Fighting for Economic Equity and Parity on Wall Street

(NEW YORK - January 13, 2005) Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr., founder and president of The Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, challenged leaders on Wall Street this week to step up their diversity efforts, noting that African Americans and other people of color are still not getting their fair share of pension funds management, university endowments and seats on corporate boards.

Rev. Jackson's challenge came during the opening session of the 2005 Wall Street Project Conference, when he revealed the contents of a report that highlighted the state of African Americans on Wall Street. The conference, "Beyond Diversity, Equity and Parity: A New Covenant," was held Jan. 11-13, 2005 in New York.

While there has been some progress on Wall Street since the launch of the Wall Street Project in 1997, the 17-page report noted that the struggle for full economic inclusion in America is still far from a reality. African American firms manage only $8.7 billion of almost $3.5 trillion worth of mutual fund assets. This amounts to slightly more than 3%. The report also revealed that people of color are disproportionately victimized by illegal practices, such as predatory lending, insurance redlining, automotive markups and defrauding of pension funds.

Rev. Jesse Jackson commended New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer for his efforts to rid Wall Street of fraud and corruption during a one-on-one dialogue at the Economic Planning Breakfast, which kicked off the 8th annual conference. Rev. Jackson urged Spitzer to go a step further and expose companies that discriminate and contribute to the widening of the wealth gap and its correlation with race. Spitzer agreed that more had to be done in the area of diversity to close wealth gaps, but noted that it is a formidable challenge. "There is a genuine effort to undercut the enforcement of the laws, especially in the area of foreclosure lending," said Spitzer, noting that powerful companies, such as banks, frequently switch to federal charters when his agency pursues them for violating state laws.

During a luncheon on Wednesday, New York State Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton credited the Wall Street Project for giving her husband, former President Bill Clinton, the vision to launch the New Markets Initiative, which encourages investment in underserved communities.

"A lot of progress has been made," Senator Clinton said, "but for many, the dream is still unfulfilled. We need to encourage more companies to look to reinvest in urban and deteriorating suburban areas".

Senator Clinton said she will work on a "number of the recommendations" proposed in the report issued by Rev. Jackson. "We have not done all we can do," she said, referring to laws to protect homeowners from predatory lenders.

During a press conference with elected officials, civil rights and business leaders from across the nation, including Florida Congresswoman Corrine Brown, Philadelphia Mayor John Street, and Manhattan Borough President C. Virginia Fields, Rev. Jackson referred to economic inclusion as the "fourth stage of the Civil Rights Movement" and emphasized the need to make capital accessible to all Americans.

Rev. Jackson said African Americans and other people of color must educate themselves about business and finance because they are often unaware of their own discrimination. He said that persons of color can no longer stand on the sidelines while major mergers, such as Bank One and JPMorgan Chase, and AT& T and Cingular, are occurring at an unprecedented pace.

The conference also featured a hip hop awards ceremony that honored Russell Simmons and Vibe President, Kenard Gibbs for their efforts to educate young people of color through hip hop culture.

Thursday's "Power in Unity" breakfast brought together the nation's religious leaders to address the prevalence of predatory lending practices that often target minority communities.

Further findings presented in the 17-page report were:

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Subprime loans are five times more likely in African American neighborhoods.

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African Americans and Hispanic Americans pay more for auto lending, even when their credit profile is similar to White Americans.

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The level of participation of minority managers in mergers and acquisitions remains negligible, despite the fact that mergers and acquisitions activity rose from $1.34 trillion in 2003 to $1.9 trillion in 2004 (42%).

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Major securities firms hold seven of the slots on the Top 10 list of contributors to President Bush.

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The proportion of board seats held by women of color in Fortune 500 companies has increased from 2.5% in 1999 to 3% in 2003.

The Wall Street Project is the outgrowth of Rev. Jackson's nearly 40 years of work in increasing economic opportunities for minorities. Rev. Jackson has long maintained that access to capital is the fourth stage of the civil rights movement, after the abolition of slavery, the end of legal segregation and the right to vote.

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