William Reuben Pettiford (1847-1914) was an educator, banker, and Baptist minister who founded the Penny Savings Bank in Birmingham in 1890. The bank was the first financial institution owned and operated by blacks in the state.

Joseph Winters was an important African American inventor. He invented a wagon-mounted fire escape ladder for the city of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, a device that could save countless lives in the inner city.