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Students
What is Racism?
“This is not school sponsored,” says
Grant High BSU Co-adviser Margarett
Peoples. “This came from students saying
they wanted to learn this skill.”
Coordinators expect a turnout between 60
to 75 students, including confirmed partici-
pants from Grant, Cleveland, Franklin,
Jefferson, Madison and Roosevelt high
This is especially
important for students
who attend schools
where Blacks aren’t the
majority
schools.
The summit features youth led leadership
activities, such as having the students devel-
op mission statements for their schools, and
a guest presentation from the Multnomah
County Youth Commission.
and respectful way,” says McDowell.
The keynote speaker is Office of
Economic and Business Equity Deputy
Director Cyreena Boston Ashby. Ashby is
expected to share the story of her leadership
journey with students.
Ashby grew up in Portland and worked on
grassroots projects that addressed issues
like gang violence and the availability of
emergency services. She graduated from
Spelman College and went on to hold the
title of Constituency Director for the
Democratic Party of Oregon.
Nkrumah thinks it’s important that the
students see leaders like Ashby.
“I can’t underscore enough the impor-
tance and impact of a conference like this,”
he says. “We have Black professionals from
the community who are leaders, addressing
students who really need to see Black peo-
ple in leadership positions. It helps them
believe they can be leaders at their schools.”
He says this is especially important for
students who attend schools where Blacks
aren’t the majority, such as Madison.
‘We have Black professionals from the
community who are leaders, addressing
students who really need to see Black people in
leadership positions’
PHoto BY SuSan fried
continued from page 1
Gregory davis, david keyes and Chris Stearns participate in a discussion
on types of racism at a public forum held by the Race and
Social Community Roundtable, a coalition of community organizations
and the City of Seattle as part of the Race and Social Justice Initiative. The
forum was held Nov. 12 at Rainier Community Center to help develop a
City of Seattle Plan for Racial Equity.
—Wade Nkrumah
It will also focus on the importance of cul-
ture.
“We want them to appreciate their culture
and where they came from in a meaningful
Nkrumah proudly says out of his BSU’s
core of 26 students, he has 15 who are com-
mitted to coming to the summit on
Saturday.
Coordinators see this as an event that will
ultimately inspire students to be leaders in
their schools. They stress the importance of
the youth being the drivers of the summit.
“Too often the youth are not given an
opportunity to learn for themselves and
make some mistakes,” says McDowell.
“This is youth led, adult assisted.”
abuse people and to take unfair advantage
of them.”
Huey says the consumer test for reputable
mail solicitations on foreclosure help is sim-
ple: If the mail is offering services that cost
any money at all, it’s a rip-off.
the banks, so if somebody says, ‘You have
to pay me $2,000 and I’ll get you this result
or that result, then walk away.”
If you have not received a letter – or are
not in a position to, since in fact your home
has been taken away from you – you can
April 30, 2012.
“The independent foreclosure review is a
significant component of the mortgage ser-
vicers’ compliance with our enforcement
actions,” said acting Comptroller of the
Currency John Walsh in a statement earlier
this month. “These requirements help
ensure that the servicers provide appropri-
ate compensation to borrowers who suf-
fered financial harm as a result of improper
practices identified in our enforcement
actions.”
Consumers qualify for foreclosure-related
losses, “if they believe they suffered finan-
cial injury as a result of errors, misrepresen-
tations, or other deficiencies in foreclosure
proceedings related to their primary resi-
dence between January 1, 2009 and
December 31, 2010,” Walsh said.
In addition to the outreach and claims pro-
grams, independent consultants are required
to review sample cases from each ser-
vicer. “Where they identify issues, they will
conduct additional secondary reviews to
identify as many affected borrowers as pos-
sible,” Walsh said.
The federal government’s “enforcement
actions” are also expected to require
“enhancing oversight of third-party foreclo-
sure service providers, upgrading manage-
ment information systems associated with
mortgage servicing and foreclosure pro-
cessing, and improving communication
with customers by establishing a single
point of contact and eliminating ‘dual track-
ing,’ in which servicers continue to pursue
foreclosure even though a borrower may
have been approved for, or is performing
under the terms of a modification or trial
modification, among other steps,” officials
said.
Foreclosure
continued from page 1
“Independent consultants are charged
with evaluating whether borrowers suffered
financial injury through errors, misrepre-
sentations, or other deficiencies in foreclo-
sure practices and determining appropriate
remediation for those customers,” the OCC
said in a statement this month. “Where a
borrower suffered financial injury as a
result of such practices, the consent orders
require remediation to be provided.”
Documents show that anyone with fore-
closures linked to “the bank and thrift hold-
ing company parents” of Ally Bank/GMAC,
Bank of America, Citibank, EverBank,
HSBC, JPMorgan Chase, MetLife,
OneWest, PNC, SunTrust, U.S. Bank, and
Wells Fargo, may be affected.
Specific reviews are being conducted on
the home foreclosure practices of Ally
Bank/ GMAC, Aurora Bank, Bank of
America, Citibank, EverBank, HSBC,
JPMorgan Chase, MetLife, OneWest, PNC,
Sovereign Bank, SunTrust, U.S. Bank, and
Wells Fargo.
While it’s hard to imagine anyone endur-
ing a home foreclosure who has not suffered
financial injury as a result, the 14 mortgage
servicers penalized by the federal govern-
ment began on Nov. 1 sending out mailed
letters detailing the complaints process.
McKenna’s office is cautioning con-
sumers to scrutinize any paperwork they
receive and make sure it is not a scam.
“There’s been a lot of talk about errors in
the foreclosure process in the last year or
so,” says Dave Huey, senior counsel for the
Washington State Consumer Protection
Division. “We just wanted to make the pub-
lic is aware of that, because we know from
experience that when there’s something in
the news like this, con artists will use it to
Specific reviews are being conducted on the
home foreclosure practices of Ally Bank/ GMAC,
Aurora Bank, Bank of America, Citibank,
EverBank, HSBC, JPMorgan Chase, MetLife,
OneWest, PNC, Sovereign Bank, SunTrust, U.S.
Bank, and Wells Fargo
“So there are a couple of messages we
want to get out and one is that if you get
mail from an independent foreclosure
review administrator – that’s legitimate,”
Huey says. “It’s the banks wanting to
also
go
to
www.IndependentForeclosureReview.com
for information about the review and claim
processes. The telephone hotline for con-
sumer information is 1-888-952-9105,
While it’s hard to imagine anyone enduring a
home foreclosure who has not suffered
financial injury as a result, the 14 mortgage
servicers penalized by the federal government
began on Nov. 1 sending out mailed letters
detailing the complaints process
review your foreclosure, and see if you suf-
fered any financial injury as a result of how
that foreclosure was handled.
“This is entirely a free process, paid for by
Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 10
p.m. (ET) and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 5
p.m. (ET).
Requests for review must be received by
November 16, 2011 The Portland and Seattle Skanner Page 3