\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tby Ashlei Stevens <\/p>\n
June 26, 2026<\/p>\n
Bank King Card by Redemption Bank is an ode to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.<\/p>\n
Tishaura O. Jones knows what it\u2019s like to be the sole breadwinner of her family, and the importance of having financial help along the way.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you solve the problems of Black single mothers, you solve everybody\u2019s problems because there aren\u2019t too many problems that Black single mothers experience that everybody doesn\u2019t experience,\u201d said Jones, the former mayor of St. Louis and single mom of a teenage son. \u201cWe all want the same things. We all want our children to be healthy, to be educated. We want to live in safe neighborhoods. We want to be able to provide whatever our children need.\u201d<\/p>\n
And now, other moms like Jones will have \u201ca moment to dream and a moment to breathe,\u201d thanks to a new effort by one of the nation\u2019s few Black-owned banks.\u00a0On Juneteenth, Redemption Bank <\/a>launched Bank King Card, a first-of-its-kind banking platform designed to advance economic opportunity and support families in moving from poverty to possibility. When consumers open a debit card at Redemption Bank, a portion of the profits will fund the newly established Redemption Foundation, which helps women and children with basic income needs.<\/p>\n \u201cBank King Card represents a new regenerative banking model that starts with investing in mothers who are a few hopeful dollars away from breaking out of poverty and opening up America\u2019s vaults of opportunity that have been closed to too many for too long,\u201d said Ashley Bell<\/a>, chairman and CEO of Redemption Holding Company. Redemption Bank is one of the nation\u2019s newest Black-owned banks and the first Black-owned bank headquartered outside a historically underserved community.<\/p>\n Bank King Card includes both debit and credit card options and can be used anywhere Mastercard is accepted. The debit card is currently available, and the credit card will soon follow, according to Redemption Bank, adding that the credit card offers a more affordable alternative to many traditional cards.<\/p>\n Customers pay nothing extra, nor are they asked to donate more or spend more. They are simply asked to make a different and intentional choice about where they bank. Anyone in any state can bank with Redemption, bank officials said.<\/p>\n One of Redemption Foundation\u2019s inaugural partners will be the Georgia Resilience and Opportunity (GRO) Fund and its guaranteed income program, In Her Hands<\/a>. It serves women in urban, suburban, and rural communities across Georgia, providing unrestricted, direct cash support to participants. Funds can be used for a variety of purposes, including childcare, transportation, housing, education, healthcare, and other priorities that help create long-term stability and mobility.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat we found is that, generally, people are making the right financial choices. Simply, the expenses don\u2019t add up to what\u2019s incoming,\u201d said Hope Wollensack, founding executive director of the GRO Fund. \u201cSo that additional buffer gives some really critical breathing room.\u201d\u2019<\/p>\n Wollensack noted that having a financial buffer allows women to handle health and wellness expenses, which supports their overall mental health.<\/p>\n \u201cThis program helps people plan for the future,\u201d she said, noting that In Her Hands provides guaranteed income to women for two to three years. \u201cAnd so, they\u2019ve got a little bit of spaciousness to start thinking about\u2013within the program\u2013what they want to do next; whether there\u2019s a career move that makes sense for them, whether there\u2019s some post-secondary education or certification that makes sense for them, or whether it\u2019s starting a small business.\u201d<\/p>\n Bank King Card\u2019s name is intentionally inclusive of the work and legacy of the late Civil Rights icon Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.<\/p>\n His daughter, Dr. Bernice A. King, serves as senior vice president of Redemption Bank, noting that the initiative reflects the bank\u2019s commitment to addressing poverty and expanding economic opportunity.<\/p>\n \u201cEconomic opportunity must be practical, accessible, and rooted in the needs of families,\u201d King stated. \u201cBank King Card is an innovative way to support that work. It creates a practical opportunity for people to align their financial choices with their values while supporting mothers, children, and families working toward long-term stability.\u201d<\/p>\n The GRO Fund is a new organization, begun roughly five years ago, said Wollensack, and it was \u201cstarted out of listening to the voices of residents in Atlanta,\u201d particularly in the old Fourth Ward community<\/a> where, she said, \u201cdeep inequality exists.\u201d It is also where Dr. King was born and where he and his wife, Coretta Scott King, are buried. The guaranteed-income, no-strings-attached program has served about 1,000 women and their children in Georgia, said Wollensack, and the program name is an ode to Dr. King.<\/p>\n \u201cHe wrote in his final book that the \u2018dignity of the individual will flourish when matters concerning his life are in his hands, when he knows his income is certain and stable.\u2019 And part of his enduring legacy is that idea of a basic income or a guaranteed income,\u201d Wollensack said. \u201cAnd so, we\u2019ve been able to bring that to life through the In Her Hands program. And similar to Mayor Jones, we have seen really incredible impacts from a program like this.\u201d<\/p>\n Jones is the treasurer of the Redemption Bank board and holding company. This new initiative by Redemption is similar to a model she has seen in action via other guaranteed basic income programs, including one she started in St. Louis, Missouri<\/a>, guaranteeing $500 a month for 18 months to nearly 550 single mothers.