Banking while black. It’s an experience that many of us have had, and one that often leaves us feeling frustrated and helpless. Every other month, it seems, there’s another story in the news about discrimination happening at a bank. Black folks are being denied loans, subjected to higher interest rates, and treated with suspicion and contempt.
Lizzie Pugh, a 71-year-old Black Detroit public school retiree, has filed a federal lawsuit against Fifth Third Bank, alleging that three white bank employees refused to cash and deposit her jackpot check from the Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort. According to Pugh, the bank employees told her the five-figure check was fraudulent and refused to give it back. Pugh says she was only able to get the check back after much persistence and that it cleared without issue the following day at a nearby Chase bank. In her lawsuit, Pugh alleges that the incident was an act of racism and is seeking unspecified damages.
“I couldn’t really believe they did that to me, I was devastated. I kept asking, ‘How do you know the check is not real?’ … And they just insisted that it was fraudulent. … I was just terrified.”
This is just one example of the discrimination that Black people face when trying to access banking services. Banks have a long history of discriminating against Black customers, dating back to the days of segregation. Even today, studies show that Black and Latino borrowers are more likely to be denied loans than their white counterparts. And when they are approved for loans, they’re often given less favorable terms, such as higher interest rates.
This discrimination has real-life consequences for Black people. It can make it difficult to buy a home, start a business, or access the credit you need to get ahead. And it reinforces the idea that the financial system is not meant for us.
