Boston Bank of Commerce introduces unity Visa Card; Empowers African Americans to make a difference in their commmunities.BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 8, 1995--The Boston Bank of Commerce, a well-established African-American owned bank, will be introducing the first national credit card that directly contributes to a choice of African-American charities. The new UNITY Visa card will turn the massive spending power The power of legislatures to tax and spend. Spending power is conferred to state and federal legislatures through their constitution. Judicial Review of legislative spending varies from state to state, but the law of federal spending informs courts in all states. of African Americans -- over $200 billion a year -- into a force of positive change in the African-American business and political leaders, including Sen. Edward W. Brooke, Rev. Calvin Butts, Johnnie L. Cochran, Jr., David Dinkins David Norman Dinkins (born July 10 1927 in Trenton, New Jersey) was the Mayor of New York City from 1990 through 1993, being the first and to date only African American to hold that office. He is the most recent Democrat to have been elected Mayor of New York City. , Julius W. Erving, Andre Harrell Andre Harrell (b. September 26 1960 in Harlem, New York) is an American entrepreneur and founder of the now defunct record label, Uptown Records. Harrell also served as CEO of Motown Records. He was also half of the hip hop duo Dr. Jeckyll & Mr. Hyde. , Sharon Pratt Kelly For other persons of the same name, see Sharon Kelly. Sharon Pratt Kelly (1944–), formerly Sharon Pratt Dixon, was the third mayor of the District of Columbia from 1991 to 1995 . Early life and career Sharon Pratt was born WAS in Washington. , Queen Latifah
The UNITY Visa Card donates 1 percent of every dollar charged by cardholders to one of seven charities: The Children's Defense Fund The Children's Defense Fund (CDF) is a national organization that is committed to the social Welfare of children. Founded in 1973, the nonprofit group uses its annual $9 million budget to lobby legislators and to speak out publicly on a broad array of issues on the law, the family, and ; Jackie Robinsons Foundation, NAACP NAACP in full National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Oldest and largest U.S. civil rights organization. It was founded in 1909 to secure political, educational, social, and economic equality for African Americans; W.E.B. Du Bois and Ida B. Legal Defense Fund; National Urban League and its local affiliates; Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund Thurgood Marshall successfully argued the 1954 landmark case Brown v. Board of Education, ordering desegregation of public schools. He later became the first African-American appointed to serve as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. ; United Negro College Fund The United Negro College Fund (UNCF) is a Fairfax, Virginia-based American philanthropic organization that fundraises college tuition money for African-American students and general scholarship funds for 39 historically black colleges and universities. ; and the UNITY Foundation, a non-profit organization established by the Boston Bank of Commerce to contribute to local, grassroots organizations that support the African-American community. Cardholders designate the charity they wish to support on an annual basis. These impressive charities have all agreed to participate and support the program. "Over the past several months, there have been a series of events that have made it clear to African-Americans that the future of our communities lies in our own hands," said Kevin Cohee, chairman, Boston Bank of Commerce. "Black people have been seeking to garner our spending power and channel it back into the community for over 100 years." We believe the UNITY Visa card has the potential to be one of the largest donors to charities and a symbol of African-American economic empowerment worldwide." Cohee and Teri Williams, a husband and wife team, developed the UNITY Visa card through their experiences on Wall Street and at American Express. After their corporate experiences, they purchased and sold a credit card company that marketed to the military. With some of the proceeds of the sale, they invested in the black-owned Boston Bank of Commerce and became the largest shareholder. "Our success is largely due to the support we received from the African-American community and the generation that preceded us," said Williams. "We wanted to give back to the community, by investing our financial resources and our time, in a way that would have a long term impact. We selected the Boston Bank of Commerce because of its long history of supporting the economic development of the African-American community." Since its incorporation over 10 years ago, the Boston Bank of Commerce has provided a full range of financial services including home mortgages, business loans and checking and savings accounts. The Bank's deposits are insured by the FDIC FDIC See: Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation FDIC See Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). . "We have been successful in demonstrating that two missions -- business and social -- can be peacefully, indeed profitably, coexist," said Ronald Homer, long term President & CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. . "By marketing to communities under-served by other banks, the Boston Bank of Commerce has become a role model for financial institutions that seek to encourage urban economic development." The Bank's goal for the UNITY Visa program is to generate over $15 million in donations to African-American charities by attracting over 1 million cardholders and $1 billion in outstandings. "There are almost 7 million Visa and MasterCards currently held by African-American," said Williams. "We believe by offering a competitive product that also gives back to the community, we can capture a significant share of those customers." The UNITY Visa card has no annual fee and an introductory annual percentage rate (APR APR See: Annual Percentage Rate ) of 9.95 percent for the first six months. Cardholders also enjoy premium benefits of Visa membership including acceptance at over 12 million establishments around the world, ATM access, $100,000 worldwide automatic travel accident insurance and lost luggage coverage at no additional charge. Additionally, cardholders receive the quarterly UNITY newsletter that provides information on political and economic issues that affect African-Americans. "Our mission is to garner the financial resources of African Americans and put those dollars to work to help our community," said Cohee. "Everyone we have presented the program to has recognized the power of the concept and has agreed to lend their support. Our Charter Cardholders include a diverse mix of local and national leaders. The charities are also diverse. We are intentionally inclusive, and not exclusive," said Homer. "The one thing we all have in common is our commitment to supporting the economic development of the African-American community. "The UNITY Visa card is the first of many new products that we have planned," said Williams. "It is the foundation of things to come." The UNITY Visa Kick-Off event will be held in Boston on December 14, 1995. Pre-approved applications will be mailed beginning in January, 1996. To request an application for the UNITY Visa card, please call 1-800-59-UNITY. CONTACT: Circulation Experti, LTd. W. GARRISON JACKSON, 914/948-8144 |
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