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1 Opinion
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Charles H. Washington
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d it o r
Larry J. Jackson, Sr.
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Gary Ann Taylor
A sst . P ublisher
Michael Leighton
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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’
4 7 4 7 NE M artin Luther King,
Jr. Blvd.
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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