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd so, this ties in directly with Dr. King\u2019s dream of silver rights,\u201d Jones told BLACK ENTERPRISE<\/strong>, \u201cattacking silver rights to making sure that our families can economically thrive.\u201d<\/p>\n RELATED CONTENT<\/strong>: OneUnited Bank Launches \u2018Who\u2019s Your Ma Honey?\u2019 Podcast To Help Listeners Turn Shame Into Strength<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Ashlei Stevens June 26, 2026 Bank King Card by Redemption Bank is an ode to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Tishaura O. Jones knows what it\u2019s like to be the sole breadwinner of her family, and the importance of having financial help along the way. \u201cWhen you solve the problems of Black single mothers, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":30677,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/blackenterprise-prod.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2023\/10\/GettyImages-1385215992.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10666],"tags":[20957,1191,20962,171,20960,7589,20959,20954,1878,3044,20958,9975,20955,9137,2931,20961,594,20956],"class_list":["post-30676","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-reparations","tag-ashley-bell","tag-bank","tag-bernice-king","tag-card","tag-debit-card","tag-economic","tag-friday-newsletter-4-archives","tag-hope-wollensack","tag-king","tag-launches","tag-martin-luther-king-jr","tag-mothers","tag-newsletter-4","tag-opportunity","tag-redemption","tag-redemption-bank","tag-single","tag-tishaura-jones"],"rttpg_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/blackenterprise-prod.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2023\/10\/GettyImages-1385215992.jpg",0,0,false],"landscape":["https:\/\/blackenterprise-prod.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2023\/10\/GettyImages-1385215992.jpg",0,0,false],"portraits":["https:\/\/blackenterprise-prod.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2023\/10\/GettyImages-1385215992.jpg",0,0,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/blackenterprise-prod.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2023\/10\/GettyImages-1385215992.jpg",150,150,false],"medium":["https:\/\/blackenterprise-prod.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2023\/10\/GettyImages-1385215992.jpg",300,300,false],"large":["https:\/\/blackenterprise-prod.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2023\/10\/GettyImages-1385215992.jpg",1024,1024,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/blackenterprise-prod.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2023\/10\/GettyImages-1385215992.jpg",1536,1536,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/blackenterprise-prod.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2023\/10\/GettyImages-1385215992.jpg",2048,2048,false],"post-thumbnail":["https:\/\/blackenterprise-prod.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2023\/10\/GettyImages-1385215992.jpg",370,265,false],"kava-thumb-s":["https:\/\/blackenterprise-prod.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2023\/10\/GettyImages-1385215992.jpg",150,85,false],"kava-thumb-s-2":["https:\/\/blackenterprise-prod.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2023\/10\/GettyImages-1385215992.jpg",230,230,false],"kava-thumb-m":["https:\/\/blackenterprise-prod.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2023\/10\/GettyImages-1385215992.jpg",400,400,false],"kava-thumb-m-vertical":["https:\/\/blackenterprise-prod.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2023\/10\/GettyImages-1385215992.jpg",370,500,false],"kava-thumb-m-2":["https:\/\/blackenterprise-prod.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2023\/10\/GettyImages-1385215992.jpg",570,450,false],"kava-thumb-l":["https:\/\/blackenterprise-prod.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2023\/10\/GettyImages-1385215992.jpg",1170,650,false],"kava-thumb-xl":["https:\/\/blackenterprise-prod.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2023\/10\/GettyImages-1385215992.jpg",1920,1080,false],"kava-thumb-masonry":["https:\/\/blackenterprise-prod.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2023\/10\/GettyImages-1385215992.jpg",600,999,false],"kava-thumb-justify":["https:\/\/blackenterprise-prod.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2023\/10\/GettyImages-1385215992.jpg",640,640,false],"kava-thumb-justify-2":["https:\/\/blackenterprise-prod.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2023\/10\/GettyImages-1385215992.jpg",1280,640,false]},"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"#RiseCelestialStudios","author_link":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/author\/ralph-c\/"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"REPARATIONS NEWS<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"by Ashlei Stevens June 26, 2026 Bank King Card by Redemption Bank is an ode to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Tishaura O. Jones knows what it\u2019s like to be the sole breadwinner of her family, and the importance of having financial help along the way. \u201cWhen you solve the problems of Black single mothers,…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30676","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30676"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30676\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30678,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30676\/revisions\/30678"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30677"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30676"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30676"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30676"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Helping Mothers Plan for the Future<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Continuing Dr. King\u2019s Legacy<\/strong><\/h3>\n