Federal Reserve Proposes New Rules to Modernize CRA Regulatory Rules

On May 5, 2022, the Federal banking regulators - the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve Board - announced proposed rules to revise and modernize the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). The major elements are:

• Expanded access to credit, investment, and basic banking services in low- and moderate-income communities. The regulatory agencies would evaluate bank performance across the various activities they conduct and communities they regulate so that CRA is a strong, effective tool to reduce inequities in credit access. This involves the promotion of community engagement and financial inclusion, as well as emphasizing smaller-value loans and investments to have high impact and be more responsive to the needs of low and moderate-incoime (LMI) communities.
• Adaption to changes in the banking industry, including internet and mobile banking. The updating of CRA assessment areas to include activities like online and mobile banking, branchless banking, and other types.
• Providing greater clarity, consistency, and transparency. The adoption of a metrics-based approach to CRA evaluations of retail lending and community development financing including public benchmarks, to strengthen clarity and consistency. Also involved in the clarification of eligible CRA activities (e.g., affordable housing) focused on LMI, underserved, and rural communities.
• Tailoring CRA evaluations and data collection to bank size and type. In light of the differences in bank size and business types, smaller banks would continue being evaluated under the existing CRA regulatory rules, but have the option to be evaluated under the new proposed rules.
• Maintaining a unified approach. This rules proposal is the result of a unified effort by the bank regulatory agencies as well as inclusion of feedback from stakeholders.

In response to the proposed rules, the president of the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) commented:

Federal banking regulators today issued a notice of proposed rulemaking to modernize the rules that implement the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). This represents a significant step forward in ensuring that financial institutions address the credit needs of Asian, Black, Latino, Native American, rural and other underserved communities. The Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation both unanimously approved the proposal, and they were joined by Michael Shu, Acting Comptroller of the OCC.

Low-income communities and people of color continue to be underserved by the nation’s financial system when seeking a wide range of financial services, whether for mortgages, automobile financing, or small business lending. Previous policies helped create today’s racial wealth gap by allowing lenders to use abusive and predatory lending practices for systemic exploitation and exclusion of these borrowers.

When 98 percent of US financial institutions receive passing scores in their CRA evaluations, yet the racial wealth and homeownership gaps are the same, if not wider, than they were 50 years ago, it is not enough for regulators to just tell financial institutions to ‘do better.’

The proposed rule both increases the effectiveness of CRA and enhances its implementation and compliance for banks. We look forward to working with regulators to further improve the rule as it goes through review and final adoption.

*****

Source: https://www.responsiblelending.org/media/bank-regulators-proposal-modernize-cra-rules. 

https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/pressreleases/bcreg20220505a.htm.

 

CAIR-Massachusetts Releases New Report Documenting 1,000+ Calls for Civil Rights Assistance Since 2016

In its just-released 2021 civil rights report, Protecting Our Community: 2021 Civil Rights Report, the Massachusetts chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MA), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, found that there were more than 1,000 calls to CAIR-MA for assistance from members of the Muslim community since 2016. In that year, its legal department began operations. 

CAIR-MA received 163 requests for legal assistance in 2021, a slight decrease from the 240 average of previous years. The report stated that when schools returned to in-person classes after COVID shutdowns, calls to CAIR-MA complaining about aggressive, sometimes violent, bullying of Muslims students increased significantly. In general though, assistance calls about hate crimes have continued to decrease annually, from 28 in 2017 to just nine in 2021.   

CAIR-MA Legal Director Barbara J. Dougan, Esq. commented: 

“In 2021, our chapter’s legal department received over a thousand complaints since its establishment in 2016. This is bittersweet because although we are eager to be a champion for Massachusetts Muslims when they need us, we are driven by the fact that too many people need help to secure the basic human right of freedom of religion. Massachusetts has good laws on the books.  Our state officials must be committed to enforcing them.” 

CAIR-MA prioritizes providing help in hate crimes and harassment, bullying, education discrimination, employment discrimination, FBI and police harassment, housing discrimination, prisoners’ religious freedoms, public accommodations, and travel abuses. For immigration, family law, and criminal defense, they refer callers to other lawyers or legal groups, state or federal agencies, and non-legal service providers. 

