Nothing its not. Just because there's one black bank with one branch in a city of 3 million people doesn't mean anything. Other factors play into this. Where is that one branch located in relation to where I'm located? Is it on the other side of town? Am I going to have to drive past 30 other banks to get to it? People have already brought up the access to their money whenever and wherever.
You put up the map yourself. Look at all those empty states. Even the whole state of California only has 2. The state of Florida only has 2. 48 banks for 50 states isn't enough.
Accessibility is an issue for some but let's keep in mind we're discussing savings accounts in 2016. You should primarily be moving money in and out of your checking account which is why I thinks it's more understandable to choose a checking account based solely on proximity of branches. But given the nature of savings accounts and the online capabilities of most (all?) banks today, having a branch nearby is not a necessity.
This doesn't apply to me but I'm gonna give some input on some research I did.
Bank of America: 0.1%
One United: .20%
Ally Bank: 1.0%
When it comes to savings, always best to get the highest rate.
Yes it's true that banks with no physical branches typically have higher interest rates for their savings accounts. No argument there. But let's look again at those rates; none of them even get close to beating inflation. The point of a savings account isn't really to make money, it's just to store emergency savings or very temporary cash piles. Your longer-term investments should obviously be in your 401ks, 403bs, investment accounts, roths, CDs, etc. Unless you're keeping your life savings in your savings account - losing tons of money regardless of bank choice - the affect on your balance is marginal. Whether this marginal effect offsets your support is a personal choice.
Put it another way with an example using the numbers above and a starting account balance of around 3,000 (over 3X the median savings account balance in the US).
Let's assume a young, socially-conscious couple is saving up for a down payment on a house in three years. They have $3,000 in their account currently and plan on putting 500 into their account every month for the next 36 months. Both banks compound interest daily.
If they go with One United or a comparable black bank, they will have about 21,072 for the down payment of their house.
If they go with Ally or comparable online-only bank, they will have about $21,363 for the down payment of their house.
So the question that the young couple must ask themselves is this; are we willing to invest in our black community and help employ fellow blacks and provide opportunities for ourselves at a personal cost of $291 paid out over 3 years? Again this is a personal decision that depends on what's important to the person. Other communities have shown that they are willing to invest in themselves. I think we as a people must stay educated and consciously decide who we want to support.