In this episode, we explore how a group of extraordinary black leaders in 1880s Washington, D.C.—known as the Committee of Eleven—responded to political abandonment with bold economic strategy. After the 1884 election signaled that the federal government would no longer protect black rights, men like Andrew F. Hilyer, Milton Holland, Leonard Bailey, Dr. Charles Purvis, and Lewis Douglass gathered to ask a hard question: What shall we do to be saved?
Their answer was groundbreaking: build their own financial institutions.
From these meetings emerged the Industrial Building and Savings Company, a cooperative savings and loan society that pooled small deposits to help black families buy homes, build businesses, and gain economic independence. WithFrederick Douglass as its first president, the Association became a symbol of self-help, empowerment, and disciplined financial strategy in the post-Reconstruction era.
We follow its rise, struggles, and resilience during the Panic of 1893, leaving a Legacy in shaping black economic development in the nation’s capital.
This is a story of agency, courage, and the power of collective action—when a community chose to create what their country refused to give.
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Break Free from Emotional Distress: A Practical Guide and Personal Journey by Stephen Middleton is available on Amazon
I grew up in a rural community in South Carolina. My father was a general laborer, and he, along with my mother and their eight children, were sharecroppers. I am their sixth child, and I spent my formative years picking cotton and plowing with a mule. I gained a burst of insight when I was 15 years old from an internal consciousness that told him I could do better with his life. I heeded the inspiration and enrolled in college, graduating with honors. I earned a Master of Arts from The Ohio State University and a doctorate from Miami University (Ohio). I received a Golieb post-doctoral fellowship from the New York University School of Law, where I enrolled in the first-year curriculum and the Legal History Seminar. I began teaching at Wilberforce University in Ohio. I also taught at the University of Cincinnati and was a long-time constitutional history professor at North Carolina State University. I was the inaugural director of the African American Studies Program at Mississippi State University. I have lectured and presented scholarly papers in the United States, Canada, and Europe. I presented at the American Society of Legal History, the British Legal History Association, the Southern Historical Association, and the Association of African American Life and History. I have lectured at the University of Washington, Cambridge University, and Keele University in the United Kingdom. My scholarly endeavors have taken me to three African countries, including Ghana, where the University of Ghana boasts an African Studies program.
As a speaker and workshop facilitator, I presented “Four Elements of Progressive Constitutionalism” in the Amicus Curiae Lecture series at Marshall University (2012); “Abraham Lincoln and Executive War Powers,” Wilmington College (2013); “Reconstruction and the Politics of Expedience,” Old Capitol Museum in Jackson, MS (2015); and facilitated teachers at summer seminars for the National Endowment for the Humanities at Georgia State University in 2016 and 2018.
Now retired from academic work, I am the founder of The Possibility-Action Network and host of The Possibility-Action Network Podcast. I am a speaker, transformational coach, and social entrepreneur.