Regarding housing discrimination, CAIR-MA in 2019 filed a case with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD) against a man whose religiously-based harassment forced a Muslim family from their apartment. He maliciously reported the family to the police, falsely accusing them of poisoning his dog (saying “Muslims hate dogs”), and filed an unsuccessful court care against them. In one action, he claimed that the Muslim family was monitoring his movements inside his apartment and that they wanted his large dog to bite their young children. In 2020, MCAD issued a “probable cause” finding in the family's favor leading to a 2021 settlement. The former neighbor had to pay the family for their moving expenses and emotional distress, watch a documentary on Islam, and then report about five things he had learned from the film.

CAIR’s mission is "to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding."

*****

Source: https://www.cair.com/press_releases/cair-massachusetts-releases-new-report-documenting-1000-calls-for-civil-rights-assistance-since-2016/, May 11, 2022.

 Estimated 85,000 Occupied Housing Units In Baltimore Have ‘Dangerous Lead Hazards,’ Report Says

Acording to an April, 2022 report from the Abell Foundation - "Evaluating the Cost of Lead Hazard Control and Abatement in Baltimore City" - there are an estimated 85,087 occupied housing units in Baltimore have “dangerous lead hazards.” The report estimates the total price for lead abatement work on those units could be between $2.5 billion and $4.2 billion. More limited, lead hazard control for all of the units is estimated to cost between $851 million and $1.4 billion.The Maryland Department of the Environment estimated that lead-based paint hazards accounted for 78% of all potential sources of lead exposure in Baltimore in 2021. 

The author of the report, Baltimore data scientist Luke Scrivener, estimated that lead hazard control could cost between $10,00 and $17,000 for a typical two-story house, and lead abatement could cost between $30,000 and $50,000. Lead abatement involves removing, replacing, or enclosing areas that have lead paint and other hazards. Lead hazard control simply repairs and repaints the affected areas. The report noted that Baltimore was the first U.S. city to ban lead paint in residential housing in 1951 - some 17 years before a federal ban was enacted in 1978.

The report indicated that there are 2,104 housing units with reported lead violations in Baltimore. However, 1,138 of these are vacant or set to be demolished. For the 966 occupied housing units, lead hazard reduction will cost between $9.7 million and $16.4 million. Lead abatement will cost between $29 million and $48.3 million. The report also estimated that approximately 42% of the 199,338 homes built in Baltimore before 1978 are likely to have significant lead hazards.

The report utilized lead-hazard data from the 2011 American Healthy Homes Survey and neighborhood home values. 

*****

Source: https://www.marylandmatters.org/2022/05/05/an-estimated-85000-occupied-housing-units-in-baltimore-have-dangerous-lead-hazards-report-says/

Free Livestream Concert on May 4: John Tyler Plays in support of Baltimore's NomüNomü

On May 4, 2022 at 7 p.m. EST Baltimore-based singer/multi-instrumentalist/producer John Tyler and his band will perform in support of Baltimore’s Nomu Nomu, an artist collaborative and resource center. John Tyler is also a founder of the Love Groove Festival. Tyler has released four albums, produced dozens of artists in the DMV area, and appeared at the Rams Head, Firefly Festival and Baltimore’s Artscape.

NoMüNoMü is an intersectional arts collaborative working to challenge the perpetual systems of oppression within and beyond the art world. “We work collaboratively with artists + grassroots organizations at the intersections of race, age, gender and orientation. We curate radical exhibitions; provide space and resources for local artists to create; and work with activist and cultural grassroots movements to organize through the use of screen printing, resource sharing, and art production.”

The performance will be streamed live via Youtube from Baltimore’s Creative Alliance.

Tickets for this FREE performance are available through Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/328164357427

https://www.facebook.com/racialjusticeconcertseries/.

MAY IS ASIAN-AMERICAN AND PACIFIC HERITAGE MONTH

The month of May is National Asian-American and Pacific Heritage Month. This year's theme, selected by the Federal Asian Pacific American Council, is "Advancing Leaders Through Collaboration." 

