Community Reinvestment
Greenlining Tells Fed: Communities of Color are "Canaries in the Coal Mine" of Economic Crisis
Aug 17, 2010 — Contact: Bruce Mirken, Greenlining Institute Media Relations Coordinator, 510-926-4022; 415-846-7758 (cell)
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Greenlining to Push Improvements to Community Reinvestment Act at Fed Hearing in L.A. Tuesday
Aug 16, 2010 — Contact: Bruce Mirken, Greenlining Institute Media Relations Coordinator, 510-926-4022; 415-846-7758 (cell)
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Federal Reserve Hears Homeowners Woes
Aug 06, 2010 — New America Media
Aaron Glantz
After sitting through two hours of testimony at the Federal Reser... [ More ]
“Issue Brief: Debit Card Overdraft Fees”
Bank overdraft fees take an enormous toll on American consumers, especially those with low balances or those new t...
“War Room Strategy Session Presentation”
This powerpoint provides an overview of how the financial crisis and its impact on communities of color, with stat...
“Annual Report on Diversity on Bank Boards of Directors”
Annual report examines diversity on the boards of the largest financial institutions in the United States. Finding...
“People of Color Hardest Hit by the Foreclosure Crisis”
This issue brief presents data from government and nonprofit sources that demonstrates that Blacks and Latinos wer...
“Race Still Matters: Making the Case for a Racial Lens in Measuring Poverty”
Whites outnumber people of color among the poor in the United States, yet poverty disproportionally affects people...
“Dear President Obama:Mortgage Modifications Must Come From the Grass Roots, Not Trickle Down”
Greenlining urges President Obama and Secretary Geithner to take a grassroots approach to loan modification.
“Advocate's Guide to CRA”
Find out what the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) is, and how it can provide communities with the power to demand...
“HMDA FY2007 Full Report”
FISCAL YEAR 2007 UPDATE. The credit crunch has hit communities of color hardest, particularly lower-income c...
“HMDA FY2007 Issue Brief”
FISCAL YEAR 2007 UPDATE. The credit crunch has hit communities of color hardest, particularly lower-income c...
“Annual Report on Lending to Minority-Owned Small Businesses”
FISCAL YEAR 2008 UPDATE. This report card provides data for the best and the worst banks of 2008 in Small Bu...
“2008 Bank Board Diversity Report”
These individuals are experts regarding this initiative, and can be contacted if you have any questions.
Orson Aguilar
Executive Director
Tel: 510.926.4005
Email Orson
Milicent Johnson
Community Reinvestment Fellow
Tel: 510.926.4024
Preeti Vissa
Program Manager of Community Reinvestment
Tel: 510.926.4006
Email Preeti
Community Reinvestment
Vision
We envision a society in which...
- all members have a fair chance to achieve the American Dream through economic prosperity
- families in communities of color and low-income communities own their own homes
- small businesses in communities of color get the support they need so that they can thrive and bring wealth into their communities
- the corporate world not only reflects the communities that it serves, but also dialogues with those communities and takes their best interests into account when making decisions that impact the lives of individuals and families that live in low-income communities and communities of color.
Background
People of color are:
- Less likely to own a bank account
- Less likely to own a home (or to have a less valuable home if they do own one)
- More likely to have been steered into subprime loans
- Less wealthy
- Less likely to enter the middle class (and more likely to slip back into poverty if they are already middle class)
- Less likely to hold a seat on the board of directors of a financial institution
- More likely to be unemployed during economic recessions
- More likely to incur repeated overdraft fees
In addition, small businesses owned by people of color are less likely to receive work contracts from corporations, the government, and utility companies.
Greenlining's Approach
Greenlining seeks to ensure that there is social justice as well as economic opportunities for communities of color to live the American Dream through wealth creation mechanisms. We do this by:
- Highlighting racial disparities in asset building opportunities;
- Organizing and empowering community leaders around asset building;
- Directly engaging private institutions that impact wealth creation;
- Engaging government officials to advance policies and regulations that promote asset building in communities of color; and
- Training future asset building advocates through our Leadership Academy.
Greenlining strongly believes that fair access to financial products and services provides a path to long-term wealth. Wealth is not simply about putting more money in a bank account. Wealth gives communities a stronger political voice, leads to better health outcomes, and is proven to lead to better educational achievement for children.
The Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) empowers community organizations like Greenlining and our coalition partners to engage financial institutions to ensure greater investments in lower-income and people of color communities. Our holistic approach at Greenlining focuses on the life cycle of asset building and wealth creation.