Bank Refused Black Man To Enter and He Then Bought The Bank And Became Their Boss

Don't be fooled by this shabby hat beneath this hat that hides top business acumen. This little black boy named Bernard was a shoe-shining boy but always paid attention. He intentionally chose to set up his stall in front of the bank. His customers were all rich white people and he didn't care about the little money he earned by shining shoes. He worked slowly so that he could hear the financial secrets white people were talking about while they waited. As soon as they left, the little boy wrote it down in a notebook. All he wanted was the valuable financial knowledge he heard from them. From a young age, he knew his lifelong dream was to become a banker. In 1939, Texas was a place where black people were oppressed by severe discrimination and his father told him sadly that his dream was impossible but Bernard’s eyes showed determination against all odds. Fifteen years later, the grown-up boy moved to Los Angeles with his wife Eunice, and children. The racial discrimination here was not as serious as in his home so he decided to start his business here.

The family of three has to live in a dilapidated utility room of one of his relatives but Bernard promised his wife that they will move out soon. He started as a real estate agent and searched for houses for sale everywhere in the city. Through keen observation, he discovered that the black community in Los Angeles is overcrowded while the white community still has many empty houses. Black people have rental needs and financial strength but there is no market. This is a great business opportunity for real estate speculation and renting. He saw a white-owned apartment with weeds on the front door which was not in very good condition. Bernard still saw the advantage of the house location which is adjacent to the black area. He went to the owner and told him that he only rented out half of the apartment, so why don't you sell it to me? He promised to give the apartment owner thirty thousand dollars now and another five thousand dollars when he rents out all the rooms.

Although the owner admired his idea, he didn't want to engage in a risky business and Bernard expressed his understanding before he left. While leaving, he suddenly glanced at the owner's calendar which showed that it was given by a local bank manager. Therefore, an idea came to his mind. He bid the owner goodbye and went to the bank directly where he saw the manager who sent the calendar. The manager's secretary who discriminates against black people refused to introduce him to the manager. He waited for a few hours at the bank door and when the manager came out, he stopped him immediately and said “I know one of your VIP customers and the business I do will benefit him and I hope you can approve a loan for me.” But the bank manager rejected him without thinking. That night, he received a call from the owner, asking him whether he used his name to try to obtain a loan. He had no choice but to apologize and unexpectedly, the owner didn't blame him but admired his belief that he would not give up until his goal was achieved. The apartment owner then decided to guarantee the loan for him and he received the first loan in his life from the bank and bought the property.

An old white lady had just returned home from shopping when she saw a black man at her door. What are you doing? She asked with a sharp voice, but the black man answered calmly, “I'm renovating the apartment building.” The old lady spoke with a mean face “Workers like you should be careful.” Bernard responded, “Don’t worry, this is my building and I will take good care of it.” Speechless, the old lady went home angrily and the police came soon after they told Bernard that an old lady called the police and then asked him if he had pretended to be the owner and contradicted her. Unexpectedly, Bernard took out a copy of the real estate certificate. It turned out that he had foreseen trouble, so he was prepared in advance. The police realized that the house belonged to Bernard, so they left in a huff that night. Bernard returned to the apartment building and the old lady at the door saw him and immediately told him to get out because it was not the time for renovation but Bernard still replied calmly “I am not a renovation worker now I am the owner”. The old lady was dumbfounded and a few days later she moved out of the apartment angrily because she didn't want to live in the same building with black people. As soon as the old lady left, Bernard rented out her apartment to a black lady.

Sure enough, the black tenant market is huge as he has foreseen, the building is quickly filled and Bernard gave the negotiated follow-up payment to the former owner. The former owner admired Bernard very much and offered to start a business with him. Bernard chose the house and calculated the income and the old owner negotiated the transaction and signed the contract with him in front. White people won't know that they are doing business with black people and they will split the revenue. Bernard readily agreed and the cooperation between the two went very smoothly and they made a lot of money. Immediately, Bernard also moved from an apartment block to a mansion shortly after providing a happy life for his beloved family. This was his wisdom when someone discriminated against him, he would not punch back because then he would fall into other people's game rules but he wanted to play his own rules with rational economics and maximum profit being his ultimate goals. However, life does not always go smoothly and challenges can arise at any moment. The former owner who worked with Bernard was old and frail and died suddenly a few years later. His equity in the company was inherited by his wife. This woman severely discriminates against black people and doesn't want to cooperate with Bernard. She contemptuously offered to buy Bernard's shares at a very low price and if he disagreed she would sue him.

