Over the past year, COVID-19 and its variants have plagued the globe taking lives and interrupting normal activities in virtually all areas of life. For Black America, already plagued with steep health, income and wealth disparities, coping with the pandemic has been even more painful.   

As President Joe Biden begins his term of office, the nation and much of the world are waiting and watching to see how his promises become policies and practices that relieve long-term and widespread suffering.  

Although a new year has begun, many American consumers and small businesses continue to feel a financial hangover from the challenges of 2020. As the global pandemic reveals a still-soaring American infection rate, the nation has also surpassed 350,000 related deaths, added more workers to t…

Although the year 2020 has been dominated by continuing news coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic’s rising death toll that has now claimed the lives of nearly 300,000 Americans, it is not the only challenge facing the nation.

Policy group calls for fair housing, Black business assistance and more

The August 23 police shooting of an unarmed Black man in Kenosha, Wisconsin, triggered yet another round of community protests and national news coverage of a Black man. On August 28, the National Action Network served as a major organizer for a Commitment March, rededicating the yet unaddre…

A $349 billion program created to assist America’s small businesses was launched on April 3 to provide payroll, utilities, rent and more for eligible applicants screened by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). On April 16 – less than two weeks later – this national stimulus enacted …

While much of the nation grapples with multiple adjustments attributed to the coronavirus pandemic, a rare bipartisan effort in recent days united lawmakers to reject an ill-advised Department of Education push against financial fairness for student borrowers. The lawmakers’ efforts were to …

For much of Black America, access to fair and responsible credit has been an elusive promise. Whether as consumers seeking the pride of homeownership or businesses seeking to begin or expand, securing credit remains an age-old, arduous and often frustrating pursuit – despite a slew of federa…

For consumers, businesses, organizations and governments alike, annual budgets typically reflect not only line items but priorities as well. As A. Philip Randolph reminded us more than 50 years ago with the release of the “Freedom Budget”, such documents reflect the morals of our nation. Esp…

Once upon a time in Washington, Congress enacted the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act that also created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). For the first time, a federal agency was charged to be the consumers’ financial cop on the beat. In its first four years, CFPB received 35…

In 2020, much of the hard-won rights championed by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. are under attack by the very governments charged to enforce both laws and regulations. Especially for Black America, rollbacks of much-needed programs jeopardize access to basic life needs such as nutrition, safe w…

Two important federal financial regulators are planning how the future financial needs of low-and-moderate income (LMI) communities will be met. In an effort to “modernize” the 1977 Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) on December 12 the board of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) …

Amid the tinsel and garland celebrating the holiday season, two important federal financial regulators are planning how the future financial needs of low-and-moderate income communities will be met. In an effort to “modernize” the 1977 Community Reinvestment Act, on December 12 the board of …

The holiday season is a time when predatory lenders offer enticements to put more debt than money into your pockets. For unsuspecting consumers, it’s a temptation trapped in all kinds of packages that seem too good to pass by. In reality though, these deals are often a debt trap leading to a…

When triple-digit predatory lending is added to already financially challenged consumers, paydays become exchange days, swapping those hard-earned monies for the bills waiting to be paid. Too many times the terms of credit, including high-cost interest and fees wind up costing far more than …

From health care to home loans and educational benefits, our nation supports the well-being and financial security of veterans who have served and their families. VA (Veterans Administration) home loans enable veterans to have their own American Dream, and who wouldn’t want a federal assuran…

For more than 40 years, the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) has served as a mechanism for the federal government to hold banks and other depository institutions accountable for meeting the credit needs of low and moderate income (LMI) neighborhoods. Enacted in 1977, the CRA has the power to…

When federal legislation is blocked that would extend and preserve funding for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), such actions are not only an affront to today’s college students, but also to a history that has led to only 3 percent of the nation’s colleges and universitie…

On September 16, California Governor Gavin Newsom wrote a letter that urged President Donald Trump to recognize homelessness as a “national crisis decades in the making that demands action at every level of government.” He was joined by state officials representing cities and counties.