To Cynthia Choi, co-executive director of Chinese for Affirmative Action and co-founder of Stop AAPI Hate, the month is "a time to speak out, share stories and debunk myths about Asian communities, she said. But it's not the only time to celebrate Asian culture or diversity. Our history is also filled with incredible stories of resilience, of persistence, of determination, to fight for our basic rights. This is a celebration of our history, of our culture... and all the different ways in which our community has really demonstrated that we're not only here to stay, we are a part of this fabric - a part of this country."

History of the Month

According to NPR, the month was the brainchild of Jeanie Jew, a former Capitol Hill staffer, who shared the idea with U.S. Rep. Frank Horton, who introduced the legislation that formed it. In 1977, Horton introduced a  resolution that would establish Pacific/Asian American Heritage Week. Sen. Daniel Inouye introduced similar legislation to the U.S. Senate. In the following year, Horton, with cosponsor Rep. Norman Mineta, introduced another related resolution that passed. President Jimmy Carter signed it in October,  1978. The resolution "authorized and requested" the president to proclaim the 7-day period beginning May 4, 1979 as Asian Pacific American Heritage Week.

Congress later passed legislation to extend the observance to a month in 1990. In 1992, Congress passed a law to annually designate May as Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. The legislation to annually designate May was due to two events that happened during that month in U.S. history: May 7 and May 10. On May 7, 1843, the first Japanese immigrants to the United States arrived. On May 10, 1869, or Golden Spike Day, the first transcontinental railroad in the U.S. - which had significant contributions from Chinese workers - was completed.

In Baltimore

The Baltimore Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs (MIMA) is hosting many events during this month. Stay tuned for a special edition of "The 410 Report" with Mayor Scott on May 19th at 6:00 p.m. 

Nationally

The Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution, and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum joining in several events to pay "tribute to the generations of Asian and Pacific Islanders who have enriched America's history and are instrumental in its future success." 

The Smithsonian's Stand site has several very interesting and informative virtual exhibits and presentations. 

There follows some very useful links. The source of this information is here. It is part of the Teacher's Guide, which "offers a collection of lessons and resources for K-12 social studies, literature, and arts classrooms that center around the experiences, achievements, and perspectives of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders across U.S. history" (Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center, 2022).

• Chinese New Year Celebrations: Primary Sources Reflecting a Cultural Tradition
• Immigration—Primary Sources & Student iBook
• Japanese American Internment—Primary Sources & Student iBook
• Presentation—Japanese Immigration
• Presentation—Chinese Immigration

National Archives11Hide All

• The Chinese Exclusion Act interactive book on iBooks and iTunes U course
• The Chinese Exclusion Act and Related Primary Sources 
• Chinese Exclusion Broadside Analysis 
• The Chinese Village Exhibit at the 1899 Export Exposition 
• Contextualizing a Photograph: On Exhibit at the "Chinese Village" 
• Japanese American Incarceration During World War II
• Petition Against Annexation of Hawaii 
• Primary sources and teaching activities on the Vietnam War 
• Primary sources related to Chinese immigration to the United States 
• Primary sources related to Hawaii 
• Primary sources related to Japanese internment during World War II 

National Endowment for the Humanities16Hide All

• Asian American and Pacific Islander Perspectives within Humanities Education
• Asian American Civil Rights in Civil Rights Movements of the 20th Century
• BackStory: To Be A Citizen? The History of Becoming American
• Beyond Island Wear
• Challenging School Segregation: The Fight of Chinese Americans 
• Exclusion or Inclusion? The Japanese Struggle to Own Land in California 
• Hamlet Meets Chushingura: Traditions of the Revenge Tragedy
• An Introduction to Japanese Noh Plays
• Japanese American Internment Camps During WWII
• Landmarks of American History: From Immigrants to Citizens: Asian Pacific Americans in the Northwest
• Life in the Floating World: Ukiyo-e Prints and the Rise of the Merchant Class in Edo Period Japan
• Lu Shih: The Couplets of T'ang
• NEH Virtual Bookshelf: Asian American and Pacific Islander Experiences
• Outside the Frame: How Asia Changed the Course of American Art (Site supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities)
• Tanka: Japanese Poetry
• The World of Haiku

