Seminar at UMSL April 22
On Saturday, April 22 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. state Rep. Juanita Head Walton and the National Black Caucus of States Institute (NBCSI), along with community and business partners, will convene “What’s Your Credit Score?” at the University of Missouri-St. Louis Millennium Center, Rm. 316.
The public is invited to attend this free seminar.
“One of the major barriers to building assets is credit,” said Walton.
“That three-digit credit score will determine the interest rates charged for auto, home, and business loans and can even impact the ability to obtain affordable insurance and secure home rentals. For African Americans, the burden of these higher costs only serves to further fuel the wealth divide.”
The Workshop will explore credit scoring, credit reporting, and methodologies that are used to assess and analyze financial stability. A key portion of the workshop will also focus on activities to build, fix and protect your credit status – all strategies for increasing the credit score.
Speakers will discuss the benefits of prioritizing short- and long-term financial goals, and representatives from financial institutions will share an array of financial services and products that area available to assist in building, preserving and fixing credit. Participants will also receive several take-home tools that include information on budgeting, savings, insurance and managing credit.
Credit is a major element of economic independence. In a recent study published by Demos, data between 1992 and 2001 indicated that credit card debt for African Americans increased from $2,416 to $2,950 – a 22 percent increase over the period. Additionally, African-American families increased their debt-to-credit ratio at a rate far greater than they increased income, which reduced the overall wealth-building power of every dollar they earned. The study further identified that nearly one out of five credit card-indebted African Americans earning less that $50,000 was in debt hardship; 40 percent of their income was spent on debt service payments in 2001.
The mounting debt, lower credit scores, ability to manage finances, lower wages and higher interest rates represent some of the growing factors that have resulted in long-term disadvantages for African-American families, making it more difficult to pay off debt and build assets, impacting the ability to have opportunities to own a home or business.
The credit workshop represents one in a series of events that NBCSI will convene with black legislative leadership throughout the country to further stress the power of financial education.
“Black legislators serve as a catalyst to address policy, and are a major force in providing leadership to transform policy into tangible programs in African-American communities,” said Barbara Blackmon, president of NBCSI.
Other event sponsors include Human Development Corporation of Metropolitan St. Louis, 100 Black Men, 100 Black Women, the Black Women’s Political Action Coalition, state Rep. Amber “Holly” Boykins, state Rep. Esther Haywood, state Rep. Robin Wright-Jones, North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), HSBC-North America, Bank of America, Vantage Credit Union, Global Diversity Group Inc. and compucredit.
The workshop is open to the public at no charge but pre-registration is encouraged and seating is limited. Call Linda Wallace at (919) 620-8878 or 1-888-265-6480, or Debra Shellman at (573) 751-5538.
