Newspapers / Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.) / June 30, 1994, edition 1 / Page 10
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OPINION/LETTERS Winston-Salem Chronicle ! ' ? ' t " * ' ' Ernest H. Pitt, Publisher/Co-1'ounder NDUBISI JEGEMONYE, Co-Founder Richard L. Williams, Executive Editor ELAINE Pitt, Director of Community Relations MICHAEL A. Pitt, Advertising V nager ^ Mel White, Circulation Manager Banks ' Failure Rate It seems to be the same old song when it comes to the state's financial institution^ making mortgage loans to African Americans. The Community Reinvestment Associa tion of North Carolina (CRA) discovered that the same 'pat terns existed when it studied the state's financial institutions' records of mortgage lending to minorities and the poor: ' African Americans and lending institutions are not bosom ' buddies. - ; . ' J - ? . ?. ? . , . CRA's new study, released last week, again reveals the * Same old probiems_with the same old lenders as the culprit. The fact that African Americans ? regardless of income level ? are still twice as likely to be turned down for mort gage loans as whites is cause for concern, especially since these same African Americans who are turned away con ? tinue to store their, hard-earned dollars at these banks. CRA studied 14 lending institutions and -evaluated the lenders in each of the state's nine metropolitan statistical ' areas on eight factors in order to answer the question: "Compared to other financial institutions, how well did a bank serve African American and low-income households ,> in this city?" The eight factors used in the study included the percentage of applications an institution received from ? minority and low-income households and the percent of total mortgage portfolio lent to black and low-income house holds. The study also compared the rates of denials for African American and white applicants. The results demonstrate that as far as the minority/bank ing relationship is concerned, history often repeats itself. Banks for years ^have had a poor approval rate when to comes, to mortgage loans to African Americans. And although CRA's study is based on 1992 numbers; the bottom j line remains that very little effort is being put forth to ?" change those numbers. Of those studied. Southern National Bank, Branch Banking & Trust and "First Citizens Bank fin ished at the bottom of the scale. Southern National and . * ?. j k Ui ??.- ?. . .... BB&T both received grades of F+; First Citizens got a D ? . Also, NationsBahc Mortgage received a D+ grade and NationsBank of North Carolina received a B ? : First Union "V Bank received a D+ and First U n i ofi Mortgage Corp. received a B ? : Wachovia Bank uf North Caioltna got a'B-r~ and Wachovia Mortgage Co. received a C ? . There was a glimmer of hope. Minority-owned Mechan ics & Farmers Bank, as expected, scored the highest marks. It was joined by the State Employees Credit Union and United Carolina Bank. I, , Some of the banks offered excuses -for-their low rating. such as noting that CRA's numbers are outdated. Some claim that their 1994 rating will be higher. All we can say is we hope so. For some, it couldn't get any worse. Children Come First ? It seems as though our county commissioners are more interested in the welfare of our children than some members of the citv-county school board. ? The commissioners agreed last week to spend $750,000 for a program aimed at "at-risk" "4-year-olds, and all the board has to do is implement it. But some board members now seem to have a thousand and one questions ? none of which have anything to do with the merit of this program reaching youths at an early enough age to make successful students of them as they get . older. ? The myriad of concerns seem more political than any thing else. One school board member said she was opposed to the county telling them how to spend the money. Well, if the school board doesn't know, then someone ought to enlighten them. Another school board member questioned whether the funding would continue since two commission ers who support the program ? John Holleman and Chair ' ? man Wayne Williard ? did not seek re-election. - If the funding is there for next year, take it. Make sure the program is a success and it likely will be funded again. But we believe the school board is the last political body that should criticize lame-duck status. The school board is full of them. If the voting public chooses, none of the cur rent members will have seats in the fall. Should that pre . elude them from taking any action; as well? : ? , Board members didn't think so when they went about business as usual and hired a superintendent two weeks ago. Grace Efird. who lost in the primary, even served as the host of the evening during the two forums. The school board should take a look at the merit of the program and stop playing politics. And if board members ' choose to continue bickering over non-issues, they should - be reminded that they chose a superintendent. And what's good for the goose is good for the gander. Accused Killer Warns Youths About Guns and Violence i ? To the Editor: My name is Cedric Hall and 1 am writin this letter because I am a .victim locked away awaiting trial behind the city's major problem that's ruining the lives of today's young people. 