Pinnacle and the Benjamin L. Hooks Institute Honor the Life and Work of Herman Strickland with a Financial Commitment to Equity and Social Justice Initiative

Pinnacle Financial Partners presented today a $15,000 gift to the Benjamin L. Hooks Institute in the name of Herman Strickland, a long-time Pinnacle leader and pillar of the community with countless contributions to Memphis and the Mid-South. In addition to the contribution, the director’s office at the Hooks Institute is now named in Strickland’s honor.

“Herman embraced community and was passionate about being a change agent in and around Memphis,” said Steve Swain, community lending manager for Pinnacle and board member at the Hooks Institute. “Herman was connected to the community and felt a personal responsibility for making it better. At Pinnacle, we always want to take everybody with us to make sure everyone has an opportunity to participate in the economies we support, and Herman embodied this philosophy.”

“Mr. Strickland was deeply committed to the Hooks Institute because he believed our efforts to eliminate disparities among African Americans and other marginalized groups as critical to creating prosperity for both individuals, the City of Memphis and Shelby County,” said Daphene McFerren, Hooks Institute executive director. “As an advisory board member, Mr. Strickland worked with the Institute staff to help shape Hooks Institute programs. He made personal monetary gifts and secured financial donations from Pinnacle to support Institute efforts, including the Hooks African American Male Initiative, a program focused on eliminating disparities among African American male students attending the University of Memphis. The contributions of Mr. Strickland to the Hooks Institute, to the lives of students and others in the community will create positive outcomes for years to come.”

The Hooks Institute implements its mission of teaching, studying and promoting civil rights and social change through research, education and direct intervention programs. For 25 years, they have addressed disparities related to race, education, diversity, inclusion and economic mobility.

“The work of the Hooks Institute was very important to Herman, as it is to all of us at Pinnacle, and he served on the board for many years,” Swain said. “After his passing, Pinnacle remained involved, and I am honored to serve on the board today. This gift will ensure Herman’s legacy is always remembered and continued as the good people at Hooks continue educating, engaging and empowering the community, making a lasting impact on our hometown.”

Pinnacle supports the Memphis area through several initiatives, from organized and individual volunteer efforts to lending and financial services for underserved communities and populations. Offices like the ones Swain manages in Whitehaven and on Whitten Road bring the firm closer to communities that often struggle with access to financial services. Support for small businesses and home ownership will grow in 2022 as Pinnacle builds on its incredible momentum to launch an ambitious hub for services to address needs all along the journey to economic equity.

“Our community lending work, which was nurtured and grown by Herman during his time at Pinnacle, will serve as a model for how we can all better respond to our neighbor’s needs,” Swain said. “The plans we have for expanding that reach and engaging even more of our city are exciting and will be ready to unveil very soon.”

Pinnacle Financial Partners provides a full range of banking, investment, trust, mortgage and insurance products and services designed for businesses and their owners and individuals interested in a comprehensive relationship with their financial institution. The firm is the No. 1 bank in the Nashville-Murfreesboro-Franklin MSA, according to 2021 deposit data from the FDIC, and is listed by Forbes among the top 25 banks in the nation. The firm earned a spot on the 2021 list of 100 Best Companies to Work For^® in the U.S., its fifth consecutive appearance. American Banker recognized Pinnacle as one of America’s Best Banks to Work For nine years in a row and No. 1 among banks with more than $11 billion in assets in 2021.

Pinnacle has served Memphis since 2015 when it acquired Magna Bank. Since then, Pinnacle has become the official bank of the Memphis Grizzlies and FedExForum and was named a “Top 10 Company to Watch in 2017” by the Greater Memphis Chamber. Pinnacle was named No. 1 “Best Place to Work” by the Memphis Business Journal in six of the last seven years. 

The firm began operations in a single location in downtown Nashville, TN, in October 2000 and has since grown to approximately $38.5 billion in assets as of Dec. 31, 2021. As the second-largest bank holding company headquartered in Tennessee, Pinnacle operates in 15 primarily urban markets across the Southeast.

Additional information concerning Pinnacle, which is included in the Nasdaq Financial-100 Index, can be accessed at www.pnfp.com.

 

About The Benjamin L. Hooks Institute for Social Change
Founded in 1996 by the late civil rights activist Dr. Benjamin Hooks in partnership with university officials, the Benjamin L. Hooks Institute for Social Change is an interdisciplinary center at the University of Memphis. It was founded by Benjamin Hooks, the Department of Political Science, and the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Memphis. Together, their common goal for the Institute was to play a pivotal role in framing and solving community problems through the wisdom and vision of pioneers such as Benjamin L. Hooks.