By Patrice Gaines, Urban News Service

America has half as many black-owned banks as existed 15 years ago.

“People assume (black bankers) don’t know what they are doing,” said Alden McDonald, CEO of New Orleans-based Liberty Bank and Trust. “Put yourself in these shoes: We are located in communities in which all of the large banks have moved out of because it’s not profitable for them to do business there.”

The number of black-owned banks fell 54 percent between 2001 and 2016, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

Historically, these banks have stimulated and revitalized their communities while also financing customers whom major banks have shunned.

“From 1888 to 1934, African-Americans owned more than 130 banks in the U.S., and the number of black-owned businesses rose from 4,000 to 50,000,” McDonald said at a January ceremony in which the U.S. Treasury Department named an annex the ”Freedman’s Bank building” after the bank Congress incorporated to help “freed” blacks transition from slavery.

Integration ended that economic boom. Black business districts disappeared as black consumers spent their dollars elsewhere. Many black banks, the institutions that extended loans for start-ups and renovations, disappeared as well.

Today, black banks are struggling to overcome the ripple effects of the Great Recession, in which they suffered more than larger banks. And only a few black banks qualified for the federal bailouts that major financial institutions gleaned.

“Even though we are now hearing some good news,” FDIC chairman Martin J. Gruenberg said to black bankers in 2014, “we know that in many of the communities you serve, the pace of recovery is lagging.”

Exactly why these banks have disappeared is complex, but black bankers say the cost of doing business, the financial instability of their communities and counterproductive federal policies have created overwhelming challenges.

While the number of black-owned banks plunged from 48 to 22 over the last 15 years, Hispanic banks grew from 31 to 39, such Asian institutions from 69 to 78, and Native American ones from 14 to 18, the FDIC reports. Overall, the number of non-minority banks dropped 37 percent, from 2001 to 2016 – 9,549 to 6,020.

“It was very unfortunate that major financial institutions – big banks – received a large portion of the TARP money when institutions like Capitol Bank received none or very little,” said George Andrews, former CEO of Capitol Bank & Trust in Atlanta, which closed in February 2015. “To add insult to injury, big banks received TARP money after they played a large part in creating the downturn in the economy with the unscrupulous lending practices they engaged in.”

The Troubled Asset Relief Program, nicknamed TARP, empowered Washington to purchase assets and equity from financial institutions to strengthen that sector. Few black banks qualified for these funds.

A Harvard Kennedy School study found last year that smaller banks also lost substantial market share after 2010’s Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, designed to prevent the collapse of major financial institutions. Meanwhile, larger banks dramatically increased their market share.

Dodd-Frank adds compliance costs to black bankers’ day-to-day operations, they say.

“But I would say it’s the overall impact of the economy that has hurt black banks most,” said Michael A. Grant of the National Bankers Association.

Black bankers also say some federal policies have created an environment in which black banks are losing business to larger, more stable institutions.

Grant cites the Treasury Department’s New Markets Tax Credits program. It has given tax credits as incentives to invest in underserved neighborhoods since 2000. But larger banks swoop in, make investments, then receive tax credits, black bankers say. Meanwhile, their own applications get rejected, never mind their service to poor communities.

Some $3.5 billion in New Markets Tax Credits were allocated to 76 entities across America, Black Enterprise reported last July, but “no funds were awarded to the nation’s minority banks.”

If these tax credits were issued “in a more fair and equitable way, it would cause millions of dollars to flow to these (black) banks,” Grant said.

“Meanwhile, my expenses are twice as much because I have to do more counseling to my borrower,” said a frustrated McDonald of Liberty Bank. “I may have to have guard service because I am in a high crime area. My deposits are much smaller.

“We have tried speaking to everybody we could, but no policy changes have been made. I don’t want lip service and talk about I’m doing a good job. Help me do a better job and I can help twice as many people.”

By NewsOne

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has cemented herself in history, earning more than enough delegates to secure the Democratic presidential nomination. But before Clinton’s historic moment, Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm paved the way with her presidential campaign in 1972.

In 1968, Chisholm became the first African-American woman elected to Congress, representing New York’s 12th Congressional District for seven terms from 1969 to 1983.

In 1972, she became the first major party Black candidate to run for President of the United States, and the first woman ever to run for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination.

On Thursday, Dr. E. Faye Williams, president and CEO of National Congress of Black Women, and filmmaker Shola Lynch, producer of the documentary Chisholm ’72: Unbought & Unbossed, joined Roland Martin on NewsOne Now to discuss Hillary’s political milestone and how Chisholm made it possible decades earlier.