In that era when whites and blacks litigate, who do you think the judge would favor? Bernard was not willing to be treated so unfairly so he decided to go to court but he needed to find someone to testify to prove his cooperative relationship with the old owner. He thought of the bank manager, but the manager had already cooperated with the widow and avoided Bernard again. Extremely disappointed, Bernard stood in the bank and looked around. The neat bank building showed systematically discriminatory fangs everywhere. Just because of the color of his skin, he is often scorned when he walks into the bank. Thinking of this, a bold plan gradually rose in Bernard’s mind. There were four banks in one building and each of them had closed doors for this black man. At this moment, Bernard’s mind generated a genius idea, “I will buy this building and see who of you dares to discriminate against me again.” So Bernard found Joe, another black real estate developer in Los Angeles, and told him his plans. at first, Joe thought he was out of his mind because the land price of the building was extremely high, and never had a black person ever bought land in that downtown. But after discussing it for a while, Joe discovered that Bernard was not a delusional man but a thoughtful rationalist.

Why does he want to buy this building? Because as long as he owned the building the bank inside will serve him and they dare not refuse to give him a loan. They will also disclose the real estate trend to him so that his real estate business will be smoother. Joe was shocked by his idea but after thinking about it he believed it would work. Although he was extremely wealthy, he was also subjected to white people everywhere. If he can step on white bankers on white land, he will make more money. However, they still cannot negotiate transactions with white people directly so they need a white person as an agent in this regard. Bernard already has an idea in mind; Matt who has been helping him with renovations is an honest and very ambitious man but he is a little inexperienced. Therefore, Bernard and Joe set out to train Matt comprehensively. They taught him golf high-class manners of mathematical thinking and real estate. Matt lived up to expectations and quickly became proficient at golf. While playing golf, he can calculate real estate valuations just like a young and promising entrepreneur. At a golf club, Matt met the owner of the bank building. Of course, this encounter was also arranged by Joe and the conversation went well. Matt got the chance to buy the building and the rest will be negotiated but Matt doesn't know how to do it. Don't worry, before the negotiation, Bernard helped Matt make all the preparations. He first counted the number of lights on in the building, after that, he calculated the vacancy rate of the building and then got the building estimate value.

Through the building's annual revenue and operating costs, Bernard prepared any number that might be involved and asked Matt to memorize these numbers before meeting with the owner. As a result, no matter how the big boss bluffs about his property, Matt is always one step ahead and gives out the exact number which shocked the big boss. The accountant beside him was also dumbfounded. They all thought that they had encountered a math genius and couldn't fool him at all. In the end, Bernard acquired the building that was initially priced at more than 2.4 million dollars for just 1.56 million dollars. From then on, whenever Bernard goes in or out of the building the president of every bank will come to shake his hand. The little manager who made things difficult for him in the past was shocked by the support of the banking industry. Bernard and Joe’s real estate careers expanded rapidly and they broke the strict zoning of Los Angeles’s black and white segregation single-handedly. Many young and promising blacks moved into white neighborhoods soon after they even got received by the vice president several years later. In 1963 Bernard took his family back to Texas to visit his father Britain. After their dinner, Britain told Bernard that he was proud of his accomplishments. The next day Bernard walks around town with his son, before they know it they are standing in front of the bank where Bernard worked as a shoe shine boy at that time. Texas was the most racist place in America. They met a young boy shining shoes just like Bernard used to when he was little. To Bernard’s surprise, the boy will only work in the shoes of white people. This little incident touched Bernard and awakened his sense of responsibility to his fellow man. He secretly made up his mind that he must change the status quo and help the black community in his hometown get better housing. The next day, Bernard visited Joe and told him that they should buy the Mainland Bank in Texas.

