If you're receiving this email it's because I firmly believe you can help aide the cause. I believe that because of our friendship you'll stand with me for a cause I believe in and since EVERY ONE of you that is reading this is a MINORITY, it concerns you too. Maybe not directly, but definitely indirectly, because its affecting YOUR people! If they disregard ONE Latino/Hispanic or African American, they're saying to US ALL that WE are NOT good enough!! SunTrust doesn't want to give back to the communities that are lining their pockets, fine, Wachovia and Bank of America have come on board. They've stepped up, opened their doors and put THEIR money where THEIR mouth is...so please if you or anyone else you know uses SunTrust Banks, give them the boot and for kicks and giggles hand them this email when you do! Please continue reading and then, pass this email along. It's not a chain letter and we're NOT asking for anything more than YOUR voice!
Hello All:
I hope today finds you all in great health and wealth. Not so for Al Pina. He is weakening as the days go by due to his hunger strike against Sun Trust, and Sun Trust still refuses to do the right thing. Lend your support, speak to your neighbors, friends, families. Let's unite our voices by refusing to do business with Sun Trust.
NAMAD (National Assoc. of Minority Auto Dealers (1,400 strong) have all pulled their business away from Sun Trust. A major Non-Profit in Miami has closed their accounts with Sun Trust. Phi Beta Beta (Black Greek Fraternity 170 Strong) in the South of which both Martin Luther King Jr. and Thurgood Marshall were fraternity brothers will be pulling out of dealings with Sun Trust. The Miami Transportation Dept. has put on hold the renewal of their contract with Sun Trust for 90 days pending their investigation into Sun Trust and their LACK of CRA in Florida communities.
The list grows by leaps and bounds everyday of those who stand in solidarity with FMCRC and Al Pina. Let's face it, even if you are NOT in the Minority, you still have much to gain from Sun Trust committing to a CRA in Florida, we all do. GOOD NEWS: NAMAD has received a $1 Billion dollar commitment from Wachovia to assist Minority Auto dealers with the purchase of land for their lots, buildings, and to allow better financing to the Consumers who go to them for auto loans, etc. This was made possible through AL PINA.Copy & Paste Link into your browser: http://www.simplesend.com/simple/textlink.asp?NewsletterID=5224&SI=722977&E=bahia_1@hotmail.com&S=138&N=5224&Format=HTML
Aixa E. Rivera,
727-808-1685
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Florida Community Reinvestment Commitments Minority and Under served Communities
July 2005 - June 2010
Big Three Florida BanksWACHOVIA
YES!
$21 BILLION
BANK OF AMERICA
YES!
$26 BILLION
SUNTRUSTNO!$0
----------Did you know?Florida is the 4th most populous state in the country with minorities accounting for over 38% of the population. Less than 5% of the SunTrust upper management and board of directors are minorities.
Why boycott SunTrust Bank?1. SunTrust Bank continues to disrespect our communities.
2. Poverty is on the rise in Florida's minority communities. A continued lack of access to capital and opportunity for our families and our businesses compounds the problem.
3. Two of the three largest banks that operate in Florida are taking action. SunTrust fails to do so and publicly states that the commitment is "unneeded."
How can we bring this to an end?Encourage the corporate lawyers and leadership at SunTrust to make a $25 billion commitment for minority and under served communities over the next five years.
Action Plan1. Contact your local SunTrust branch by phone, fax, and email.
2. Withdraw any and all funds currently on deposit or invested with SunTrust.
3. Move your accounts to a financial institution that respects you and your family.
4. Encourage your friends, family, church members, co-workers, employers and associates to do the same.
5. Contact SunTrust investors and shareholders to express your disapproval of SunTrust Bank's failure to act.
Where will the money go?
Affordable Housing
Small Business
Economic Development Projects
Blighted Communities
Philanthropy for Minority Organizations
Minority Businesses
Procurement Goals
Consumers
------------A survey of over 600 minority households in Florida gave SunTrust a grade of F on access, opportunity and leadership. FMCRC Mission Statement Our goal is to empower low-income and minority communities by attracting investments for health, education, home ownership, employment, and minority entrepreneurship using a holistic advocacy approach.
The Coalition's strategy entails six central programs and projects for Florida's minority communities, families and organizations:1.. Access and opportunity for home and business ownership
2.. Community reinvestment
3.. Sustainable development
4.. Health
5.. Consumer protection
6.. Financial and home ownership literacy educationEconomic segregation is wrong!Economic inclusion is needed!
