[GPCA Updates] GP RELEASE Greens call for an end to the bipartisan economic war on Blacks, Latinos/as

[Green Party of California Updates]

GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES
http://www.gp.org

For Immediate Release:
Thursday, February 25, 2010


Greens call for an end to the "bipartisan economic war" on Blacks and
Latinos/as, who suffer the brunt of the subprime crisis and economic meltdown

• Green Party urges a program for millions of new public works jobs and
financial security for Americans instead of Wall Street handouts

• Green Party Speakers Bureau: Greens available to speak on economic policy,
racial justice, and related issues: http://www.gp.org/speakers


WASHINGTON, DC -- Green Party leaders said today that Democratic and
Republican politicians are pursuing fiscal agenda, including responses to the
subprime mortgage crisis, that amount to an "economic war" on Black and
Latino/a people across the US.

Greens especially criticized President Obama, whose bailouts for Wall Street
firms have done little to provide economic security for those who were among
his most enthusiastic supporters in the 2008 election.

• Derek Grigsby, chair of the Detroit Green Party and member of the Green
Party Black Caucus (http://www.gp.org/caucuses/black/index.php): "The Green
Party demands an end to the 'two party' economic war on Black people and
Latinos and on working and poor Americans of all races.  Instead of Wall
Street bailouts, we need assistance for those who've lost their homes and
jobs.  Millions of new jobs can be created through public works in
conservation, retrofitting and greening houses and infrastructure, and
expanded public transportation.  We need to cancel the wasteful war on drugs,
end racially biased sentencing and other criminal justice system disparities,
and abolish private ownership of prisons.   Black, Latino, and poor Americans
have been made fodder for the private prison industry, which profits by
filling up cells.  We need reparations for the descendents of slaves,
recognizing the hundreds of years of stolen labor and post-slavery exploitation
  and discrimination.  We must immediately call an end to the murderous
escapades in Iraq and Afghanistan and bring our sons and daughters home now.
These steps would lead to an economic recovery that benefits all Americans,
and show the rest of the world that we practice what we preach!"

• Tony Affigne, Green Party National Committee delegate from Rhode Island,
Latino community activist: "Outside of the Green Party, few politicians want
to recognize racial economic disparities and how they've been aggravated by
the current financial crisis.  In September, the unemployment rate for Blacks
was 15.7%; the underemployment rate for Blacks was 23.8 percent and for
Latinos 25.1%.  The poverty rate for Black children is nearly 35%.  But
Democrats and Republicans in the White House and Congress are resisting the
necessary massive public works program necessary to create jobs and reverse
such figures, out of deference to corporate lobbies that prefer a desperate
labor force.  They promise a private sector miracle that isn't going to
happen.  This amounts to a vicious bipartisan policy of inaction to help
Americans most in need."

• Alfred Molison, Green candidate for Houston City Council and member of the
Green Party Black Caucus (http://votealfred.com): "President Obama and other
leaders like to preach moral lessons to Black people while slashing the safety
net and providing minimal assistance for homeowners and job-seekers.  We're
seeing lots of blame on the alleged 'cultural deficiencies' of Black people,
such as single-mother family statistics and 'cycles of poverty' rhetoric that
ignores imposed economic factors and a justice system too eager to incarcerate
Blacks.  Meanwhile, the profits of financial corporations -- including those
responsible for the current crisis -- are now underwritten by US taxpayers to
the tune of nearly $24 trillion
(http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/07/20/bailout-may-cost-237-tril_n_241512.html).
  All Americans are becoming victims of the Democratic-Republican assault on
working people and dedication to Wall Street's economic elites, with Black
  people and Latinos suffering the worst."

• Betty Davis, co-chair of the Green Party Black Caucus
(http://www.gp.org/caucuses/black/index.php): "Blacks and Latinos were primary
targets for lending corporations offering high-interest subprime loans, and
were thus disproportionately hit by the subprime mortgage crisis.  Blacks were
especially vulnerable to such loans because they were denied the equity that
whites have long enjoyed, a result of Federal Housing Administration redlining
and racial discrimination in the granting of housing loans and mortgages
during the mid 20th century.  These policies have had profound effects on the
finances of Blacks long after discriminatory practices were outlawed.  The
Center for Responsible Lending has found that, because of the mortgage
meltdown, Latinos will have lost between $75 billion and $98 billion and
Blacks between $71 billion and $92 billion in home-value wealth.  The victims
of subprime loans should be first in line for aid that restores
  financial stability and the ability to keep one's home."


MORE INFORMATION

Green Party of the United States http://www.gp.org
202-319-7191, 866-41GREEN
• Green candidate database and campaign information:
http://www.gp.org/elections.shtml
• Green Party News Center http://www.gp.org/newscenter.shtml
• Green Party Speakers Bureau http://www.gp.org/speakers
• Green Party ballot access page http://www.gp.org/2008-elections
• Green Party Livestream Channel http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyus

Green Pages: The official publication of record of the Green Party of the
United States
Fall 2009 issue now online
http://gp.org/greenpages-blog


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