Most consumers would likely agree that consumers should get what they pay for. If a product or service fails to deliver its promises, refunds are in order. That thinking guided the Obama Administration’s decision to address false promises made to student loan borrowers.  

For payday loan borrowers and consumer and civil rights activists, this August 19 was supposed to be the end of payday lending’s nearly inevitable debt trap.

A shooting rampage in El Paso, Texas on August 3 took the lives of 22 people and seriously injured more than two dozen others. Reportedly, the alleged shooter wanted to kill as many Mexicans as he could. Armed with safety glasses, ear coverings and an assault-style rifle, the shooter entered…

Every Fourth of July celebrates this nation’s founding. But this year, only a few days before the annual freedom celebration, an ill-advised governmental action will financially doom rather than free millions of student loan borrowers – as of July 1. Moreover, this action arrives as the cost…

Nearly 90 years ago, Kelly Miller (1863-1939), a black sociologist and mathematician, said, “The Negro is up against the white man’s standard, without the white man’s opportunity.” As the first black man to enroll as a graduate student at Johns Hopkins University in 1908, Miller also authore…

Every budget defines priorities and values. To put it another way, what’s really important in life gets supported financially. For many families, having a home, food, and utilities usually rank pretty high. Then there are other budgetary concerns like saving for college or having a ‘rainy da…

Every year the payday lending industry convenes in an effort to further expand and preserve the combined $8 billion in fees generated each year by consumers caught in payday and car-title loans. This year also marks the second consecutive year that the organization representing sellers of th…

On March 7, the House Financial Services Committee, chaired by U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters (D-California), marked the first time that the new director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) appeared for a hearing in this capacity. Entitled “Putting Consumers First? A Semi-Annual Revi…

In an increasingly competitive global economy, highly skilled workers have a sharp advantage in securing and keeping employment. And as technological advances result in life-long learning in many occupations, many worker-students turn to federal student aid, the largest source of funding for…

In recent months, many economists and lawmakers have frequently touted how the nation’s economy is performing really well, often citing historically low unemployment rates. I’ve always felt that such pronouncements failed to consider the untold millions of Americans who are eking out a livin…

In 43 states and the District of Columbia, driver’s licenses can be suspended because of unpaid court debt. In most locales, once a driver’s license is suspended, it can retain that designation indefinitely. Only four states currently require an “ability-to-repay” or a “willfulness” determin…

For many consumers, the New Year brings an annual effort to file taxes early enough to help pay off big bills, replace major appliances or tuck away a few bucks. With a continuing federal shutdown, this year there are also an estimated 800,000 federal workers who have not had a payday since …

Once again on the third Monday in January, much of the nation will mark the anniversary of the death of the late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Countless programs and events will no doubt recall several of his famous speeches from the 1963 March on Washington’s “I Have A Dream to his “I’ve …

Following the death of former U.S. President George H.W. Bush, a week of glowing remarks of the elder statesman overshadowed any negative press the former leader received in the past. There was no reference to the racist campaign ad centered on Willy Horton, no mention of his so-called war o…

A decade has passed since the housing collapse.  In that time, bank profits are back and continue to rise. Despite occasional trading fluctuations, the stock market remains profitable for most investors. Then there’s the low rate of unemployment that is often cited as if economic strides hav…

With 44 million people together owing $1.5 trillion in student debt, consumers have a huge investment in higher education. And as the price of college continues to rise, student loan borrowing will continue its upward trajectory.

In just a few weeks, civil rights and housing advocates will commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Fair Housing Act. Just four days following the assassination of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Congress passed the law on April 10, 1968.

As millions of students return to school, the nation’s Justice Department (DOJ) is beginning an investigation that could potentially sue universities over affirmative action admissions policies. As first reported by the New York Times, Justice’s Civil Rights Division will carry out this effo…