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Rainbow PUSH Wall Street Project plans economic summit in New York City
by Rainbow PUSH
December 22, 2005

For Minorities, Progress on Wall Street is too Slow
Katrina, Pension Funds, Access to Capital Top the Agenda

NEW YORK CITY – (Dec. 14, 2005) – Just a few years ago, history was made on Wall Street when the State of Ohio gave minority fund managers the opportunity to manage 10 percent of the $14.5 billion Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation Fund.

Because of this commitment, Ohio became a role model for other states, where the involvement of minority fund managers had been limited or non-existent.

However, today this program, which grew to include some 69 minority fund managers, is about to be dismantled by Republican Gov. Robert Taft amid allegations of inefficiency and mismanagement. Facing a lethal blow that could virtually wipe out some of the firms involved, many of the fund managers have turned to the Rainbow PUSH Wall Street Project for support.

The Ohio pension fund crisis is among the critical issues that will be addressed during the 9th Annual Wall Street Project Economic Summit, to be held January 8 to 11, 2006, at the Sheraton Hotel and Towers, 811 7th Avenue, New York City. The Ohio situation testifies to the continuing importance of the conference, now celebrating its ninth anniversary and regarded as one of the most relevant and influential Wall Street events for minorities.

During the four days of “A More Perfect Union: The Quest for Equity and Parity,” a heavyweight roster of business executives, politicians, ministers, labor and civil rights leaders will participate in summit sessions, examining a wide variety of issues touching on a broad range of industries and on regional problems where access to opportunity and capital has been limited or denied.

Among the Summit’s confirmed and invited participants are: Sanford Weill, former CEO of Citigroup; billionaire executive Robert Johnson; Kenneth D. Lewis, Chairman and CEO of Bank of America; Bishop T.D. Jakes and Bishop Vashti McKenzie; Reverend Al Sharpton; NAACP head Bruce Gordon; National Urban League President Marc Morial; Acting FEMA Director R. David Paulison; Alphonso Jackson, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development; and Ed Gordon of National Public Radio.

On Sunday, January 8th, the Summit’s opening day will address “Rebuilding After Katrina: The Right to Relocation, Reconstruction and Return.” Participants in this session include Reverend Al Sharpton, president of the National Action Network; Ann Marie Tallman, president of MALDEF; talk show host Tavis Smiley; Hector M. Flores, president of LULAC; and political figures including Congressional and state legislators from Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, among them New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin and Congressman Benny Thompson (D-Miss.).

On Monday, January 9th, the summit shifts to pension funds and Wall Street. Participants for the key session “Where Is the Money?: Minority Participation in Corporate, Public and Institutional Pension Plans” are John Rogers, Jr. and Mellody Hobson of Ariel Capital Management; Marquette Chester, president of the National Association of Security Professionals; author and motivational speaker George Fraser; prominent attorney Willie E. Gary, and successful entrepreneur and former star of television’s “The Apprentice,” Kwame Jackson.

On Tuesday, January 10, religious leaders will discuss their strategies for helping their members and communities gain access to capital. The lineup for the session “The Church in the Market Place: Access to Home Ownership, Leveraging and Avoiding Economic Exploitation,” includes Bishops Jakes and McKenzie; Reverend Sen. James Meeks, pastor of the 25,000-member House of Hope in Chicago; Reverend Dr. Major Jemison, president of the Progressive National Baptist Convention; and Reverend Dr. Stephen Thurston, president of the National Baptist Convention of America.

On the Summit’s closing day, Wednesday, January 11th, organized labor will provide its perspective on how minorities can gain more access to capital. The list of leaders participating on the panel “Labor, Pensions, Corporate Governance & Globalization” includes Clayola Brown of UNITE HERE and the A. Phillip Randolph Institute; Weldon Latham, Esq., partner in the firm Davis Wright Tremaine; Mr. Alan Rappaport, Market President, Bank of America; Sibal Holt, State President of the AFL-CIO in Louisiana; and New York City Comptroller William Thompson.

The Wall Street Project will also present its prestigious awards on Wednesday.

Reverend Jesse L. Jackson, Sr., founder and president of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, said the Katrina meeting can provide a breakthrough for many minority organizations and businesses that have not yet received adequate answers from and access to FEMA and other government agencies.

“Some people will ask: 'Why are we still meeting on Wall Street? And what are we asking for?’ Reverend Jackson said. “Our answer is that we are coming to fight for justice, for inclusion, for access to technology, industry, capital, and to even the playing field.”

He added, “We have been seeking a meeting with FEMA to get an update on contracts and the agency’s progress in addressing our concerns. We have not had that meeting yet.”

During the pension fund session on Monday, Reverend Jackson said, key legislators and experts from across the nation will convene to provide pertinent data and guidance to minority fund managers regarding such questions as who manages the state pension-fund programs and how much money is in these funds.

“We are going to fight the Ohio elimination plan,” said Reverend Jackson, noting that some of the funds managed by minority fund managers had outperformed funds under mainstream management. “All of the minority fund managers will be wiped out if we don’t succeed at getting the governor to halt this action. If Ohio tumbles, all of the programs in other states will fall.”

Historically, the black church has taken the lead in many civil rights advances, with its leaders breaking ground in the fight to end slavery and Jim Crow laws, to gain the right to vote, and to end segregated housing. Now, Reverend Jackson said, they must lead the fight to close the economic gaps.

“There has never been a community development agency greater than the church,” Reverend Jackson said. “Learn to be a more responsible steward of the resources God has entrusted to you.”

The Wall Street Project, founded in 1997 on the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., uses the Operation Breadbasket model of research, education, negotiation and reconciliation to promote inclusion, opportunity and economic growth by encouraging public and private industries to improve hiring and promotion practices; name more minorities to corporate boards; allocate more business to minority companies; and increase the amount of business minority firms conduct with each other. Its accomplishments include establishment of Project Siblings in Chicago, Los Angeles, Silicon Valley, Atlanta and Houston; increased flow of business to minority-owned asset management companies; creation of financial literacy programs for ministers and NFL players; path-breaking studies of media and telecommunications; and facilitating legislation and business development benefiting minorities in such varied areas as broadcasting, auto dealerships, new markets initiatives, insurance, and even a NASCAR racing team and driver.

Corporations having relationships with the Wall Street Project have included GE, the New York Stock Exchange, Boeing, General Motors, Toyota, the New York Times Company, AOL Time Warner and many other major corporations worldwide.

For more information about the Wall Street Project, please visit the organization’s website, or telephone 212-425-7874. To interview Reverend Jackson about this topic, please call Jerry Thomas, 773-677-6378.