James C. Napier was born in Nashville, Tennessee a slave, but he was freed along with his parents when he was about three years old. He became the first black non-janitorial employee at the Treasury Department. In more than a decade (1878 - 1889) on the Nashville City Council, he authored legislation allowing the hiring of black school teachers, police officers, and firefighters, and became the first African-American to preside over the Council. He lost his Council seat as his Republican Party gradually shifted from supporting blacks' rights to advocating what was called a "lily white" government. He was appointed Register of the Treasury Department in 1911. His signature appeared on US currency until he resigned this post in 1913, to protest President Woodrow Wilson's decision to allow continued segregation in federal office buildings. Returning to Nashville, Napier used his own savings to establish the Nashville One-Cent Savings Bank (now Citizens Savings Bank & Trust Company), the nation's first bank owned and operated by African-Americans.
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