Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens and city council members were in attendance for a historical marker dedication on Wednesday at Citizens Trust Bank.
The Georgia Historical Society and Citizens Trust Bank erected the marker.
In 1921, Herman E. Perry, James A. Robinson, Thomas J. Ferguson, W. H. King and Henry Dugas — who became known as the “Fervent Five” — opened the Black-owned and operated bank on Auburn Avenue. Their mission was to “create financial opportunities for those who were systemically excluded,” said Cynthia N. Day, president and CEO of Citizens Trust Bank.
They were motivated after Perry was “humiliated” and turned away from a department store as he was trying to purchase a pair of socks, Day said.
“But I want you to know that he was not defeated,” she said. “It birthed a vision that has shaped our mission, and it has impacted lives for over a century.”
Attendees at the marker dedication were gifted a new pair of socks in honor of Perry and the bank.
Last year, S&P Global Market Intelligence published a report ranking Citizens Trust Bank 28th in the top 100 best-performing banks under $3 Billion in assets for 2023. And through its parent company, Citizens Bancshares Corporation, the bank trades over-the-counter common stock on the Nasdaq market.
Cynthia N. Day, president and CEO of Citizens Trust Bank, said the five bank founders were motivated by a mission to “create financial opportunities for those who were systemically excluded.” (Photo by Adrianne Murchison.)
The dedication ceremony for the bank’s historical marker was held outside the bank’s first standalone branch location on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.
In addition to Day, Dickens, bank Chairman Ray M. Robinson and Georgia Historical Society CEO Todd Groce remarked on the bank’s history and its impact on the city of Atlanta.
They described the branch location as “sacred ground.”
The branch opened in 1955 before Brown vs. the Board of Education, the Birmingham boycotts and brutality against marchers in Selma, Groce said.
“Think about the role [Citizens Trust Bank] has played in moving Atlanta and the state forward in promoting equality,” he said.
Citizens Trust Bank financed the Civil Rights Movement, Robinson told a crowd of about 30 people.
“Somebody had to bail them out,” he said of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Rev. Joseph Lowery and other leaders who were jailed.
Dickens said the bank founders had “an audacious dream” in bringing financial inclusion and community development to Black residents and businesses. They built an “institution that would serve Atlanta’s African American residents fairly, with dignity and with respect…” he added.
“These five men believed they could create economic opportunity that had been overlooked by traditional banks. And they did that.”
City Council members Michael Julian Bond, Andrea L. Boone and Jason Dozier were in attendance with the mayor.
Citizens Trust Bank survived the Great Depression, World War II, the Civil Rights Movement, the Great Recession and the pandemic, Dickens and Day said.
Day said the founders’ work is not done. The historical marker is a reminder of the challenges ahead, she said, and she invited community stakeholders to invest in and partner with Citizens Trust Bank.
“As we look to the future, we affirm our commitment to champion economic empowerment, advocate for financial inclusion and ensure that everyone regardless of background, where you live, how you look,” Day said. “They [will have] access to the tools [needed] to achieve financial success.”
“We all have power,” Day continued. “It’s a choice of how we use that power in order to make a difference.”