1 feel that today/s society- needs to heaf about guns that have ruined a person's life,_and from a person that has actually; experienced the problem. 1 read the papers and. mostly there are articles on crime and guns, but some of these articles, ; and the statements being made are mostly from people who haven't experienced the problem, just been around guns. I believe I can have a lot of input toward kids because I've experienced the problem.. The problem has effected me ? physically and mentally. I would like to encourage today's readers, parents and children not to get - involved with guns. So that they will never have to come to this jail, because they lock you in here and basically forget about you. 1 didn't just shoot and kill someone just to be doing it; I shot to protect myself from being shot. The crirT^ doesn't meet my pasi background behavior. 1 was just picking up a friend, and this guy tried to start trouble with ' me. 1 was threatened, and he even pulled out a gun on rtie. he put me in a serious position. There wasn't a chance for me to retreat and seek authorities for help. Some say guns are bad. which js true, but if I hadn't had one. ,1 would have probably been killed. Sometimes the law tries to say that every killing is drug related. and when the* pick you up. it's always questions being asked about r drugs. I'm a hard-working citizen who is 20 years old, never been charged with drugs, just traffic vio lations, and 1 can assure you that 1 have no violent nature. But the guy I. killed had a violent nature. His name is Garrett Henry Ridgill. I've been sitting here about five .months and my bond is $250,000 cash. But being in here has really helped me get my thoughts together. Every night 1 go to sleep, this situation has been bugging me. so I decided to put it on paper because other people need to know that guns are a serious thing today. And I feel I have to say something about because 1 don't want anyone else having to go through what I'm going through. Thank you. Cedric Hall Kudos io Columnist To the Editor: i I was jubilant when Dr. William Turner started writing regu- ? larly for the Chronicle. He was my tfeacher; academic advisor, mentor for three years at WSSU. . * His Chronicle feature. Lift / . _ ? I have been motivated to write at this time regarding Turner/s unique piece on the O.J.s. I didn't think it was possible, but he has who sang "Sadie", not the O'Jays. However, you were my favorite teacher at State and you are still OK by me. Keep up the good work! ;*r About letters .. . The Chronicle welcomes letters as well as guest columns from its readers. Letters should be as concise as possible and should be typed or bly printed. The letter must also include name, address and telephone number of th^ writer to ensure the authenticity of the lemm | Columns must follow the same guidelines. will be published if they are of interest to pu general ntadershipi The Chronicle will not lish any letters 6t columns that arrive wi tfus information. We reserve the right to edit let ters and columns for brevity and clarity. Subuut letters and columns to Wj&bonicle Mailbag, P.O. Box l\ Winston-Salem, N.C. k " '$*??' ' CHRONICLE MAI LB AG Our Readers Speak Out Every Voice, lifts my spirits and inspires my thinking. This nian is incredibly bright and possesses a keen intellect. His passion about issues that, affect African-American people is genuine, sincere and dynamic. :? , '-A' '? finally outdone himself. The parallel between the sports figure (O.J. Simpson), the Wall Street banker (Orlando Joe Jett) and the singing group (The O ' J ays) was clever. - But. "Doc", it was the Spinners Also, any chance of your writ ing getting syndicated? , 1 am sure people outside of Winston-Salem would appreciate your views. Tammy J. Broadaway WSSU Alumnus '94 Support the People Who Put Bread on Our Tables "Support the people who put the bread on our tables" is what the Reverend Leon H. Sulli van told hundreds .of Opportunities Industrializa tion Center of American. -Inc. (OICA) executives at the organization's 30th convocation cere monies. (^n the other hand, William Hoglund, vice president of a company that puts bread ^wi the tables of a quarter million people, told the same group. "America needs more cooperation betweeh business, government, academia and organizations like the Opportunities Industrial ization Centers of America to ensure minorities have the skills and knowledge to function: in a highly competitive marketplace." Thi? mutual