Black neighborhoods in North Carolina have three times as many payday lending stores per capita as white neighborhoods, according to a study released Tuesday by the Center for Responsible Lending. The Durham-based consumer advocacy group calls its findings a "civil rights issue," and is calling on state and federal policymakers to revisit the issue of payday lending, which they say traps borrowers in cycles of debt they often can't crawl out of. In the Charlotte region, 44 percent of payday lending stores were located in census tracts where at least 42 percent of the residents are African American, according to the study. The payday lending industry's lobbying group disputed the report, saying most payday lenders are located in suburban strip malls, and aren't clustered more heavily in black neighborhoods than other areas. "Payday lending is designed to trap borrowers in debt, not to help borrowers out of emergency situations," said Mark Pearce, president of the Center for Responsible Lending. North Carolina outlawed payday lending in 2001, but large chains like Advance America and Check `n Go can continue operating because they are affiliated with large out-of-state banks. [more]