Oldest Black Church in Georgia Now Facing Foreclosure

 

 

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University – Scholarship in Action 

 

The oldest black church in DeKalb County had to recently shut its doors after facing foreclosure proceedings on its building. Flat Rock Community Church is 150 years old. According to Binita Miles, a senior pastor, the church is now having to deal with significant financial problems as a result of declining membership.
The church's mortgage is $6,500 and parishioners are now meeting in a local elementary school.

The challenges being faced by Flat Rock are being felt nation-wide. Quite a few black churches have found themselves to be victims of the recent foreclosure crisis and are working to find a way to pay the bills. African Americans at large were disproportionately impacted by the economic downturn and many of us are on the brink of homelessness. Not only do African Americans have the highest unemployment rates in America, we have less wealth to fall back on in the event of economic problems.

 

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Gap Between the Rich and Middle Class Keeps Growing

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University – Scholarship in Action 

It turns out that the gap between the rich and the middle class is larger than it's been in recorded American history. Much of the growth in the gap is due to the recent housing crisis taking place over the past three years.
According to the Economic Policy Institute, the wealthiest 1% had an average net worth that was 225 greater than the average American. That's higher than the previous record, which was 190 times in 2004.
An intriguing aspect of the divide is that it occurred while the wealth of all Americans declined on average. The richest households lost 27% of their wealth between 2007 and 2009, while middle class Americans lost 47% of their wealth during the same time period. So, the growth in the gap was mainly due to the fact that the middle class and poor suffered more during the recent recession than the wealthy.

 

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Dr. Boyce Video: Finding Black Economic Empowerment

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University – Scholarship in Action 

Zachary Rinkins is serious about money. He's been running a very popular financial blog for the past several years, and has positioned himself as one of the most respected financial bloggers in the black community. I love what Zachary is doing because he reflects a generation of young people who are interested in seeing themselves empowered through economic success.

 

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Julianne Malveaux: Surviving and Thriving During the Holidays

by Dr. Julianne Malveaux, President – Bennett College

When I look at the data that define the reality for African Americans in the economy, I am often alarmed and discouraged. One in four African American lives in poverty. Nearly one in three is out of work, according to unofficial data (official data says one in six). African Americans have lost billions of dollars worth of wealth in the foreclosure crisis. We aren't alone in our pain - our nation is hurting. But our pain is more pronounced, more acute, more debilitating.
This is hardly the first time African Americans have experienced disproportionate pain. Indeed, the story of our presence in this nation has been a story of us shouldering more than our share of economic pain. When people ask me about the wealth gap, I remind them that black folks used to be the wealth white folks accumulated. Under those circumstances, it is difficult to imagine that the wealth gap will ever be closed.

And yet we rise. I wrote my latest book, Surviving and Thriving: 365 Facts in Black Economic History, to remind me, to remind all of us, that even in harsh times African Americans have been more than survivors, we have been thrivers. We have made it despite horrible conditions, despite unfairness, despite racism. The playing field has never been level, and yet we have played on the slanted field, returning, returning, and sometimes winning. In the middle of a week of running around, talking about the book in Detroit and in Chicago, I had to smile at myself with air of satisfaction and acknowledge a job well done.

 

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Bishop Eddie Long Linked to Alleged Financial Fraud

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University – Scholarship in Action 

Bishop Eddie Long is in the media again, and not for good reason. Long and another Atlanta megachurch pastor, Gary Hawkins, have been linked to a mortgage company that is being investigated by federal authorities for allegedly stealing money from church members.
The company, Matrix Capital, has been allowed to hold financial seminars in the churches of both men, offering to help lower their mortgages in exchange for $1,500 payments. According to police, thousands of people paid money to Matrix, but ended up filing bankruptcy and/or losing their homes.
Fred Lee, the proclaimed front man for the company, was allegedly able to convince quite a few church members to give him their money primarily because he addressed them within the confines of their joint church environment. The Secret Service and the DeKaulb County Police are now investigating Lee.

 

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Black News: Woman Sues Tobacco Company and Wins $152M Verdict

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University – Scholarship in Action 

Marie Evans grew up in a housing project in Boston. In those projects, the children in the neighborhood were given free samples of Newport cigarettes, which Marie first received at the age of 9. By the time she was 13, she was a regular smoker, and in 2002, she died of lung cancer.
Marie's family decided to confront the maker of Newport cigarettes for their negligent behavior and won a stunning $152 million lawsuit against the company. The judgement consisted of $81 million in damages and another $71 million that had been awarded earlier this week. It took quite a few years to get there, but justice has been served. This is the largest judgement in history against anyone in the tobacco industry.
"It was her wish to sort of bring this suit, and I've honored that wish. It's been my mission to see this to completion. I'm sure she feels vindicated. I'm sure she feels thankful for the 14 members of the jury that they ruled that they committed these offenses," said William Evan's, Marie's son.

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Wells Fargo Says It Plans to Be Nicer to Black People: Oh Really?

