Author Discusses 'Definitive' Biography of Jesse Binga

EVERGREEN PARK — Former Sun Times editor Don Hayner will discuss his definitive full-length biography of Jesse Binga, the first black banker in Chicago, this Thursday, March 5, at the Evergreen Park Public Library, 9400 S. Troy Ave. The presentation will begin at 6:30 p.m. Attendees will have the opportunity to purchase the book and ask questions of Hayner. Registration is required.

One of ten children born in Detroit, Binga arrived in Chicago in 1892 in his late twenties, where he rose from street peddler to millionaire realtor and banker in the Black Belt, now Bronzeville. Throughout his life Binga fought against the color line that segregated the Black Belt from surrounding white neighborhoods. “Binga” recounts this gripping story about race, history, politics and finance in Chicago.