backslapping was taking place becauseTToglund is a senior official of General Motors Corpora- . lion", and Sullivan is a former member of that company's board of directors and a firm believer of American "Support for homegrown products." Hoglund uas trying to shore up African Ameri can support for his cars currently in the market place and for the ruture employees ot his com pany who will become institutions like OICA. GM's number three man told OICA's 30th Convocation that the changes occurring in indus try can provide some perspective on jobs, job training, fairness and opportunity. "There's been a tremendous paradigm shift in the industrial sec tor. a paradigm shift so significant that it's likely to affect the business of training people for good jobs." Hoglund said. In indicating GM's commit ment to diversity and enhancing opportunities for minorities. Hoglund said, "Job training and retraining will become critical factors as a result of the explosion of technology and the globaliza . tion of business." Leon. Sullivan has been helping the nation's poor and unemployed "eat more cake" for 30 years. After putting Philadelphia's Tasty City on its ear for discriminatory practices in the 60s, Sullivan and 400 ministers in that city began a -movement called OICA that has nuw served over ,1.5 million disadvantaged and under-skilled men and women. OICA is now a network of 70 com munity-based employment and training centers that have established solid reputations for prepar ing quality and depend able American workers. The philosophy nf OICA, established by the tenacious Rev. Sullivan, is for "Self-help." The organization's system of developing the "Whole . person" enables its prod ucts to become self-sufficient, productive work ers. A j 989 study revealed that the first one mil lion individuals who received OICA services produced more than $150 billion in earnings for the U.S. economy. By joining the workforce, these million individuals generated more than $22 billion in taxes and saved taxpayers $35 bil lion in -welfare payments. Leon Howard Sullivan is one of the most widely admired and respected men in the world today. Although his church was one of the largest in Philadelphia, much of his world acclaim came from his directorship at General Motors when the company gave him full reign to expand business opportunities for blacks inside and out of that industrial conglomerate. During his board tenure the volume of business GM did with blacks increased from a few million to more than $1.3 billion. Today, GM does more business with African American firms than the U.S. govern ment, or any other private company. in the nation's history. His nuw famous "Sullivan Piin ciples." a code of conduct for firms doing busi ness in South Africa, helped inaugurate a revolu tion in race relations in that country. "in giving the OICA another $1,000,000 con BUSINESS EXCHANGE By WILLIAM REED trihution. Hoglund also pointed out the sound ness of Sullivan's new principle of "supporting those who put bread on tiur t^rbiesr^-GMli? progress with minority affairs includesiover $1 billion in minority supplier purchases: employing 62,000 black employees - the largest private sec tor employer of blacks in the world, having over 150 high level executives and having 216 black GM dealers - the largest number of black dealers in the industry. (Information on automobile deal ership opportunities is available for $2.50 from - African Americans on Wheels, 2-54 National Press Bldg.. Washington, D.C. 20045) (William Reed is a nationally syndicated columnists) VOICES IN THE COMMUNITY Recently there were several D-Day celebrations. Chronicle staff intern Beth Glen asked local citizens if they felt black soldiers were ade quately portrayed or represented in the D-Day celebrations? Ann Gray "I don't honor military victories, not even in the Bible. If we are honorable and peaceful people our negotiations will lead to peace rather than blood shed. I didn't watch because I didn't want to feel bad." Shirley Aldridge _ "No. because I saw a lot concerning D-Day. They said the role blacks played was mostly to pick up dead bodie&on the beaches. So they showed very little about them and even that was down played." Darren Griffin _ "They were portrayed but not represented. Though they were mentioned as part of what happened, they weren't the ones telling the stones." Channon Campbftt "No because I didn't see any black people on TV who could have participated in D-Day. 1 only saw one black soldier on the morn ing broadcast from Nor mandy and he was young..'" M^rvfnVanEaton "No, because I'm sure that blacks participated fought during D-Day but you'd never learn that by watching the D-Day spe cials."
Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.)
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June 30, 1994, edition 1
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