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Wall Street march participants include (L-R): Dennis Hayes, NAACP; John Taylor, NCRC; Rev. Jesse Jackson, RainbowPUSH Coalition; Marc Morial, Urban League; and Leslie Cagan, United for Peace and Justice.
Also see: Rev. Jackson's statement at the march on Wall Street
NEW YORK (Dec. 10, 2007)
By The Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr.
“Foreclose on George Bush!”
“The only person who should be evicted from his house is George Bush; the people will foreclose on him!” Rev. Jesse L. Jackson Sr. declared today during a march and rally on Wall Street, demonstrating support for millions of Americans facing foreclosure in the present credit crisis.
Rev. Jackson, founder and president of Rainbow PUSH Coalition, braved bitter cold along with hundreds of supporters to demand federal attention for beleaguered homeowners who will not benefit from President Bush’s recent proposal to freeze interest rates. The NAACP, the Urban League, Transport Workers Local 100, SEIU Local 1199, the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, and leaders from the clergy and communities nationwide were among the groups marching with Rev. Jackson.
The President’s proposal of a mortgage interest rate freeze is too little, too late, Rev. Jackson said. “This bail-out applies to only 15 percent of those in foreclosure,” he said. “The other 85 percent will continue to be left out in the cold. This may slow down the economic tsunami of foreclosure – but it won’t stop it.”
In Chicago, Jonathan Jackson, a board member of the Citizenship Education Fund, joined members of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, the National Training and Information Center, the Chicago Urban League and concerned citizens in a rally at the Federal Reserve Bank.
“Bankers should not sit idly by; they should come forward and offer solutions,” Jonathan Jackson said. “They should visit these people in their homes – they certainly have the addresses – and let them know that their homes can be saved.”
“Our neighborhoods are bleeding,” said Michelle Rodriguez Taylor, NTIC national community reinvestment organizer. “Thirty-six million dollars went to the top five corporate lenders for holiday bonuses last year. This year, they should donate those bonuses to people facing foreclosure.”
The Mortgage Bankers Association’s "National Delinquency Report" indicates that 1,667,730 loans were serviced in Illinois this year; of these, more than 5 percent, or 85,000 loans, were past due; and slightly fewer than 30,000 loans were in foreclosure at the end of the second quarter.
The Rainbow PUSH Coalition’s 11th annual Wall Street Economic Summit, to be held Jan. 5-9, 2008, in New York City, will tackle the financial crisis that a falling housing market represents for the United States. The “ripple effect” could send the nation’s economy spiraling into a devastating depression, Rev. Jackson said. |
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