National Call To Action For Black Americans To Recycle Dollars In The Black Community
Miami, FL, August 22, 2016 – OneUnited Bank, the nation’s largest Black-owned bank announces its #BankBlack partnership the BMeCommunity, a national network dedicated to building prosperous communities inspired by black men. BMe will be a “preferred non-profit” for the bank, and conversely the bank will be a “preferred bank” for the non-profit, solidified by BMe’s re-direction of $1M in deposits to OneUnited Bank. Both organizations place a strong emphasis on the importance of strengthening the black community through initiatives that focus on economics, community development, entrepreneurship and technology.
The partnership comes on the heels of a summer filled with tragic news stories in the black community. In response, celebrities, community activists and everyday people took action by re-directing their resources and opening accounts with black owned banks, namely OneUnited, which saw an influx of deposits totaling $10M in just 3 weeks. In a show of support for the #BankBlack movement, BMe has chosen to move its resources into the Bank, and has encouraged their major sponsors to follow suit.
At the core of this joint effort is the #BankBlack Movement which encourages the Black community to move its money and its minds to embrace collective economics. Black Americans possess vast resources, including $1.2 trillion in annual spending, political power and cultural influence. The #BankBlack movement is targeted at the close to 50 million Black Americans working together to build wealth within the Black community. When successful, the #BankBlack movement will literally change the economic, political and social power paradigm in the U.S.
“It will take the collective action of people from all backgrounds to build wealth in the black community,” said Teri Williams, President & COO of OneUnited Bank. “#BankBlack is an important and positive step that will connect us and lead to fabulous new partnerships.”
The leaders of OneUnited Bank and the BMe Community believe in treating people as assets and in growing the assets of those people. OneUnited Bank also believes in the work of the BMe Community, and has pledged to support the nonprofit organization in its efforts to bring national awareness to its cause.
“It’s a matter of integrity,” said Trabian Shorters, CEO of BMe Community. “If a foundation, corporation or association says they want to help the black community, then we’ll know it’s true if they bank black too.”
For more information about OneUnited Bank and #BankBlack, please visit www.oneunited.com Follow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/oneunitedbank; Twitter: @oneunited #BANKBLACK
Join BMe at www.bmecommunity.org. Follow BMe on Twitter: @bmecommunity #spendblack
MEDIA CONTACT: Suzan McDowell, Circle of One Marketing, [email protected] or 305-576-3790.
ONEUNITED BANK:
OneUnited Bank is the premier bank for urban communities, the largest Black-owned bank, the first Black internet bank and a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI). Its mission is to provide affordable financial services to support economic development in urban communities and maintain superior financial performance to maximize shareholder value. OneUnited is an FDIC insured bank and an equal housing lender.
BMe Community:
BMe Community is the award-winning social network of inspired black men working to build community health and wealth in cities across America. BMe produces bestselling content, co-brands 200+ events/year and it•s 165 BMe Leaders provide direct services to over half a million people in 6 cities annually. BMe is backed by private donations and leading philanthropies including the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Campaign for Black Male Achievement, The Heinz Endowments, and The William R. Keenan Jr. Charitable Trust. Visit www.BMeCommunity.org or contact [email protected] for more information.
