Dorothy Tillman: Bank of America is 'lying' to Conceal Ties to Slavery
/Originally published in the Chicago Sun Times on February 9, 2005 [here]
BY FRAN SPIELMAN City Hall Reporter
The City Council's champion for slave reparations accused Bank of America on Tuesday of "lying" on a sworn affidavit to conceal its past ties to slavery and preserve a lucrative role as senior manager of a $500 million city refinancing deal.
"To sign an affidavit saying they've searched their records and your company has no ties to slavery is incorrect. ... That's incorrect and we are prepared to bring the evidence before this body -- that Bank of America, through Fleet Boston, does have ties to slavery," said Ald. Dorothy Tillman (3rd).
"We've already got a team right now preparing to bring our evidence before this City Council ... to show it to the world. ... We will bring out witnesses. We will bring our evidence and you'll be back before this Council. You're in violation of the law. ... John Brown was a slave owner.''
Patricia Holden, state and local lobbyist for Bank of America, acknowledged Brown, who helped found Providene Bank in 1791, was a director of the bank, a predecessor of Fleet Boston, which was acquired by Bank of America last year.
JPMorgan Chase admitted link
But, she said, "While John Brown was a director of the bank, the bank and its predecessors did not profit from the slave trade."
Holden added, "There is nothing within our records that show that we profited from the slave trade. But, we are going to take the extra step to go outside and find external counsel that we can work with to provide additional resources to us."
Last year, Tillman accused JPMorgan Chase of profiting from the slave trade and lying about it on a sworn affidavit. The bank then hired a research firm to search Louisiana records. Last month, JPMorgan Chase admitted that two of its predecessor banks in Louisiana allowed 13,000 slaves to be used as collateral on loans and took ownership of 1,250 slaves when those loans defaulted. The bank apologized and said it would create a $5 million scholarship fund for African Americans in Louisiana.
BY FRAN SPIELMAN City Hall Reporter
The City Council's champion for slave reparations accused Bank of America on Tuesday of "lying" on a sworn affidavit to conceal its past ties to slavery and preserve a lucrative role as senior manager of a $500 million city refinancing deal.
"To sign an affidavit saying they've searched their records and your company has no ties to slavery is incorrect. ... That's incorrect and we are prepared to bring the evidence before this body -- that Bank of America, through Fleet Boston, does have ties to slavery," said Ald. Dorothy Tillman (3rd).
"We've already got a team right now preparing to bring our evidence before this City Council ... to show it to the world. ... We will bring out witnesses. We will bring our evidence and you'll be back before this Council. You're in violation of the law. ... John Brown was a slave owner.''
Patricia Holden, state and local lobbyist for Bank of America, acknowledged Brown, who helped found Providene Bank in 1791, was a director of the bank, a predecessor of Fleet Boston, which was acquired by Bank of America last year.
JPMorgan Chase admitted link
But, she said, "While John Brown was a director of the bank, the bank and its predecessors did not profit from the slave trade."
Holden added, "There is nothing within our records that show that we profited from the slave trade. But, we are going to take the extra step to go outside and find external counsel that we can work with to provide additional resources to us."
Last year, Tillman accused JPMorgan Chase of profiting from the slave trade and lying about it on a sworn affidavit. The bank then hired a research firm to search Louisiana records. Last month, JPMorgan Chase admitted that two of its predecessor banks in Louisiana allowed 13,000 slaves to be used as collateral on loans and took ownership of 1,250 slaves when those loans defaulted. The bank apologized and said it would create a $5 million scholarship fund for African Americans in Louisiana.
