WASHINGTON, DC – For 21 years, Halim Flowers was incarcerated in prisons across the country, immersing himself in books about economics, banking, and finance. But it wasn’t until 2018, during his final months at the D.C. Department of Corrections, that he was able to put his knowledge into action, according to a NextCity profile.
Thanks to Industrial Bank’s Beyond Banking initiative, Flowers opened a savings account from prison—one of the only programs in the nation offering banking services to incarcerated individuals, added NextCity.
“They were good teachers. They humanized us as incarcerated people,” said Flowers, now an artist, author, and fashion entrepreneur. “I was able to start an account with them before I got out. Once I got out, I was able to engage in my entrepreneurship and add a significant amount of money to that account, “ he said in NextCity.
Industrial Bank, a historic Black-owned financial institution, launched Beyond Banking in 2016 to provide financial education to incarcerated individuals in D.C. and beyond, NextCity wrote, adding, the eight-session program covers topics such as banking basics, budgeting, credit management, insurance, investments, entrepreneurship, and homeownership.
Upon completion, participants celebrate with a graduation ceremony, symbolizing a fresh start toward financial independence, added NextCity.
Since its inception, Beyond Banking has impacted more than 150 participants, some as young as 14 years old. The program is led by dedicated Industrial Bank employees, including Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer Zo Amani, Director of Retail Banking Jacqui Boles, and Vice President of Marketing Melanee Woodard,” reported NextCity.
NextCity writes for them, this initiative is more than just financial education—it is a mission to disrupt recidivism.
“All of a sudden you’re on a Team’s call, and there are people in tan jumpsuits, tattoos, beanies, and kufis. It helps ground me as an individual,” said Amani, who is currently writing his doctoral dissertation on financial education. “It’s a lost group in society. Seeing the cells and numbers on them, it’s emotional,” added NextCity.
Boles and Woodard first started teaching financial literacy at Baltimore City Jail, where they encountered youth aged 14 to 17 who had been charged as adults. The experience was profoundly moving, wrote NextCity.
“Emotionally, it was hard to see these young Black boys,” Woodard recalls in the NextCity story, her eyes welling with tears.
NextCity wrote: “She’s demonstrating what happened to me the very first time,” Boles adds, sharing how the experience resonated with her own family life. “I wanted to enter a space that I never wanted any of my three brothers or my son to enter.”
Their efforts are changing lives. Over the years, program participants consistently inquired about opening savings accounts,” reports NextCity, adding Industrial Bank became one of only two financial institutions in the U.S. allowing incarcerated individuals to open savings, certificate of deposit, and retirement accounts. Industrial Bank has opened more than 200 accounts for incarcerated individuals.
NextCity reported, as Industrial Bank continues to pioneer financial inclusion, its leaders remain committed to expanding opportunities for incarcerated individuals, offering them a foundation for financial stability and long-term success.
