Walker. Rogers’s knowledge is extensive as a Park Ranger at Walker’s National Historical site.
“Maggie Walker was the first woman to start a bank, she ran a newspaper and a department store and she was a mother, and an advocate for social justice," said Rogers. "She saw what needed to be done for the community and led the way to bring them to that."
Walker's official birthday is July 15. The birthday weekend includes a clean-up of Maggie Walker Plaza and Jackson Ward on Saturday.
Melvin Jones, president and founder of the Maggie Walker statue, will start the clean-up at the statue around 9 a.m.
Jones's connection to Walker started long before the statue came. "My great-grandmother was friends of Miss Walker and also this spot right here, Miss Beth, which was Mrs. Maggie Walker's granddaughter, she was the one that said Mr. Jones, this will be the perfect spot for Maggie Walker."
You can volunteer for the Jackson Ward clean-up register at HandsOn Greater Richmond. Volunteers will meet in the courtyard at the National Historic Maggie L. Walker site at 600 North 2nd Street.
For more information about the event, call the visitor center at (804) 226-5041, visit www.nps.gov/mawa or on Facebook.
