Sandy Weill's story tells how racially-biased predatory lending lies at the center of the economic crisis. A third-generation American, Weill grew up on the streets of Brooklyn where for some the road to success was a place whose name came from a structure built to protect the city from Indians, pirates and other invaders and whose die was cast when a small group of men met in secret under a buttonwood tree: Wall Street.
Like the hero of a Horatio Alger tale, Weill began his climb to success not in the proverbial mail room but as a $35 a week clerk, eventually clawing his way to become second-in-command at American Express. But Weill had an itch for more so he cashed in his chips and set about looking for his own business. In 1986 he settled on a Baltimore loan company named Commercial Credit that specialized in predatory lending.
I am honored to present the work of Ralph Brauer. For some time I have marveled as I read his research and reflected upon his work. Today, this author of note shares with readers at BeThink. I welcome Ralph Brauer. May I invite you to peruse his prose. Please ponder; then share your thoughts.
There is an elephant in the room no one wants to mention when you bring up the housing crisis. It is the same elephant that has occupied the room since the very beginning of this nation. Yes, it was there that hot Philadelphia summer when they drafted the Constitution. Maybe that is what Ben Franklin is gazing at as he sits in the center of the famous painting of the signing of the Constitution by Howard Chandler Christy that hangs today in the House of Representatives east stairway. Certainly the elephant had haunted Franklin much of his life causing him to call it "a constant butchery of the human species" in an anonymous letter written in 1772. That elephant that haunted Franklin and continues to haunt us today is racism.
The fact that so many people are surprised to hear that anger in some of Reverend Wright's sermons simply reminds us of the old truism that the most segregated hour in American life occurs on Sunday morning. ~ Barack Obama [Senator and Potential President] March 18, 2008
When we are separate, our experience is never equal. African-Americans mingle among the many Anglos in this country. However, individuals with dark-complexions do not fully unite or fit into a society that segregates by color. While Americans have forcibly progressed beyond the laws that allowed for racial discrimination, the bias and bigotry that filled the hearts of many citizens in the United States for centuries still thrives. While we muse, we love thy neighbor, we react to those whose race is not our own.
The mantra may be "teach tolerance." Yet, we teach our children intolerance. In America, we see Historic Reversals, [and] Accelerating Resegregation, so says a report released in August 2007. This study, conducted by Gary Orfield and Chungmei Lee, of the Civil Rights Project, University of California, Los Angeles documents what is evident throughout the country; racism is alive and well in America. Indeed, racial discrimination grows stronger each and every day. The most recent Supreme Court decision, handed down in June 2007, endorsed further racial divides. Parents Involved in Community Schools versus Seattle School District Number 1 et al, sanctions school segregation. For the most part, parents and the population at-large embrace this ruling.
Today, I was reminded of how deeply divided this nation is. I read School Diversity Based on Income Segregates Some. I discovered in an attempt to offer equal opportunities, indeed, schools discovered discrimination remained a dominant force. School Boards, Administrators, and the community-at-large concluded educational institutions would be more diverse if learners were assigned to schools based on family incomes. A plan was introduced and implemented. The outcome was mixed; however, the pupil populations were less so. Some races, colors, and creeds were abundant within a given institution; others were not well represented.
Once again we see the human rights of the poor taken away just because they are poor and dependent on the state. A report taken from the NYTimes (behind the subscriber firewall) gives the facts of the case which originates in San Diego, California. In that fair city poor people who want public benefits are left without personal privacy.
Investigators from the district attorney's office there make unannounced visits to the homes of people applying for welfare, poking around in garbage cans, medicine chests and laundry baskets.
Of course the recipients of government largesse are not required to let the investigators into their homes and into their lives, but refusal ends their benefits. How many of us live without some measure of government benefit such as tax relief or other provision. Just how many of us are going to open the sacred halls of our homes to such an invasion at any price? Why are the poor left in this lurch?
It is official Brown versus Board of Education has been reversed. Providing equal education opportunities to all children, regardless of race, color, or creed is no longer a priority. The 1954 Court decision that invalidated the principle of 'separate but equal' was overturned on June 28, 2007. This day will live in infamy. In another of the many recent 5 to 4 split decisions, the neoconservative Supreme Court canceled the promise made to students of color.
On Monday, May 01, 2006, another May Day will come and go. However, for those in the United States this international holiday that honors laborers will be different. This one will live in the memories of Americans forever. In this country, citizens, and non, will speak out on the issue of immigration. For, it is the newest immigrants that makeup a large portion of our labor force. These persons are planning not to go to work today; nor will their supporters. They and their allies will stand up for themselves, their beliefs, and their desire for freedom.
Other will also venture out. They will take to the streets, the blogs, the bars, and airwaves. They will wail for walls. Some will agitate over the issue of amnesty. Whether they themselves are residing in this country legally or not, people will demonstrate. They will express their opinions loudly and openly.
The undocumented workers here in the USA are not loved; they are loathed by a vast majority of the populace. Numerous liberals, those that usually support the downtrodden have turned their backs on this population. They see them as law-breakers, union busters, and less than those born in this country.
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