Hunger Strike: Day 12 Al Pina Chairman Florida Minority Community Reinvestment Coalition Please join us in our effort to get SunTrust Bank to invest fairly in minority communities in Florida. Wachovia and Bank of America have stepped up to the plate to deliver commitments totaling nearly $57 billion to Florida's minority/under served communities over a five year period. These industry giants respect the buying capacity and investment power of people of color. SunTrust executives continue to "talk the talk." However they refuse to back their media spin with positive, substantive action. I have embarked on a hunger strike to cast a spotlight on the unfair actions currently employed by SunTrust Bank of Florida. I am committed to pay the ultimate sacrifice to get SunTrust on the right side of economic empowerment for minorities. As I get physically weaker each day, our movement grows stronger.Please join us in this battle for economic justice.Yours for Florida, Al
"SPREAD THE NEWS" TAMPA TRIBUNEFront Page of Business Section:SunTrust Says Minority Pledge Unneeded
By WILL RODGERS
wjrodgers@tampatrib.comPublished: Jun 2, 2005
TAMPA - SunTrust Banks Inc. said Wednesday that the bank would not be forced into making a ``formal financial commitment'' to Florida's minority and under served communities, saying it already makes such investments. The Atlanta-based bank was responding to a campaign launched by the Florida Minority Community Reinvestment Coalition to force SunTrust to promise at least $25 billion over five years in home and business loans, economic development, real estate investment and other financial investments in Florida's minority communities. ``We are serving the community and making loans and doing those sort of things,'' said Mike McCoy, a SunTrust spokesman in Atlanta. ``We don't believe a formal financial commitment is necessary.'' Al Pina, chairman of the coalition of 52 minority community organizations, said that he expected that response from SunTrust and that the coalition will continue holding news conferences and protests until SunTrust agrees to an investment package aimed at Florida's minorities. ``To me, that just continues to show their arrogance, thumbing their nose at Florida's minority community,'' Pina said. ``I'm not going to stop until they commit to Florida's poor and under served communities.'' SunTrust is the third-largest bank in Florida and the third target of Pina's Tampa-based group. After being targeted by the coalition, Wachovia Corp. in August pledged to invest more than $20 billion over five years to Florida's minority and poor communities, and Bank of America on Tuesday committed $36 billion over five years. Both companies are based in Charlotte, N.C. The coalition kicked off a campaign, ``Wachovia Yes, SunTrust No,'' urging people to bank with Wachovia and not SunTrust. McCoy said SunTrust's ``extensive commitment'' to small businesses and minorities is ``well-documented.'' In 2004, SunTrust made nearly 27,000 loans totaling $1.7 billion to small businesses in Florida. Wachovia's goal is to lend small businesses $2.5 billion a year. SunTrust also made community development loans totaling $260 million, including $70 million in the Tampa area, McCoy said. Wachovia has pledged $350 million a year in Florida. SunTrust made $165 million in mortgage and home improvement loans to low- and moderate-income borrowers in the Tampa Bay area in 2004, McCoy said. By comparison, Wachovia plans to loans totaling $800 million to low- and moderate-income people.Reporter Will Rodgers can be reached at (813) 259-7870.
MIAMI HERALDSunTrust Boycott Draws First Blood
BOYCOTT-Groups derail bank's state dealFlorida minority nonprofit groups derail a $60,000 SunTrust government contract as they push for a stronger minority lending commitment from the state's third-largest bank.
By JIM WYSS
jwyss@herald.com A two-day-old boycott against SunTrust Bank drew first blood Friday when organizers convinced the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority to postpone the renewal of a three-year $60,000 contract with the bank. The Florida Minority Community Re-Investment Coalition said the action was the first of many designed to get SunTrust -- the third-largest bank in Florida -- to make a public commitment to minority and low-income neighborhoods in the state. ''There were questions raised by members of the [FMCRC] and members of the African-American community during today's meeting,'' said SFRTA spokeswoman Bonnie Arnold. ``They requested the board reevaluate the situation, and that's what the board is going to do.''The agency postponed voting on the contract for 90 days to study the issue, she said.SunTrust has held the banking and services contract with the agency for the last 14 years.
The FMCRC -- a coalition of more than 60 state-wide minority nonprofit organizations -- is asking SunTrust to follow the lead of Wachovia and Bank of America, and make a fixed commitment to low-income and minority communities in Florida. Wachovia has pledged $21 billion over the next five years and Bank of America has pledged $36 billion over the same period. SunTrust Spokesman Barry Koling disputed the suggestion that his organization is doing any less than its competitors.
MODERATE INCOMES Over the last five years, SunTrust has made $24 billion in loans to low and moderate income areas, minority clients and small businesses in Florida -- and will likely do so in the future, he said. ''I just don't see how this whole Florida commitment game serves the community,'' Koling said. ``What's important is what we do, not what we say we are going to do.'' Nationally, minorities and low-income areas have been struggling to get funding proportional to better-off neighbors, according to a recent study by the National Community Reinvestment Coalition -- a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit organization.
THORNY ISSUES The SunTrust issue is likely to get thornier over the weekend. On Sunday, the National Association of Minority Automobile Dealers is expected to announce its support of the boycott and call on its 1,400 members to quit doing business with the bank. FMCRC Chairman Al Piña plans to be at that meeting in Washington, D.C., and use the platform to launch a hunger strike, which he pledges to maintain until the bank capitulates. A last-minute meeting late Friday between Piña and SunTrust officials in Orlando failed to resolve their differences. ''Because of their arrogance I think it's going to take me being on death's doorstep,'' the 174-pound Piña said of the hunger strike. ``I think it's going to take a dying man on the steps of SunTrust bank and exposure nationally for them to do the right thing.''
ST. PETERSBURG TIMES:Poverty/Lack of Affordable Housing
THE BROWARD TIMES: Boycott Called Against SunTrust
HISPANIC BUSINESS MAGAZINE: FMCRC/NAMAD/Wachovia
CHARLOTTE BUSINESS JOURNAL:Wachovia commits $1billion
I ask you, SunTrust, can you truly afford NOT to jump on board and make a (bigger) difference in the communities that need your help the most? Are you willing to let ONE man die for a cause that should never have made it to such drastic measures? Are you willing to let Al Pina's failing health and possible death rest on YOUR conscience? There will be others. How many more HUMANS must be sacrificed before you answer the call? -Ileana Rivera, 23 FL www.fmcrc.orgAl Pina's current condition is daunting. Join us today!
Please direct all questions, concerns, comments, and media inquiries to:
Reginald J. Clyne,
Esq. Clyne & Self,
P.A. Douglas Centre - Suite 1100 2600 Douglas Road
Coral Gables, FL 33134
Phone: (305) 446-3244
Fax: (305) 446-3538
Email:
fmcrc@yahoo.com
Pressed by a Fairie // 3:53 PM