National Gallery of Art5Hide All

• Art from Asia (DVD)
• Edo: Art in Japan, 1615–1868
• The Golden Age of Chinese Archaeology
• I.M. Pei and the Geometry of the National Gallery of Art (Grades 5-8)
• Uncovering America

National Park Service8Hide All

• “Breathing Fire”: Asian/Pacific American Chapter from the LGBTQ Theme Study
• “A Brief Glimpse: Asian American Pacific Islander National Historic Landmarks Theme Study” (.pdf) [PDF: 2.51 MB]
• Find Your Place: Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (.pdf) [PDF: 2.13 MB]
• “Japanese Americans in WWII” (.pdf) Theme Study [PDF: 8.68 MB]
• Internment: Forced Relocation of Japanese Americans
• Locke and Walnut Grove: Havens for Early Asian Immigrants in California
• Teaching with Historic Places: Lessons on Asian American and Pacific Islander History
• The War Relocation Centers of World War II: When Fear Was Stronger than Justice

Smithsonian Institution7Hide All

• Asian America 
• Asian Pacific American Heritage Teaching Resources 
• BookDragon—a round-up of the latest titles in children's and young adult literature for diverse readers 
• Island Soundscape: Musics of Hawai'i, the Solomon Islands, and Papua New Guinea 
• Learning Together 
• Music & Migration: “We Are the Children” (Smithsonian Learning Lab collection) 
• Standing Together Against Hate

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

1Hide All

• Japanese American Relocation

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Source: https://asianpacificheritage.gov/.

Report Finds Big Rise in Global Anti-Semitism in 2021

According to a April 27, 2022 BBC article about the just-released report by the Center for the Study of Contemporary European Jewry at Tel Aviv University's Faculty of Humanities, the number of anti-Semitic incidents globally significantly increased last year, particularly in nations with large Jewish populations. The study, based on dozens of studies around the world, found that the US, Canada, the UK, Germany, and Australia were among the countries with a significant rise. The major identified causal factors were radical left- and right-wing political movements and incitement on social media. The release of the report is on the same day - April 27, 2022 - as Israel's Holocaust Remembrance Day, which begins on this Wednesday night. Yom HaShoah commemorates the 6 million Jews murdered by Nazi Germany in Europe during World War II.

The Anti-Semitism Worldwide Report 2021 analyzed information from law enforcement entities, mass media, and Jewish organisations as well as literally dozens of studies from many countries. It found that:

• In the US, which has the largest Jewish population other than Israel, the number of anti-Jewish hate crimes recorded in New York and Los Angeles were about double that of 2020.
• In the UK, recorded physical assaults against Jews increased by 78% compared with the previous year.
• German police-recorded anti-Semitic incidents increased 29% from 2020, and by 49% compared with 2019.
• French recorded anti-Semitic incidents increased by roughly 75% compared with 2020.
• A leading Canadian Jewish group reported that August, 2021, set a 40-year high in the number and extent of anti-Semitic physical violence.
• Australia had a significant increase in recorded anti-Semitic incidents, with 88 in May, 2021, which was the highest ever monthly amount.

The report also said the increases were partially because of negative reactions to May 2021's fighting between Israel and Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip. During that time, Israel and the militants fought for 11 days, killing 261 people in Gaza and 14 in Israel

In the report, social media was especially blamed for pervasively "spreading lies and incitement" leading to increased anti-Semitic incidents: "The data raise concerns regarding the utility of legislation and agreements reached with social media companies on banning anti-Semitic expressions from their platforms. The gravest concern is the dark web, which shelters extremists and where anti-Semitic content is freely and openly spread." The dark web is only accessible with special browsing software.

Also cited as a factor in the increases were the great increases and spread of conspiracy theories about the Covid-19 pandemic. "Right at the outset of the pandemic in 2020, conspiracy theories began to sprout around the world, blaming the Jews and Israel for spreading the virus," the report said, adding "The lockdowns, which glued people to their screens at home, contributed significantly to popularising toxic anti-Semitic discourse on social networks. In 2021, when the lockdowns were gradually eased, anti-Semites returned to the streets."

*****

Source: BBC Middle East News. April 27, 2022. "Anti-Semitism: Dramatic rise in 2021, Israeli report says." https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-61228552.