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“People Without a Voice Vol. Vol.5759 No. No.351 | | Thursday, ThursdayJanuary August3,31, 2019 2017
..
Cannot be Heard”
Serving San Serving DiegoSan County’s DiegoAfrican County’s & African African American & African Communities American 57 Communities Years 58 Years
Welcome Remembering
those we love and lost in 2018 – see page 5
KWANZAA CELEBRATION OF “NIA” (PURPOSE) AT MALCOLM X LIBRARY – see page 8
Ending the Year With
New NAACP
San Diego
Wells Fargo Board
Settlements Takes Office
1st General Meeting:
Thursday, January 3rd MEET THE 2019-2020 OFFICERS AND EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEMBERS
Voice & Viewpoint
By now the media has carried the stories of the Wells Fargo Bank $575 million settlement resolving investigations by all 50 states and Washington, D.C.
They were not the only ones who sued. A group of the bank’s shareholders also sued the bank, claiming that the bank and its executives made “misrepresentations and omissions” about the bank’s business model which had bank employees getting rewarded for getting customers to open multiple accounts. The problem was, the customers never authorized or knew about these accounts. The shareholders claim the bank committed securities fraud by not being honest about its sales practices. The bank agreed to a settlement that will pay $480 million to those shareholders.
Clovis Honoré President
By Staff Writer Voice & Viewpoint
For most African American readers, it likely comes as no surprise that the US is becoming alarmingly divided along race, gender, other equally divisive lines. A report released last week by UC Berkeley’s Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society documents just how unfriendly the US is for women, minority groups and people with disabilities compared to the rest of the world since 2016 - and how the lack of inclusivity varies from state to state. rates and immigration and asylum policies. According to the Haas Institute’s index for inclusivity, the United States dropped from 23rd to 58th in ranking worldwide. That means that in
2016, the US was ranked one of the most inclusive countries in the world. Now, in 2018, the United States scores lower than countries like Poland and Nicaragua.
Women Are Changing the Face of the Once Male-Dominated Funeral Industry “It’s far more than a job, it’s all-day, it’s emotional and it’s far more than you just go to work and come home and that’s it,” said Alyssa George, who just finished her internship on her way to becoming a funeral director. By Stacy M. Brown
For many, when there’s mention of singer Monica Brown, her hit songs like “The Boy is Mine,” and “Miss Thang,” might come to mind first. For others, her stellar acting career with small and big roles in “New York Undercover,” “Living Single,” and the 2018 reality television show “T.I. and Tiny Family and Friends Hustle,” also come to mind.
Francine Maxwell Vice-President (Woman in front of car) The number of women funeral directors are on the rise/Courtesy btls.com
See INDUSTRY page 2
Five African American NFL Head Coaches Fired By Stacy M. Brown
The $575 million agreement on December 28, 2018 followed a $575 million settlement between the State of New York and Wells Fargo in October over the sham accounts, and the bank’s settlement of federal charges related to its handling of the mortgage and auto loans.
See SETTLEMENTS page 2
ON a Divided U.S.
See DIVIDED page 2
Wells Fargo has also admitted its “missteps” whereby some customers took out car loans and were forced to buy unwanted car insurance; that more than 500,000 people were enrolled in a bill paying service they may not have asked to join; that some mortgage customers had been overcharged, and that some people had been charged for life insurance policies they did not, in fact, buy.
All of this is separate from the April 2018 payment of $1 billion by Wells Fargo to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to settle investigations into the mortgage and auto loan practices.
THIRD ANNUAL OG SAND BOX TOY GIVE AWAY DELIGHTS – see page 9
A Report
Compared to the typical Christian, straight and able-bodied white male, everyone else was negatively impacted by hate crimes, political representation, anti-discrimination laws, income inequality, incarceration
By Staff Writer
The problems and investigations date back to 2016 and actions taken at that time by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the city and county of Los Angeles to fine the bank $150 million for more than 5,000 of the bank’s former employees opening as many as 2 million fake bank accounts to boost bonuses. Those fines led to class action lawsuits resulting in a $142 million settlement with those affected customers.
N.L.O.B’S BIG TOY AND JOY GIVEAWAYS – see page 9
Steve Dorner 2nd Vice-President
Photography courtesy of sandiegonaacp.org See NAACP page 2
Five of the NFL’s seven African American head coaches were fired on December 31st. Arizona Cardinals head coach Steve Wilks was fired after just one season. The Cardinals’ record was 3-13 — the worst record in the league — but over the last 18 years, there have only been ten head coaches who were fired after only one year. Three of them were African American. This NFL season the following Black head coaches were fired: Marvin Lewis (Bengals, 6-19), Vance Joseph (Broncos, 6-10), Todd Bowles (Jets, 4-12), Hue Jackson (Browns, 7-8) and Steve Wilks (Cardinals, 3-13).
The firings mean there are now only two Black head coaches in the NFL: Chargers head coach Anthony Lynn and Steelers longtime head coach Mike Tomlin. The firing of Wilks in Arizona after only one season won particular attention. In the NFL, many coaches fail in their first year yet remain employed. Though the NFL has made great improvements in hiring Black head coaches over the last twenty years as the result the Rooney Rule, the recent firings See NFL page 2