Dr. Williams explained that Chisholm was a “catalyst for change,” and when she looks at what is happening with the Democratic Party and “Hillary Clinton cracking that glass ceiling,” she thought of Chisholm.

Dr. Williams said, “It was Shirley Chisholm who brought us to where we are. First of all, she paved the way for President Obama as well as (for) Hillary Clinton.

“Whatever Hillary Clinton is doing today, she can thank Shirley Chisholm for that.”

Lynch told Martin what often gets lost about Chisholm’s campaign is her “political strategy.” According to Lynch, Chisholm understood leverage and “did not wait her turn.”

“She acted on her conscience and she was a very progressive candidate –she was unbought and unbossed,” added Lynch.

The filmmaker explained that Chisholm secured as many delegates as possible to use as leverage prior to the ’72 convention and said there “was a scramble because there was no frontrunner” at the time.

Chisholm was able to fund her presidential campaign primarily with her savings as a school teacher; a feat that seems unfathomable in this day and age, when candidates raise hundreds of millions of dollars to run for public office.

Lynch then shared with viewers what she would like them to remember:

“When you have good ideas, you need to follow through, and if somebody tells you it’s not your turn, but you’re sure you’re right – then you got to be unbought and unbossed.”

Watch Roland Martin, Dr. E. Faye Williams, and Shola Lynch discuss Shirley Chisholm’s groundbreaking presidential campaign, which paved the way for Hillary Clinton, in the video clip above.

By Charles Sims Jr., Special to The New Tri-State Defender

Almost 20 percent of Americans 65 and older are now working, according to the latest data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s the most older people with a job since the early 1960s, before the U.S. enacted Medicare.

Because of the huge baby boom generation that is just now hitting retirement age, the U.S. has the largest number of older workers ever.

When asked to describe their plans for retirement, 27 percent of Americans said they will “keep working as long as possible,” a 2015 Federal Reserve study found. Another 12 percent said they don’t plan to retire at all.

Why are more people putting off retirement?

They need the money

Three in five retirees surveyed by the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies said making money or earning benefits was at least one reason they had retired later than they planned to. Almost half said financial problems were their main reason for working past 65.

The financial crisis, and the tech bust before it, devastated many baby boomers’ retirement savings. That’s if they had any to begin with. Today, 60 percent of U.S. households have no money in a 401(k) or similar retirement account, and the benefits of 401(k)s are skewed toward the wealthiest Americans, a recent report by the Government Accountability Office found.

The waning of traditional, defined-benefit pensions could also be delaying retirement, even for wealthier Americans. Instead of getting a monthly check, many retirees end up with a pot of 401(k) assets they’re not sure how they should be spending. The ups and downs of the market can heighten their anxiety and keep them going into the office.

They like their jobs: Thirty-six percent of respondents told Transamerica they had worked past 65 mainly because they enjoy their jobs or “want to stay involved.”

Education probably comes into play here. People with college and graduate degrees tend to work later than those with less schooling, according to a 2013 study by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College. And since 1985, the share of older Americans with college degrees has tripled, to about a third of 60 to 74 year olds.

Employers want (some) older workers to stick around: With the U.S. unemployment rate at 5 percent, the lowest since 2008, employers have a greater incentive to keep older workers happy. They might not be able to replace them.

Quick take the retirement gap: With more education, these skilled, experienced workers have become more valuable to employers. In 1985, workers tended to earn the highest salaries of their careers in their 40s, the Center for Retirement Research study found. By 2010, those peak earning years had shifted from the 40s to the 50s. All age groups older than 50 earned more than they did 25 years earlier, with those in their late 60s making 30 percent more. Workers under 50 earned less than they used to.

Older Americans are healthier and living longer: At last, many Americans have more time to do what they want to do. With a rise in average life expectancy, a longer career doesn’t necessarily mean a shorter retirement.

Wealthy, educated people have gotten the biggest boost to their longevity, but even the least-educated Americans are getting a few more years than their parents did three decades ago.

There’s some evidence that working can actually improve the health of older people, though studies have also found the opposite. A February study of U.S. factory workers found that retirement was good for their health.

Or maybe retirement just isn’t as much fun: It’s hard to explain why Americans might be enjoying their golden years less, but that’s what a study last month by the Employee Benefit Research Institute found.

Maybe it’s self-perpetuating, a result of peer pressure. It has become increasingly normal to be over 65 and working, as more and more boomers reach retirement age. Now that one in five older Americans has a job, I would think this would continues to move higher.

(Charles Sims Jr., CMFC, LUTCF, is President/CEO of The Sims Financial Group. Contact him at 901-682-2410 or visit www.SimsFinancialGroup.com.)

