Event: Banking Independence Day 2025

On July 2, dozens of people gathered at CoBiz in Richmond for Banking Independence Day 2025, a powerful gathering of community, conversation, and collective vision for a more just and resilient financial system.

We opened with a conversation between Oscar Perry Abello, economic justice correspondent for Next City and author of The Banks We Deserve, and Marisol Cantú, a professor at Contra Costa College. Their discussion traced the roots of community banking, the harms of financial extraction, and the opportunities that community and public banks create for economic justice.

Following that, Richmond City Councilmember Claudia Jimenez moderated a panel with local changemakers on how public banks can advance housing, clean energy, small business, and cultural sustainability in our communities. Panelists included:

Henry (Hank) Levy, Alameda County Treasurer

Vivian Rahwanji, Community Housing Development Corporation

Princess Robinson, Richmond LAND

The conversations were empowering, the Cuban food from Havana Catering was delicious, and the energy in the room was unmistakable.