Joe thought Bernard was out of his mind for even thinking about it because the racism in Texas was so severe. But Bernard managed to show compelling reasons to make the purchase. In the end, Joe agreed to help Bernard out. They recruited Matt again and used him to be their frontman once more. They met with the bank owner Robert Florence senior and junior to discuss the numbers of the deal. Despite Florence's junior suspicions, senior sold the bank to Matt and his partners. With the Mainland Bank acquired, Bernard got to work and started helping the African Americans in town to get approved for loans. Bernard’s goal was to help his fellow men get a fair chance at housing and even money-making opportunities. Things went well for a time until Florence Junior started investigating the loans that their bank approved. One day Florence followed Matt and met up with Bernard and Joe and he confronted them about the loans they approved and threatened them with a letter from the U.S. Treasury Department. He said that the department will inspect the bank's operations in one month. As Florence junior left, the guys discussed their next moves. During that time Matt came up with a suggestion: he suggested that they buy another bank and transfer the problem loans from Mainland to that Bank. They discussed the purchase of the bank of Marlon Moore and Bernard said the main problem is overseeing the operations of the bank. In response, Matt suggested that he be allowed to run the new bank. Bernard expressed his discomfort with the idea but he eventually settled with letting Eunice keep an eye on Matt. In the end, Matt got to run his bank just like he wanted. The next day, Matt met with a lawyer and started signing loan contracts on his signal. Sometime later, Matt received a call from Florence junior regarding clients who wanted to withdraw all their money from the Mainland. To make matters worse, a Federal Bank examiner arrives at Marlin to help Matt but Bernard forces himself to dress up as a janitor so he can get close during the meeting. Unfortunately, it doesn't make a difference since the examiner discovered a critical problem on several loans.

Bernard was in disbelief that the absurd loans got approved; eventually, they learned that it was Florence Junior's doing all along. It turned out that while rushing to run his bank Matt skipped protocols and used a lawyer that Florence recommended. Through that, Florence was able to sneak in the problematic loans. Sometimes later, Bernard and Joe told Matt that the most rational move they can make is to walk away from the Bank of Marlin. Unwilling to let his bank go, Matt made a move without letting his partners know. Joe learned about his move the next day and rushed to the mainland bank with Bernard. They confronted Matt about the loans while Florence watched the spectacle with a proud look on his face. Bernard told Matt to get their books but it was too late. The Federal Bank examiners arrived to revoke Mainland Bank's license to operate. While leaving the building, the FBI arrested Bernard and Joe. Bernard tried to stand his ground but it was a futile struggle. Sometime later, Bernard and Joe met up with their lawyer. They learned that their case got dragged along with some racial politics in the country. Meanwhile, Matt talked with Senator McClellan about testifying against his partners in exchange for his freedom. Matt contemplated his next move that night and made a phone call. Matt followed McClellan’s suggestions and testified against his partners at the senate hearing the next day. Later that day, Bernard also met with McClellan and listened to his proposal.

He gave him a choice to take an immunity deal and confirm Matt's testimonies or Bernard could say whatever he wanted and go to jail in the end. Bernard decided to say the words that have been kept in his heart for years. He talked about racial discrimination in the country. Shortly after that, both Bernard and Joe’s fortunes were decimated. After the hearing, the two also got sentenced to Federal prison. Florence junior purchased the Mainland Bank for a small fraction of the price paid by Bernard and Joe. Meanwhile, Matt Steiner never got charged with any crime. Several years later, Bernard and Joe get out of prison. Eunice found it strange that the two men were happy. Even after losing all their fortune, it turned out that was not the case at all. Joe revealed that they have properties next to each other in the Bahamas. Eunice was in disbelief and asked Bernard how that happened. it turned out that the man Matt called the night before his testimony was Bernard. He told Bernard about the senator's deal and apologized to him in return. Bernard asked Mata for favor before the government could seize their assets the story ended after we learned that Bernard and Joe’s residential properties were instrumental to the fight against housing segregation in Las Vegas and they still have two mansions next to each other in the Bahamas.