47 Comments

Very good, Joyce. As a banker for 22 yrs of my career all in TX, I can say honestly that I dealt with a few black customers & some Hispanic customers in my lending duties, which didn't include home mortgages. I was mostly a consumer lending bank branch President my last 6 or so yrs. One of my black customers was "pushed" off on me by one of my banker friends. Mr. Gilbert was blind & had to get around with the help of his wife Terry. Although Mr. Gilbert was a real pain sometimes to work with, we not only became friends, he was as good a loan risk as there ever was. I learned that he was a very good businessman. He had a good head on his shoulders. Granted, there were many times he bothered me at home with his phone calls that would last 30-45 minutes, and my wife wasn't pleased, but I grew to understand that when he had an idea, he trusted me to tell him what I thought, and I was always honest with him. He attempted to help his older son repair his bad credit, but to no avail. Mr. Gilbert disliked using one of his Certificates of Deposit as collateral for his son's loans, but he had no choice as I didn't trust the son to pay on time due to his multiple bad lines of credit on his report. I can smile about some of the stories that I won't go into here, but suffice to say, sometimes color isn't as important as the opportunity to help someone achieve one of their goals. Mr. Gilbert amazed me in that I'd be at his house, outside always, where he was working on a car or truck. He wasn't always blind, and he knew vehicles, so he could do work on them with a little help from his son or from his wife. His younger son played high school football, and was a great kid. I liked him a lot. I don't know who took care of Mr. Gilbert after I was out of banking in 2009, but I hope he was still successful. I know one time that he bought a fixer upper house close to where he lived, and he and his son, along with his wife began to make repairs themselves. I think he bought it for $17,000, and by the time he'd fixed it up with new appliances and paint, etc., he rented it to a Hispanic family on a rent to own contract. If the family made 12 payments on time & they wanted to buy the house, he would sell it to them on a new contract and carry the note himself. He sold that particular house for $60, 000+. If they became past due, he could always foreclose and sell it again. Smart man. Not a slum lord by any stretch either. He always called me, Mr. McGuire, never Bill, his wife either, so I mostly called him Mr. Gilbert. I enjoyed our lunches together after I was out of banking. One of these days, I intend to find out if he is still alive. I doubt he is. I never lost a cent on him, and I made him some good interest on his certificate of deposits (I convinced him that borrowing against a vehicle was more costly than against his CDs). I think I broke him from trying to help his older son fix his credit after about 3 yrs. I doubt that one ever learned his lesson. I am happy to have played a part in his success and that we became friends who didn't play golf together. Glad the DOJ got things set straight with its Civil Rights Division. Tough duty that. Peace.

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Mar 1, 2023Liked by Joyce Vance

Exactly! “We want DOJ to hold those who are most responsible, all of them, accountable for what they have put the country through.”

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Mar 1, 2023Liked by Joyce Vance

Thank you for sharing the wins by the Civil Rights Division of DOJ. We probably will not hear that news from any other source. I expect AG Garland will be respectful and diligent no matter what the republicans throw at him. Republicans are hypocritical beyond belief.

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Mar 1, 2023Liked by Joyce Vance

Thank you, Joyce. I appreciate hearing about positive legal accomplishments by the DOJ that are not as well covered as the January 6 prosecutions and the trail of potential lawsuits following the former president. If the settlement agreements in the various redlining cases are enforced, it will be very meaningful for many families of color whether that information is splashed across the news or not. Every move towards equality for Americans, in this case for people of color, is worth celebrating.

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Mar 1, 2023Liked by Joyce Vance

Good evening Joyce. Garland has always fascinated me in his ability to remain neutral under unfair scrutiny. I expect the same tomorrow and look forward to observing him in action among some of the cruelest interrogators in the House. Garland will exemplify grace under pressure. No doubt. Thanks for sharing this important update and the dedication of DOJ to improve lives across the spectrum 🇺🇸

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I appreciate your perspective and continued optimism, Joyce. I’ve run out of mine. I feel like we’ve been collectively holding our breath waiting for accountability. I can’t hold my breath anymore.

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Mar 1, 2023Liked by Joyce Vance

Thank you for publishing the lesser known work that is strengthening our committment to democracy. It shows that there are currents of energy that are doing the good work even if such work is drowned out by voices of evil.

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The Civil Rights achievements are a big deal, important work..Now if only criminality can be found in the behavior of those at FNC, perhaps we can start by revoking Rupert Murdoch’s citizenship and deport him..Have the FCC shut down the shows who were spreading lies and fine the hell out of them..

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Mar 1, 2023Liked by Joyce Vance

I have been so busy and distracted with sone personal matters that I have not been keeping up with the latest news cycle. As a result, I did not know about this hearing. Thank you always for your thoughtful and thorough preview of what’s to come. I look forward to your post-hearing observations and insights. You are my go-to!

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Mar 1, 2023Liked by Joyce Vance

Joyce can you help me understand why the Justice department isn't doing anything to protect the LGBTQ community and especially trans kids in red states? Why is my community being left to fend for themselves by this administration? It doesn't seem like anybody at the White House or Congressional Democrats give a crap about what's happening to my community. I'm a lesbian who lives in Chicago so right now I have safety but if the MAGA GOP has its way my entire community could be erased from existence. They have essentially done that in Tennessee. I feel like we are in the late 1930s Nazi Germany right now.

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Mar 1, 2023Liked by Joyce Vance

Thank you, Joyce. I had no idea about these other actions DOJ has been working on. I’m so hopeful that the redlining cases will start to make a difference for people of color.

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Thanks for the update Joyce. We can only pray that everything works out the way it is supposed to🙏🏼

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Thanks for writing about the DOJ holding banks accountable for redlining.

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Thank you for this one. I learned a lot I didn't know about what's been happening in the Civil Rights Division.

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For all his accomplishments, Garland remains a weak and indecisive AG. His failures to act for 2 years are highlighted by Jack Smith’s many subpoenas and court actions, which should have been issued and taken years ago by Garland.

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This is all information that will not be in the hearing today. I just listened to Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley desk pounding, accusing Garland of discrimination against Catholics, screaming at him for the camera's sake, not allowing him to reply and generally disgracing the office they hold. Garland is no shrinking violet: his rage was quietly controlled and his answers, when he was allowed to give them, forceful. But it calls to mind how fortunate we are that they are in the minority.

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