(lively music) - [Narrator] They opened doors to home ownership for Black families in segregated Milwaukee.

- [Clayborn] What they wanted to do was show other institutions that African Americans would pay back their mortgage.

- [Narrator] Their bank, now standing for more than a century, didn't just lend money, it built dreams.

- People come up here with a dream of being able to find a house so that they can settle their families and get a good education and find work.

- [Narrator] And they dedicated their lives to a more just and equitable city.

- [Clayborn] They're known for is the Columbia Savings & Loan, and their contributions in that way, but they do so much more over the course of the years, and they were two very important people.

- This is the story of Wilbur and Ardie Halyard.

(lively music) (upbeat music) (film whirring) (film clicking) (playful music) Ardie Clark and Wilbur Halyard were attending separate colleges in Atlanta when they met.

They married in 1920 and soon moved to Beloit, Wisconsin as part of the great migration to direct housing for Black workers at Fairbanks Morse, an engine and scale manufacturer.

- They didn't actually work in the factories.

They helped run the housing aspect of it, manage the homes, clean the houses, make sure that people had some place to live.

- [Narrator] In 1923, the Halyards moved to Milwaukee in hopes of building Black housing projects.

- The City of Milwaukee had financed a housing project in which only white people could live, known as the Garden Homes Project.

And we thought, "Well, perhaps they would do such a project for Black people."

But the mayor was not interested in doing that sort of a thing.

We talked about what could be done and finally settled on a savings and loan association.

And from that grew the Columbia Savings & Loan.

- [Narrator] Columbia Savings & Loan opened for business in 1925, and Wilbur sought investors to grow the bank.

- What Wilbur is doing is developing these relationships with other business people.

He is a business-minded person.

He's interested in making money.

So it's Miss Ardie Halyard that is civic, is interested in the community aspect.

- [Narrator] The Halyards did not take a salary for the first 10 years as they worked to get the bank going.

Wilbur would also start a real estate business and already worked at Goodwill Industries by day and balanced Columbia's books by night, among other duties.

Soon the sacrifices started to pay off throughout the community.

- Bettering the life of African Americans in the bank or the savings and loan was about serving the issues of the African American community.

Housing, loans, the whole bit.

"I need money to open up this corner grocery store."

"I need money to send my kids to college."

And his money was the link to that.

- [Narrator] By 1945, the Black home ownership rate in Milwaukee grew fivefold and Columbia Savings & Loan had millions in assets.

It was an impressive feat for the Halyards who navigated their bank through the Great Depression and rampant housing discrimination.

- Many people wanted to purchase their own homes.

The Columbia Savings & Loan made that a possibility for them.

It comes in a time in which white businesses, savings and loans did not wanna finance mortgages for African Americans.

- [Narrator] In 1947, Ardie stepped into a larger role in Milwaukee civic life: reviving the city's dormant NAACP chapter.

Her leadership didn't stop there.

She went on to help launch new chapters in Kenosha and Racine, widening the reach of the movement across the state.

- [Clayborn] Running the NAACP was very important for her.

She at first becomes a state president of the NAACP and organizes all of the conventions.

And then becomes the treasurer, and then becomes the person who promotes memberships.

She's Mrs.

Civil Rights.

She makes sure that the national representatives come to Milwaukee during the open housing marches, and that's a big deal.

- [Narrator] While Wilbur and Ardie were both involved with the NAACP, it's Ardie who took on a far more active role.

It was her who started the Youth Council, which brought in Father James Groppi and the Commandos to fight for fair housing laws.

- [Clayborn] It's Mrs.

Halyard that brings life to these young people.

They are all young people and they have their own opinions and such.

And Mrs.

Halyard's behind it.

- [Narrator] The Halyards were involved in many other ways too, at their church, the Urban League, the United Negro College Fund and the YMCA.

Politicians sought their endorsement and they served on many high-ranking committees and commissions.

- They're members at Calvary Baptist Church on 2959 North Teutonia.

They're very active members.

In fact, Calvary builds the first senior citizens housing project in Milwaukee, and so they end up with three to four housing projects.

And it's Mrs.

Halyard that pushes that.

Mrs.

Halyard is very important in the church.

(sad music) - [Narrator] Wilbur Halyard suffered a stroke and died on January 17th, 1963 at the age of 68.

At his passing, Columbia Savings & Loan had more than three million in assets.

Just a few years later, Milwaukee recognized Wilbur's legacy by naming Halyard Street in his honor, a new boulevard built in the heart of the Bronzeville neighborhood.

(sad music continues) After Wilber's passing, Ardie carried the mission forward.

She kept the bank strong while advocating for education reform, senior housing, childcare and community gardening.

She was appointed to the Wisconsin State Board of Vocational, Technical and Adult Education.

And in 1984, she led a campaign to keep a nationally syndicated TV show off the air in Milwaukee.

- She leads the fight in ending the "Amos 'n' Andy Show" in southeastern Wisconsin.

And she does, and she says that you're better than that because it demeans us as a people.

- [Narrator] In the 1970s, a bold vision rose in Bronzeville.

From a coalition of leaders, including Ardie, Halyard Park emerged: a middle class neighborhood with tree-lined streets, modern homes, and a strong sense of community.

- [Clayborn] African Americans, after being kicked out of the neighborhood north and south of Walnut Street, wanted to come back and reclaim that neighborhood with ranch style, nice, convenient homes, just like white citizens do.

And so Beechie Brooks and her and others get together and they say, "We want to build nice houses in this area."

And so Mrs.

Halyard is brought into that.

And she says that people who cannot afford conventional grants or loans, I will help finance those homes.

(lively music) - [Narrator] Ardie Halyard passed away on February 14th, 1989.

She was 92.

She and her husband Wilbur were remembered as the best thing to happen to Milwaukee.

(sad music) Columbia Savings & Loan still stands, an institution, a landmark and a legacy that is not just remembered, it's still working.

(sad music continues) - I do think we would not have Columbia Savings & Loan had it not been for her.

And so that would change the landscape in a lot of ways.

(lively music) And she never was about trying to say, "I'm important and raise my visibility."

Her importance was in the work that she did.

How many kids graduated from college?

A quality of life, family life, homes that she could finance.

That was her gift.

She's a statue in our minds, and I remember her dearly.

(lively music) - [Interviewer] As you are looking back over your life, what are the things that give you the most satisfaction?

- [Ardie] Well, the thing that gives me the most satisfaction is that Columbia Savings & Loan Association is still existing.

It's still living and active and fine and growing, and is destined to be here for many, many years to come, giving service, helping people to finance their homes, and to move in the neighborhoods that no other association would finance them for.

And this is, to me, my biggest contribution and the thing of which I'm most proud.

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