US DOJ accuses American Bank of Oklahoma of redlining

TULSA, Okla. — The US Department of Justice and the American Bank of Oklahoma have reached a settlement on a case involving some of Tulsa’s predominantly Black and Hispanic neighborhoods.

The DOJ is accusing the bank of preventing those neighbors from getting loans.

We sorted through the court documents and spoke with the president of the Tulsa NAACP to dive deeper into this story.

The practice is called “redlining” and the DOJ is cracking down.

Since 2021, investigations and settlements have been reached in at least 20 states – the most recent one being here in Oklahoma.

Investigators are accusing the American Bank of Oklahoma of preventing people in majority Black and Hispanic neighborhoods from getting mortgage loans and other mortgage related services.

Tulsa’s NAACP President, Francetta Mays is not surprised.

“We’ve allowed ourselves to be illiterate while meanwhile we have had big business and corporations in our face tell us what value we’re gonna have on our lives,” Mays said.

Justice department documents say the bank failed to market and advertise to these neighborhoods.

Investigators looked at the bank’s activity dating all the way back to 2017, saying they avoided neighborhoods in the Greenwood district; the site of the 1921 Race Massacre.

A court document released Tuesday says the bank actually doesn’t have a single branch or office in a majority-Black and Hispanic area.

“Adding the institution, “reinforced and perpetuated segregated housing patterns because of race, color, or national origin.”

The documents also say some executives at the bank exchanged emails with racist language.

In a statement, the bank said: “It is with deep concern that we note the justice department’s decision to reference this distressing historical event in its complaint against our bank, established a mere 25 years ago.”

We asked for an interview with the bank, but their PR manager deferred to the written statement.

In response to all of this, the bank settled with the DOJ for more than $2 million.

“We can’t throw money at people’s lives. What we have to do is we have to take time out. We can’t throw materialistic things and make deals. That’s what’s been happening,” Mays said.

Among other things, the bank has agreed to invest more than $1 million to increase credit opportunities in majority Black and Hispanic neighborhoods.

They will also invest two hundred thousand dollars in advertising and community partnerships.

Mays says the black community doesn’t need handouts, just a fair shot.

“Give us what we need, in the community to self-sustain, and just like in 1921, pre-massacre, we know how to sustain,” Mays said.

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