A Contract With Black America/Massive Bank Lending and Finance Reform

A Contract With Black America (2020)
Ice Cube, CWBA Consortium

Massive Bank Lending and Finance Reform

Mandatory civil rights and anti-racism classes in all elementary schools. Black scholars will write the textbooks and curriculum adopted for these classes. Institute the Black History 365 curriculum. (African history highlighting the civilizations of Mali, Ghana, Songhai, Egypt, Ethiopia, Nubia, Zimbabwe, and others are incorporated into all schools’ World History or “Social Studies” curriculums).

Reform Gerrymandering. Districts cannot be designed to minimize the impact of the Black vote.

More polling sites in minority and Black neighborhoods so that the number of polling stations provides equal access to Black voters as they do in White and other communities. Lack of access violates the 1965 Voters Rights Act, and the Act should be amended to give it more teeth since it is currently not working.

A formal admission and apology to Black Americans for past wrongs. OFFICIAL FULL VERSION#ACONTRACTWITHBLACKAMERICAMassive Bank Lending and Finance Reform. While capitalism is a good system, it requires capital to participate. For decades, Black and Jewish people and neighborhoods (considered “hazardous”) were entirely, or largely, denied loans through the unscrupulous banking practice known as “redlining”. While “redlining” was made illegal in 1968 with passage of the Fair Housing Act, and then again with the 1977 Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), statistics show the perpetuation of de facto redlining in many of the same communities, most notably Black communities, still exists. Studies consistently show Blacks are denied access to lending in roughly the same percentages as before the Acts passage. The result is White families have nearly 10x the net worth of Black families today. As an example, even when Black families get home mortgages, nearly 20% pay on average 1.5% points above the average offer to Whites. And although the Black population is roughly 13.4% of the nation, approximately only 3% of loans and credit are given to Black people whether for credit cards, home mortgages or Black-owned businesses. In addition, only 1% of banks are Black-owned or led.

Rates on Black loans federally and from banks to be same average rates as Whites.

For qualified Black Americans, Federal Reserve to allow a one-time interest free loan for home ownership. Federal Reserve currently provides corporations with free or 1% loans and is flooding market with liquidity. Instead of it all going to prop up the stock market, help create Black family wealth through property ownership.

Federal Reserve to adopt a view employing Modern Monetary Theory with the goal of maximizing employment, housing, and educational opportunities, as well as improving quality of living for Black and poor Americans. Spending will be constrained only when ACTUAL inflation appears.

Federal plan of “Baby Bonds” proposed by Darrick Hamilton will provide every child born into lower-wealth families with accounts that will start with $1,000 and would continue to funded by the government based on family wealth up to $46,500 as proposed by Senator Booker and Representative Pressley. Accounts to be managed by the Treasury and use of funds restricted to asset enhancing actions such as buying homes, starting businesses and funding education.

Rates on Black loans federally and from banks to be same average rates as Whites.

For qualified Black Americans, Federal Reserve to allow a one-time interest free loan for home ownership. Federal Reserve currently provides corporations with free or 1% loans and is flooding market with liquidity. Instead of it all going to prop up the stock market, help create Black family wealth through property ownership.

Federal Reserve to adopt a view employing Modern Monetary Theory with the goal of maximizing employment, housing, and educational opportunities, as well as improving quality of living for Black and poor Americans. Spending will be constrained only when ACTUAL inflation appears.

Federal plan of “Baby Bonds” proposed by Darrick Hamilton will provide every child born into lower-wealth families with accounts that will start with $1,000 and would continue to funded by the government based on family wealth up to $46,500 as proposed by Senator Booker and Representative Pressley. Accounts to be managed by the Treasury and use of funds restricted to asset enhancing actions such as buying homes, starting businesses and funding education.

Change the decades old credit scoring model to mandate consideration of consumer data on rent, utility, and cellphone bill payments.

A “Cookie-Jar” company is any company that was knowingly involved in human trafficking, human bondage, slave trading or slave labor at any point in its existence. Companies found to have directly benefitted by the private prison system and those who perpetuated overtly racist policies will also be considered “Cookie-Jar” companies. Individual negotiations will be conducted by a Commission formed for the singular purpose of assessing penalties and remedies from these companies caught with their hands in the cookie jar.

Venture Capital and Private Equity funds that take money from police unions or other public entities must invest 13.4% of their total funds in Black owned businesses. According to Axios, only 1% of VC-backed founders were Black between 2013-2018.

Government Pension Funds. Federal and State pension funds control over a trillion dollars. They must allocate 13.4% of their investments into Black owned enterprises and businesses.

Corporations are publicly regulated and as part of the certification process all past and current tax returns must be made public.

Create a transparent reporting mechanism for abuses to economic programs designed to benefit communities in need, including federal programs such as Economic Opportunity Zones and Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). Audit of “opportunity zones” to determine who is benefiting from disbursement of such funds and tax breaks and public disclosure