The publication is reproduced in full below:
HONORING EMMA C. CHAPPELL
______
HON. BRENDAN F. BOYLE
of pennsylvania
in the house of representatives
Friday, March 26, 2021
Mr. BRENDAN F. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Madam Speaker, it is my honor to ask the House of Representatives to join me in honoring Emma C. Chappell, a pioneer in the banking community who passed away on March 16th at the age of 80.
Mrs. Chappell was born Emma Carolyn Bayton in Philadelphia in 1941. Raised by her father after her mother passed away when she was 14 years old, Mrs. Chappell graduated from West Philadelphia High School. At the age of 16, her pastor and civil rights activist Leon H. Sullivan recognized her aptitude for mathematics and encouraged her to go into banking. After high school, Mrs. Chappell became a clerk photographer at Continental Bank in 1959.
Mrs. Chappell set her sights on becoming a top bank executive, determined to use her grit and tenacity to succeed. As a newlywed to her husband, Verdayne, Mrs. Chappell attended Temple University at night for five years. In 1971, after completing an executive program that allowed her to work in several different departments and gain invaluable experience, she was promoted to Assistant Treasurer of Continental Bank. In 1977, she was promoted to Vice President at Continental, the first African American to serve in that role and the first female Vice President of a major bank in Pennsylvania. In this capacity, Mrs. Chappell oversaw the Community Business Loan and Development Department, granting more than $30 million in loans to African American and women owned businesses.
In 1992, after a five-year effort to raise the $5 million that was then required to capitalize a bank, Mrs. Chappell founded the United Bank of Philadelphia, becoming the first African American woman to charter a commercial bank in the United States. At the same time, she began to expand her good work beyond the banking world. She was one of the founders of the Rainbow Coalition, the organization founded by Jesse Jackson to promote racial equality. She also worked to organize what would later become the Philadelphia Commercial Development Project. During her 20-year tenure in banking, Mrs. Chappell held an impressive record of a less than one percent loan loss ratio, despite offering loans to those who might be turned away by other financial institutions.
Emma Chappell was a trailblazer in the banking community and leaves behind a legacy of using her position to bring new opportunities and resources to underserved Philadelphians. Although she is no longer with us, her work will continue to live on and inspire generations to come.
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SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 167, No. 57
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