An Emancipation Proclamation from Payday Lending
Statement of Rev. DeForest Soaries, Rev. Dallas Lenear, and Dr. Frederick Haynes
Co-Chairs, The National Day of Action to Stop Payday Lending
January 1, 2013
On this the 150th Anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, we celebrate freedom. We celebrate the promise of freedom. And we celebrate the potential of freedom.
But in the midst of so much opportunity, and 150 years after our nation was saved from the horrific scourge of physical and economic enslavement of people of African descent, 150 years after our people embarked on the path to freedom, Americans of all colors now find themselves in a new servitude to a cruel master. In servitude to a philosophy that allows banks to turn their backs on our communities and leave too many of us in the hands of payday lenders and their outrageous interest rates that trap our most vulnerable citizens in debt.
Today and this year, as the nation celebrates, faith leaders and community activists nationwide proclaim a further emancipation from America’s bondage to the debt trap of payday lenders. An emancipation from usury and the naïve belief that any loan is a fair loan.
Today we proclaim a new era for our communities. An end to usury, an end to 300% interest rates, and an end to enslavement to both payday lenders and the banks now offering equally dangerous products.
We invite faith leaders to join us next month, on February 14, 2013, for a National Day of Action to Stop Payday Lending as we know it. While there is more work to be done in providing alternatives and education, we invite every state to join the growing ranks of 17 other states and the District of Columbia that have capped loan interest rates at 36% or lower.
STARTING TODAY, we will lift our voices, lift our communities, and launch a year of action to rebuild the dream of economic prosperity for all people throughout the nation.
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Co-Chairs, The National Day of Action to Stop Payday Lending
January 1, 2013
On this the 150th Anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, we celebrate freedom. We celebrate the promise of freedom. And we celebrate the potential of freedom.
But in the midst of so much opportunity, and 150 years after our nation was saved from the horrific scourge of physical and economic enslavement of people of African descent, 150 years after our people embarked on the path to freedom, Americans of all colors now find themselves in a new servitude to a cruel master. In servitude to a philosophy that allows banks to turn their backs on our communities and leave too many of us in the hands of payday lenders and their outrageous interest rates that trap our most vulnerable citizens in debt.
Today and this year, as the nation celebrates, faith leaders and community activists nationwide proclaim a further emancipation from America’s bondage to the debt trap of payday lenders. An emancipation from usury and the naïve belief that any loan is a fair loan.
Today we proclaim a new era for our communities. An end to usury, an end to 300% interest rates, and an end to enslavement to both payday lenders and the banks now offering equally dangerous products.
We invite faith leaders to join us next month, on February 14, 2013, for a National Day of Action to Stop Payday Lending as we know it. While there is more work to be done in providing alternatives and education, we invite every state to join the growing ranks of 17 other states and the District of Columbia that have capped loan interest rates at 36% or lower.
STARTING TODAY, we will lift our voices, lift our communities, and launch a year of action to rebuild the dream of economic prosperity for all people throughout the nation.
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