By Howard Robertson and Larry Robinson, Special to The New Tri-State Defender

Prior to Cassius Marcellus Clay’s proclamation of greatness in the sixties, we don’t know of any other black man or specifically any black athlete who had the audacity to make such a bold and bodacious claim, publically. Legendary fighter Jack Johnson, who was never short on skill, confidence or conversation, was deemed “the most famous and the most notorious African American on earth.” But let’s not confuse those descriptions with being “the greatest.”

Prophetically, historically and unequivocally Muhammad Ali is The Greatest. He was the original. But now out of deference and respect we should put the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time) designation away in that special place in our hearts and minds where our other most treasured trophies and memories are kept.

There can be many “Greats” but only one Greatest. However, the multimedia, multiplatform, 24-hour news environment has made us totally loose and lax in our conversations and considerations of who is the Greatest. Based on the latest news and who has the highest personality popularity on any given day, GOAT discussions and opinions are easily triggered a few times a week. They are usually endless, emotional, emphatic exhortations and debates in subjectivity without real agreement or conclusion. Nevertheless, this type of lively repartee is usually “the greatest” for ratings, shares and comments.

Muhammad Ali never specified in which job he was the greatest. Boxer and Athlete? Activist and Advocate? World Citizen and Inspirational Leader? Truth is, arguably, it is all of the above. Greatness is hardly a matter of statistics and analytics. The things that made Ali the greatest boxer and athlete totally transcend his record and stats.

Question: What heavyweight before Ali ever, in history, floated and stung like him? Answer: Nodamnbody.

He was the epitome of sticking and moving, with lightning quick hands and fast footwork previously unseen in the heavyweight ranks. With the exception of possibly Floyd Patterson, all other heavyweights plodded and punched. To be the Greatest he didn’t have to be undefeated but to be unprecedented, to be an innovator and to be a game changer.

The Greatest wasn’t scared. He was neither scared in the fight game nor in the game of life. When one decides to stand and fight against “principalities, against powers…against spiritual wickedness in high places,” one must understand the vulnerability for attack of those things that mean the most to you: your life, your freedom, your family, your livelihood. Muhammad Ali had the courage of his convictions to risk everything dear to him. Juxtapose his position to athletes today that are deathly afraid to stand up for anything, for fear of being fired, fined, suspended or losing income. At the peak of his career, Ali was stripped of his titles, ostracized, accused, wrongfully convicted, nearly jailed and banned from pursuing his livelihood for over three years.

Oh yeah, he was viciously hated too. If not for the protection of the Fruit of Islam he might have been killed. But The Greatest is the greatest because he came through the fire, through the limits and through the walls to regain his heavyweight championship.

In a time before global media outlets, broadcast satellites and computers Muhammad Ali was one of the most popular, most highly revered people on the planet. He was one of the top four which usually also included: the Pope, The Beatles and Elvis. How did people living in huts in villages with no electricity all over the world even hear about this loud talking, rapid rhyming, alleged draft-dodging brother from Louisville, Ky.? Clearly, he was The Greatest because people recognized and gravitated to that greatness wherever he was.

The biggest fight of Muhammad Ali’s career lasted 32 years. The opponent was Parkinson’s disease and he fought a hard, long and inspired fight. How ironic and insidious is it that the big voice of the articulate and eloquent “Louisville Lip” was reduced to shaky, short whispers? But the Greatest simply ratcheted up his other communicative tools…his smile, his movements, his sense of humor and his touch. He showed the affection and affinity he had for people when he couldn’t speak it.

So, here’s the deal. Give the great ones their props and their due, with all due respect. Great ones populate their own broad categories. But have enough respect to give them another title because the original Greatest Of All Time is gone and the mold is broken.

(“A Little R&R on Sports” is available on hundreds of radio stations and digital platforms. Stream R&R live Saturdays at 11 a.m. EST/10 a.m. CST on sportsbyline.com or enjoy our podcasts on randronsports.com, iheartradio.com, kudzukian.com, I-Tunes and Google Play.)

By Raynard Jackson

Last week rapper Snoop Dogg put up an epic video rant on his Instagram. In the verbiage that only Snoop can conjugate, he said in no uncertain terms that people should not watch the 21st century remake of the epic TV miniseries “Roots” that aired on The History Channel last week.

I must say that I thoroughly agree with Snoop Dogg’s position one hundred percent, though I can do without the raw language.

“Roots: The Saga of an American Family” was a book written by famed author Alex Haley in 1976. In the book, Haley traced his ancestral roots back to The Gambia in West Africa. He was able to trace his family lineage all the way back Kunta Kinte.

