Bank Of America Expands Race Equality Program To Include Asians
Topline
Bank of America has extended its four-year $ 1 billion program to raise race equality to five years and $ 1.25 billion, and will now specifically include people of Asian descent, in response to the rise in racially motivated incidents against this community.
A person uses an automated teller machine (ATM) outside a Bank of America branch in San Francisco, … [+]
© 2021 Bloomberg Finance LP
Highlights
Under Bank of America’s previous program – announced last June following the murder of unarmed black man George Floyd in Minneapolis – the lender has pledged to spend $ 1 billion over four years to help “advance racial equality and opportunity economic ”for people of color.
To date, Bank of America said on Tuesday that it has made more than $ 350 million in various investments from the original $ 1 billion commitment, with a focus on loans , housing, neighborhood revitalization and other banking services to thousands of individuals and small businesses who donate. are not eligible for traditional loans.
The newly announced funds, the bank noted, will be used to make investments aimed at “fighting racial justice, advocacy and equality for people and communities of color, including those of Asian descent.”
Bank of America also said this new funding includes an immediate commitment of $ 1 million to support the Asian-American community with “increased advocacy, dialogue and engagement,” including a grant to the non-profit organization. lucrative civil rights advocate, Asian Americans Advancing Justice.
The bank has appointed Connie Chung Joe, Managing Director of Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Los Angeles, to serve as a member of its National Community Advisory Board, to support “ongoing dialogue and stakeholder engagement with the Asian community in the United States ”.
The bank will also provide support to other Asia-Pacific activist groups, including the National Coalition for Asian-Pacific Community Development and the Leadership Conference Education Fund.
Crucial quote
“The urgency we feel to tackle long-standing issues of inclusion and racial inequality has only increased following attacks and hate speech directed against Asians over the past year Said Brian Moynihan, president and CEO of Bank of America.
“The growing number of attacks on Asians, including the recent tragic shooting in Atlanta, has reminded us that we must stand united against discrimination, hate speech and violence. We will not tolerate any act of racism in any form, ”said Thong Nguyen, vice president of Bank of America.
Key context
Since the Covid epidemic last March, the number of racially motivated attacks against Asian Americans has escalated, including the recent shooting and murder of six Asian women in Atlanta . An elderly Asian woman was brutally assaulted on Monday a Manhattan street by a man, while the spectators watched without intervening. Some 33 hate crimes against Asian victims have been reported in New York City since the start of this year, according to the NYPD. Last week, NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea promised to begin undercover patrols in Asian communities. Some other major banks have also pledged to spend billions to lessen the impact of racial discrimination. Last october, JPMorgan Chase said he would spend $ 30 billion over the next five years to provide loans to black and Hispanic homebuyers and small business owners to correct “systemic racism” in the country’s economic system. In June of last year, PNC Bank committed over $ 1 billion to “support the economic empowerment” of African Americans and low- and middle-income communities.
Tangent
A survey published Tuesday by AAPI data , a group that publishes demographics and policy research on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, found that 10% of Asian Americans and adults in the Pacific Islands were victims of crime hate and hate incidents so far in 2021 – up from a national average of 6% for all Americans. . (AAPI data said Forbes by email, the figure is around 4% for whites and around 9% -10% for non-white communities).
Further reading
Older Asian woman brutally assaulted in New York City, NYPD launches hate crimes investigation (Forbes)
Asian American, 65, beaten in a racist attack, according to the NYPD. Viewers didn’t help, the video suggests. (Washington Post)
Another hate crime targeting Asians in Seattle; suspect arrested (KIRO-Seattle)