By Gloria Zuurveen, Publisher, The Southern Truth

Wake up, people. This is more than policy, more than market forces—this is a planned system of neglect, abuse, and quiet theft, dressed up in suits and big words, but hitting Black communities and small businesses every single day.

Let’s talk plain:
For over 30 years, I’ve watched as the same crooked dance repeats. The big banks—Chase, US Bank, Comerica, and yes, even OneUnited—impose needless nine-day holds on legitimate checks, while they pocket the interest, flip our deposits, and keep our communities cash-starved.

They’re federally backed by the FDIC, using our tax dollars to protect their risk—but when it comes time to recycle that money into Black neighborhoods? Silence. Nothing. Just fees, delays, and excuses.

And here’s where it gets even uglier:
After the LA riots, John Hope Bryant showed up, not to build real Black-owned banks, but to broker our poverty into his own wealth.
He walked away rich, while our communities got slogans, speeches, and programs that were just new forms of sharecropping.
He became the smiling field hand for the banks—helping them appear to serve us while making sure they kept the lion’s share.

That’s the undercover thievery—not just by the big banks, but by the “leaders” handpicked to keep us docile and hopeful while nothing truly changes.

And yes, Congresswoman Maxine Waters, this message is for you too.
You have been there for decades, walking in the elite circles as head of the powerful Financial Services Committee. And yet Chase, US Bank, Comerica, and OneUnited all continue to squeeze the people with these outrageous 9-day holds.

So, what is really going on?
Who benefits when Black money is delayed, while big banks get to use it interest-free? Why are Black businesses still forced to fight for scraps from state funds funneled through nonprofits like Lendistry instead of getting direct investment? It’s sharecropping in a new suit. And we see it now for what it is.

Here’s the Southern Truth:
This system isn’t failing—it’s working exactly as designed. Black poverty is turned into product. Black pain becomes talking points.
And the banks—protected by federal insurance—profit from our deposits, while we’re pushed closer to homelessness, bankruptcy, and despair.

Wake up, people. Look at the picture. They want you thinking homelessness is down in L.A. But that flies in the face of Black homelessness, which remains shockingly high while PR campaigns celebrate “progress.” According to the 2025 LAHSA Point-in-Time Count:

• Countywide homelessness dropped 4% to 72,308.
• Citywide unsheltered homelessness fell 7.9%.
• But Black Angelenos—only 9% of the population—make up about 29–31% of those experiencing homelessness laist.com+6calonews.com+6theguardian.com+6.
• Among chronically homeless and unsheltered, Black faces remain disproportionately represented.

Black Homelessness Disproportion:
Listen to Dr. Va Lecia Adams Kellum, chief executive officer of LAHSA—who many in the public thought had resigned, but she’s still there—touting the headline that “Reducing homelessness is now a trend.” But not so for Black folk.

As reported by Brenda Fernanda Verano for Calonews, despite the slight overall decline in numbers, Kellum herself acknowledged that people of color remain disproportionately represented among the homeless population. The 2025 count shows Latinos make up 46% of the homeless in Los Angeles County—the largest single ethnic group. But Black people, who are less than 9% of the county’s population, still make up an alarming 29.2% of the homeless.

As CBS News confirmed: Black people continue to be dramatically overrepresented in homelessness, despite the headline drop in overall numbers. The smiles on the press conference stage don’t match the frowns on the streets—because for Black Angelenos, the crisis hasn’t ended; it remains the same.

 

Surely, this isn’t cause for celebration. For the smallest and poorest segment—Black Angelenos—the party’s just a PR show. On the ground, their smiles have turned to frowns, because their conditions haven’t changed. The system still turns its back.

Even the late, great Ray Charles—blind as he was—could see it. And the Bible itself warns against those who enrich themselves by cheating the people.

This is a clarion call:

• To Maxine Waters: Don’t just hold hearings—hold these banks accountable. End the nine-day holds. Force real investment into Black neighborhoods. Explain why after decades at the top, we’re still here fighting the same fight.

• To our so-called Black leaders: Stop selling us out. Stop being the field hands for Wall Street’s plantation.

• And to the people: Use cash. Barter. Start community credit circles. Stop trusting institutions that have proven, year after year, to never truly serve us.  

They’re pushing toward digital coins so they can keep taking our dimes out of our sight—but we must say:

Black Consumers Have $2 Trillion In Buying Power

No today, no way!
It’s time to do more than pray—it’s time to build wealth our way. As a small Black business owner in California—the highest taxpaying state in the world—I’ve paid enough, seen enough, and said enough.

Now it’s time to act.

Telephone: (323) 244-7286
Email: [email protected]

Don’t delay. Don’t get distracted. The banks, the cronies, the politicians who know better—they all need to hear it:
The people see you now. And the people say: NO MORE.

Let’s build a brand-new day—our way.
That’s the Southern Truth.