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Established 1970
STA FF
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d it o r
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h ie f
u b l is h e r
Charles H. Washington
E
d it o r
Larry J. Jackson, Sr.
B
M
u s in e s s
anager
Gary Ann Taylor
A sst . P ublisher
Michael Leighton
C
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d it o r
J oy Ramos
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Opinion articles do not necessarily reflect or represent the views
o f 0 H jr f l a r t t a n b ( P b a e r u e r
Predatory Lenders Target Mom in the ‘Hood’
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Portland, OR 9 7 2 1 1
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Raza and other organizations
have become increasingly
aware of unscrupulous lend
ing practices that are going
on among their constituents.
In its com m itm ent to all
Americans 50 and older, but
especially those most vulner
able - the elderly, minority
and low-income homeowners
- AARP has established a
num ber o f resources and
events aimed at educating po
tential victims.
Elderly homeowners, their
adult children and other con
cerned relatives or neighbors
can call 1-800-424-3410 with
their questions about every
thing from predatory lending
F or the
While many African Ameri
cans have climbed aboard the
“success express,’’ many of
their parents have remained
in the “hood.”
Too often these parents,
many o f whom are single
mothers, think that since their
“w ell-to-do” adult children
have provided them with the
added protection of a home
security system, they are safe.
However, some of the big
gest rip-offs come through
scams that reach them through
ads on TV, direct mail and
even telephone calls.
The result is that “Mama”
can be victimized by “preda
tory lenders.”
Predatory lending is a col
lection of unfair and decep
tive practices used to trick
homeowners into signing up
for high cost and o ften -
unaffordable mortgage loans.
The predatory lender manipu
lates individuals into obtaining
a loan they can’t afford to pay
off.
“Older homeowners can be
come trapped in these abusive
loans for a number of per
sonal and family-related finan
cial re a so n s,” said Dawn
Sweeney, associated execu
tive director of AARP, for
mally the American Associa
tion o f Retired Persons.
“In the African-American
community, older homeowner
Muriel Cooper
borrowers hold 18 percent of
the sub prim e m ortgages.
Older women borrowers held
45 percent of sub prime mort
gages,” Sweeney said.
The typical ideal target is
an elderly African-American
widow. Lenders buy databases
and use marketing tactics to
trace them down.
The game can be run sev
eral ways, but here are typical
examples: Daddy died two
years ago and used to do all of
the outside work on the house.
The last bad storm caused the
gutters to fall. The windows
should have been replaced a
long time ago and the house
could stand a couple of coats
of paint.
A sales re p re se n ta tiv e
knocks on the door and ex-
ir e c t o r
Robert Parker
July 25, 2001
Crtje Jlortlanò (Obseruer
plains the value (equity) in the
house that can be used in or
der to spruce up.
“The sales rep says, ’You
know, you have a nice house.
I see you need a little work
done. I was in the neighbor
hood and would be happy to
do the work cheaper than you
could get a big company to do
it. I have older parents, too. I
just want to help. Just sign
here. You know, you remind
me of my Mama.’
“There is ample evidence
that people are sold loans as a
miracle financial cure,” said
Sweeney. “Many homeowners
are then stunned to find out
they can’t afford to pay off
these loans and they may lose
their homes.”
AARP, the NAACP, La
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In advance o f a major inter
national conference on rac
ism, Human Rights Watch has
called for re p a ra tio n s to
counter the most severe con
tinuing effects of slavery, seg
regation, and other extreme
forms of racism.
The world association said
national and international pan
els should be created with
maximum transparency and
public participation to identify
and acknowledge past abuses
and to guide action to counter
their present-day effect.
“Groups that suffer today
because o f slavery or other
severe racist practices should
be compensated by govern
ments responsible for these
practices,” said Kenneth Roth,
Executive Director o f Human
Rights Watch. “Those most
seriously victimized today by
past wrongs should be the first
priority for compensation to
end their victimization.”
Roth said reparations for
past abuse should focus first
on groups that continue to suf
fer the most severe hardships.
“W e’re not talking about a
handout or a winfall,” said
Roth. “We are calling for long
term commitments to correct
the damage done to the groups
left most seriously disadvan
taged.”
Human Rights Watch pro
posed the establishments of
national panels, in multiracial
countries such as the United
States, Brazil and South Af
rica, as well as one or more
international panels to look at
the effect of the slave trade.
These panels would focus on
tracing these effects not for
particular individuals but for
groups.
The panels should serve as
truth commissions aiming to
reveal the extent to which a
g o v e rn m e n t’s past racist
practices contribute to con
temporary deprivation domes
tically and aboard, Roth said,
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
Jimi Johnson
adding that they should also
educate the public, acknowl
edge responsibility and pro
pose methods of readiness and
making amends.
A primary purpose of repa
rations would be to address
the social and economic foun
dations o f today’s victim s’
continuing marginalization —
through means such as invest
ment in education, housing,
health care, or job training.
The question of compensa
tion for slavery will be one of
the most controversial topics
when the UN World Confer
ence Against Racism, Racial
Discrimination, Xenophobia,
and Related Intolerance meets
in Durban, South Africa from
Aug. 31 to Sept. 7.
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Reparations For Slavery, Segregation
scams to reducing unwanted
sales calls for products and
services.
They can also learn what to
say when approached by a
“contractor” seeking work in
the neighborhood.
AARP offers a free bor
rowers’ kit with consumer tips
and a checklist for those con
sidering home loans. The kit
also has an anti-predatory lend
ing decal that can be displayed
on a front window in the
consumer’s home.
“Keeping our older citizens
safe, much like raising our chil
dren, requires the efforts of
th e e n tire v illa g e ,” said
Sweeney.
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