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University – Scholarship in Action 

I got a call not too long ago. It was from Wells Fargo, the bank that has been sued by one county after another for engaging in predatory lending toward the African American community. My first question to my business manager was "What do they want? I'm probably not going to be interested." My personal negotiations with Wells Fargo didn't go very far. I had no interest in being associated with the company that many believe to have ripped billions of dollars in wealth from a community that has such little wealth to begin with. Also, after watching my grandparents lose the home they'd lived in for over 40 years, it was personal for me. I also applaud Tavis Smiley for ending his affiliation with Wells Fargo after the predatory lending allegations surfaced during the financial crisis.

You can imagine my dismay when the NAACP made a deal with Wells Fargo that led to the company immediately becoming the title sponsor of the organization's national convention this year. I spoke with NAACP President Ben Jealous about the matter, and I was ultimately left unsatisfied with the degree of transparency behind the deal. It's one thing to say that you're going into the demon's house to clean it up, but you must provide proof that you're not simply entering the house to enjoy the spoils of colluding with the demon. To date, the NAACP has not done an adequate job of describing the nature of its financial deal with Wells Fargo, and the group has also not made clear exactly how Wells Fargo is going to make up for the billions in losses that have been caused to the African American community. Having the most powerful civil rights organization in America as a "partner" effectively releases Wells Fargo from the threat of any significant criticism for their activities in the black community (other than conversations that occur behind closed doors). If this partnership is not clearly defined and empowered, Wells Fargo could hire thugs to rob old ladies in the hood and the NAACP wouldn't be able to say a thing.

 

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Congressional Black Caucus Shows Disgust Toward Obama Over Tax Cuts

Congressional Black Caucus Bashes Obama on Tax Cuts

1:23 PMDec 11

Source: BV on Money

The Congressional Black Caucus has joined the chorus of Democrats currently at war with President Barack Obama. The feud was built on the recent tax cut compromise the president made with Republicans. President Obama and the Democrats were pushing to ... Read More

The Democrats Get Angry at President Obama

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University – Scholarship in Action 

President Barack Obama is at a unique point in his presidency. This is a place where no one thought he'd be, but then again, no presidency ever turns out the way we would expect. The president is finding that in addition to the burden of dealing with unrelenting Republicans, many of whom can't stand seeing a black man in power, he now has to deal with Democrats who are angry at him for compromising on the latest tax agreement.

I admit that I was shocked to see such strong Democratic opposition to Obama's tax deal with the Republicans. Effectively, the Republicans were holding the nation's unemployed hostage in exchange for having Bush tax cuts extended for the rich. This was a prime opportunity for the Democrats, given that the Republicans were revealing themselves to be working on behalf of the wealthy, at the expense of middle class Americans. Additionally, their push to give tax cuts to those who needed them the least was in stark contrast to their proclaimed objective of embracing fiscal discipline as it pertains to the federal debt.

 

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Fox News Commentator Says Extending Unemployment Benefits Undermines Values

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University – Scholarship in Action 

Fox News commentator Juan Williams made news again this week by stating that extending unemployment benefits for America's jobless would weaken their value systems. In Williams' words:
"Because employers, potential employers, will look and see that gee, they've been out forever, it doesn't make sense. And I think that's partly playing in to this cycle. And at some point then it becomes a matter of you lose your work ethic, your values are impacted, you know, getting up, showing up, dressing well, all that good stuff. So I don't know that that's smart."
I would say that Williams' comments are shocking, but they are certainly to be expected from the man who publicly sold himself to the most racist television network in the history of our country. I'm not sure why Williams felt the need to jump in on this issue in such an insensitive way, but it appears that he's working hard to earn the two million that Fox is paying him.

 

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Singer Jermaine Jackson Loses Drivers License Over Back Child Support Payments

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University – Scholarship in Action 

Jermaine Jackson, brother of the late Michael Jackson, is having his driver's license confiscated due to his inability to pay back child support. Jackson allegedly owes his ex-wife, Alejandra Jackson, over $91,921 in child support payments.
According to court documents filed in the Los Angeles County Child Support Services Department, Jackson won't be allowed to drive again until the child support is paid in full.
Back in September, Jackson told the courts that he can no longer afford to pay $3,000 per month in child support for his two sons, Jaafar and Jermajesty. He has asked the judge to cut his payments down to $215 per month, arguing that his ex-wife makes more money than he does.
Currently, Jackson lives with his mother, rent free. He married Alejandra in 1995 and divorced her in 2004.

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Dr. Boyce Watkins: Black Unemployment Keeps Going Up

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University – Scholarship in Action 

Today's release of November unemployment data is not good news for President Obama. Unemployment rose nationally to 9.8 percent, after holding steady at 9.6 percent for the previous three months. The jobless rate jumped for nearly every racial/gender demographic. White women still have the lowest unemployment rate of both genders, when comparing African Americans and whites. Black males have the highest.

Black unemployment rose again from 15.7 percent to 16 percent. This number is slightly lower than the high of 16.3 percent experienced back in August. When scaled with the white unemployment rate of 8.9 percent, the black unemployment rate is 79.8 percent higher than that of white Americans.

 

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Dr. Boyce Watkins on TheLoop21.com - 12/2/10

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