Kinte was captured as a teenager in The Gambia and ultimately sold into slavery and brought to the U.S. The book was turned into a blockbuster TV miniseries back in 1977.

The remaking is what led Snoop to do his now viral video on Instagram. His position was that he didn’t want to see any more movies about slavery. “Where are all the movies about Black success?” Snoop asked.

I totally agree with Snoop. I refused to watch the remake of “Roots.” I was watching my N.B.A. basketball playoffs.

Following Snoop’s rant, TV personality Roland Martin addressed the subject on his news program on TV ONE. The one point that I do agree with Roland is that more blacks need to step up and be willing to help finance the production of some of these movies about successful blacks. That’s a legitimate challenge that Snoop should address.

Martin launched into this tirade about Jews “never” getting tired of movies about the Holocaust. He is way off base with his analysis.

Martin and those who agree with him are missing a few, very germane points. I mean can any one name a black person who has financed, executive produced, produced, directed, or distributed a major movie or TV program about the Holocaust? You can’t, because it hasn’t happened.

But most movies about slavery have non-blacks in major positions of control or power; even though there may be a black producer or director attached to the project.

I am not aware of one movie about slavery where blacks have had total control of the process from beginning to end.

The movie “Amistad” (1997) was written by David Franzoni, directed by Steven Spielberg and produced by Debbi Allen (black), Steven Spielberg and Colin Wilson. John Williams composed the musical score.

“12 Years a Slave” (2013) was based on the life of former slave Solomon Northup and it was directed by Steve McQueen (black) and produced by Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Bill Pohlad, Steve McQueen (black), Arnon Milchan, and Anthony Katagas. John Ridley (black) wrote the screenplay and Fox Searchlight Pictures distributed the movie.

The 2016 version of “Roots” was written by Lawrence Konner, Mark Rosenthal, Alison McDonald (black), and Charles Murray (black). The four-part miniseries was directed by Bruce Beresford, Phillip Noyce, Thomas Carter (black), and Mario Van Peebles (black).

Now, let’s look at a few of the top Holocaust movies.

“The Diary of Anne Frank” (1959) was based on the writings of Anne Frank and directed by George Stevens and written by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett and distributed by Twentieth Century Fox.

“Schindler’s List” (1993) was written by Steven Zaillian and produced by Steven Spielberg, Gerald R. Molen, and Branko Lustig. Steven Spielberg also directed the movie and “Schindler’s List” was distributed by Universal Pictures.

“The Pianist” (2002) was based on the book by Wladyslaw Szpilman and directed by Roman Polanski, who also earned production credits. Robert Benmussa and Alain Sarde were also producers on the movie and it was distributed by Focus Features.

Do you notice anything that stands out to you here? There are no Blacks in any position of control or authority in any of these movies. The Jewish community tells their history through their own eyes and from their own perspective.

Remember, the Chinese sculptor of the statue of Dr. Martin Luther King on the National Mall in Washington, DC, Lei Yixin, was “forced” to redo the statute because some felt that the original rendering made King seem too “confrontational.”

Confrontational to whom? To this day, I have refused to visit King’s statue on the Mall.

Yixin was chosen at the expense of very capable American sculptors, both black and white. The U.S. government also allowed Yixin to bring Chinese workers into the country to assemble the sculpture. They were literally paid slave wages, but I digress.

The U.S. government spent over $120 million on the King sculptor and the money went to China and Chinese workers.

The Jewish community would never allow something like this to happen to anything dealing with their own community.

So, to Roland Martin and his supporters, let’s stop being a slave to slavery.

(NNPA News Wire Columnist Raynard Jackson is founder and chairman of Black Americans for a Better Future, a federally registered 527 Super PAC established to get more Blacks involved in the Republican Party. For more information, visit www.bafbf.org. Follow Raynard on Twitter @raynard1223.)

By Tracy Sow, Special to The New Tri-State Defender

The 6th Annual Red, White and Blues Jam at the Tunica RiverPark & Museum had plenty of great music to celebrate military veterans and their families last weekend.

Three legendary blues veterans — Bobby Rush, Denise LaSalle and Latimore — rendered a historic concert hosted by comedian and radio personality J. Anthony Brown. The admiration and friendship shared among the legends shone through on a rainy day, but the rain couldn’t stop a good time.

There was plenty of entertainment, food and activities indoors, while attendees enjoyed an incredible view of the mighty Mississippi River. Opening acts included Big LLou Johnson; Ms. Zeno, the Louisiana Mojo Queen; and Vince Johnson and the All-Stars.

