Seaway Bank: A Legacy of Empowerment

Seaway Bank and Self-Help Federal Credit Union

This is the story of Seaway, a division of Self-Help Federal Credit Union. Seaway is a South Side Chicago financial institution that at its height rose to become America’s largest Black-owned bank. Beginning with its 1960s social justice and economic equality underpinnings, we trace Seaway Bank’s 52-year history through first-hand accounts, archival images, contemporary footage and narration. In doing so, we honor the achievements of an institution that invested in—and empowered—communities of Black people, making a lasting name for itself in the process.