Stephone Coward II is the Economic Justice, Justice Paid in Full Campaigns Director at the Hip Hop Caucus and a nationally recognized financial activist. He leads Hip Hop Caucus’ economic justice platform, Justice Paid in Full, and its anchor campaign, Bank Black & Green, a multi-year effort to build the good by shifting capital away from fossil fuel and carceral industries and into community-led climate and justice solutions. Through this work, Stephone organizes the financial sector to expand access to affordable, values-aligned capital through Black Minority Depository Institutions (MDIs) and Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) , positioning these community lenders as essential infrastructure for a just economy.
Since 2003, Stephone has moved from frontline roles in banks to leading the #BankBlack movement and, now, economic justice campaigns, giving him a firsthand understanding of how banks work, who they leave out, and what it takes to build something better. In 2016, as deadly police shootings of unarmed Black people gained national attention, he co-founded BankBlackUSA and the COWRIE Initiative as part of the #BankBlack movement, providing people with tools and resources to make more informed decisions about moving their money from big banks to Black-owned institutions as a way to demand that Wall Street and policymakers take their concerns seriously. The BankBlackUSA website was recognized as a 2022 Webby Awards honoree for Best Activism Website and has been honored by Fast Company’s Innovation by Design Awards. That organizing helped build national infrastructure connecting everyday depositors to Black banks and laid the groundwork for his current efforts to make obsolete old extractive banking models by helping communities build and finance real solutions that meet their needs.
Stephone’s leadership has been recognized through his selection as a Just Economy Institute Fellow, joining a community of financial activists shifting the flow of capital and power to support people and the planet, and his naming to the Forbes Next 1000 list of entrepreneurs redefining impact-driven business. He brings a Bachelor of Arts in History and a Master of Science in Sustainability from the University of Texas at Arlington, along with Wharton public policy and Trauma of Money certifications, to his financial activism and advocacy, grounding his work in systems thinking, policy fluency, and trauma-informed organizing and storytelling.
Stephone’s deep commitment to the U.S. South is personal. With Louisiana roots and a Texas upbringing, the South is not just where he is from, it is who he is. A lifelong student of history, culture, and language, he is actively learning Kouri‑Vini as his third language through Chinbo, working to preserve Louisiana’s endangered Creole language and the diasporic stories it carries. He also writes, exploring the intersection of mental health, culture, and economic justice through his Substack spaces Resting Bliss Face and Financial Levers of Power. He is a proud member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., and believes the work of building a just economy begins with knowing who you are and where you come from.