J. Anthony Brown, a huge Bobby Rush fan, cracked jokes and had fun with fans and surprised everyone by whipping out his harmonica and jamming onstage with Bobby Rush. “I got to play with Bobby Rush!” Brown squealed as he left the stage jumping up and down.

Brown had more fun with the crowd when he challenged 10 brave souls to a hot wing contest, featuring his own line of gourmet hot sauces, “Hotter Than A MoFo.” Contestants only had to eat five wings to win $100, and just one brother actually won.

“Tunica County is a contributor to Blues history and is very pleased to have Red, White and Blues Jam in Tunica,” said Tunica County Board of Supervisors’ President, James Dunn. “Honoring veterans and sharing the wonderful attractions of Tunica is an extreme pleasure.”

Veterans and attendees also had the opportunity to win passes for two to the Blues Museum in Tunica. Other attractions included riverside nature and horse trails and a “dock party” filled with entertainment for the whole family.

By Nielsen

There’s no confusion in the market about the significance of Millennials. After all, they account for 24 percent of the U.S. population (77 million people), which is now a larger percentage than the historically dominant Baby Boomer generation, and command significant long-term spending prowess.

When looking at Millennial shopping habits, we see that Millennials are willing to spend on what matters to them, even though many are just beginning their professional careers. And their annual spending adds up. According to the Intelligence Group, this generation already spends about $200 billion each year in the U.S.

And what are they buying? While they prioritize value like their older counterparts, they are more likely to buy natural and organic products (38% more likely) and they are quicker to jump on new trends. Millennials make fewer shopping trips than their older counterparts, but they spend more per trip–$54 per trip vs. $43 per trip for Boomers. And while many Millennials are still climbing the income ladder, this group’s size and age range highlights its long-term purchasing power, the Millennial generation is one not to be missed. Retailers and manufacturers alike should make sure they are accounting for their needs, buying preferences, changing geographic locations and increasing spending power.

So what brands do Millennials look for when they shop? What catches their eye, appeals to their lifestyles and fits into their budgets? In looking at findings from the consumer packaged goods portion of the 28th annual Harris Poll EquiTrend® study, which was released by Nielsen, we see that many of the top brands among Millennials are relatively new to the market. Comparatively, the top choices for Boomers and Generation X include more established brands that have a history of consistently delivering on their brand promise. There are a couple brands, however, like Chobani and Wonderful, who are seen as “on the way up” across the generational gap.

The CPG portion of this year’s EquiTrend study evaluated the brand health of more than 2,500 brands covering 12 key brand metrics, including a brands overall equity, as well as brand momentum—consumers’ view of whether brands are “on the way up,” “holding steady” or “on the way down.” Brand momentum is an important measure, as it is a good indicator of future equity growth. Looking at the past three years of EquiTrend data, we see that 68 percent of the top 50 brands that were “on the way up” in 2014 posted positive gains in 2016 on the overall brand equity index.

Brand momentum is also related to positive sales trends. Of the brands on the EquiTrend top 10 list, 83 percent have experienced sales gains in the past year, with 57 percent posting double digit growth.

METHODOLOGY

The insights in this article were derived from various sources including:

• Nielsen Global Generational Lifestyle Survey

• The 2016 Harris Poll EquiTrend Study is based on a sample of 97,120 U.S. consumers ages 15 and over surveyed online, in English, between Dec. 22, 2015 and Feb. 1, 2016. The total number of brands rated was 3,837. Each respondent was asked to rate a total of 40 randomly selected brands. Each brand received approximately 1,000 ratings. Data was weighted to be representative of the entire U.S. population of consumers ages 15 and over based on age by sex, education, race/ethnicity, region, income and data from respondents ages 18 and over were also weighted for their propensity to be online. Only respondents aged 21+ were provided with alcohol brand based questions.

• Nielsen Retail Measurement Services data: total U.S., 52 weeks ended Jan. 2, 2016

By Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — Sheila E., D’Angelo, The Roots and Janelle Monae will pay tribute to Prince at this month’s BET Awards.

The performers will honor The Purple One on June 26 at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, the network announced Tuesday.

After Madonna — with the help of Stevie Wonder — paid tribute to Prince at last month’s Billboard Music Awards, BET tweeted: “Yeah, we saw that. Don’t worry. We Got You.”

Sheila E. was once engaged to Prince. Monae was mentored by Prince and they collaborated on her 2013 album.

Prince died April 21 of an accidental overdose of fentanyl, a powerful opioid painkiller.

Drake is the top nominee at the BET Awards with nine nominations; Beyonce and Rihanna have five nominations each.

Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.