Victory Savings Bank

Front: Victory Savings Bank, founded in 1921, was the first, and for many years the only, black-owned bank in S.C. It was chartered by I.S. Joseph as president and I.S. Leevy and C.E. Stephenson as vice presidents, and opened at 1107 Washington St. in the heart of Columbia’s black business district. It was in this building 1955-1985, then moved to Sumter St., where it became S.C. Community Bank in 1999. Reverse: ) Dr. Henry D. Monteith, who became president in 1948, led the bank for many years. His sister Modjeska Monteith Simkins, notable civil rights leader, held several positions here. This bank offered loans to blacks after widespread economic reprisals, many related to the Clarendon County school desegregation case Briggs v. Elliott, later included in the landmark Brown v. Board of Education case (1954).