U.S. Senators respond to lynchings in African Diaspora

 Did U.S. Foreign Policy lynch African Diaspora Federal Credit Union?

By Eric Stradford, U.S. Marine Corps, Retired

AMWS, August 16, 2026, Alkebulan - The African Diaspora Federal Credit Union, a U.S. community development financial institution qualifying some 47 million Free Africans for economic inclusion closed accounts for 183 federally insured members of the African Diaspora. 

The U.S. Senate Subcommittee on International Trade, Customs, and Global Competitiveness need more constituent engagement to review continuing economic security threats: U.S. Senate: Freedmen’s Bureau Acts of 1865 and 1866

Total Members: 17

Majority Members (9)	Minority Members (8)
Cornyn, John (TX), Chairman Grassley, Chuck (IA) Thune, John (SD) Scott, Tim (SC) Daines, Steve (MT) Young, Todd (IN) Tillis, Thom (NC) Marshall, Roger (KS) Crapo, Mike (ID), Ex Officio	Warnock, Raphael G. (GA), Ranking Member Bennet, Michael F. (CO) Warner, Mark R. (VA) Whitehouse, Sheldon (RI) Cortez Masto, Catherine (NV) Warren, Elizabeth (MA) Smith, Tina (MN) Wyden, Ron (OR), Ex Officio

 

African Diaspora Federal Credit Union Closes | NCUA (ADFCU) was a federally insured, federally chartered credit union with 183 members and assets of $547,479, according to the credit union’s most recent Call Report.

The State of the African Diaspora (SOAD) operates as a global governance entity with ministers, ambassadors, and programs in culture, agriculture, and infrastructure, fostering connections between Africa and diaspora communities

All U.S. federally insured credit union members: about 145.8 million

African American-owned credit union members: about 726,929, based on the figure already in your document

Overall, the federally insured credit union system holds $2.37 trillion in total assets across 4,411 institutions. African American-owned credit unions, with 205 active institutions down from 318 in 2016, control just 0.34 percent of that total asset base.  That means African American-owned credit unions serve roughly 0.5% of all federally insured credit union members in the U.S.   

African American-owned credit unions hold more than $8.15 billion in assets and serve 726,929 members in 2025, more than doubling their asset base from $3.81 billion in 2016. That growth confirms that Black-owned cooperative finance remains a living, expanding sector — not a historical artifact. Yet placed against the broader credit union landscape, the numbers tell a more sobering story.

HBCU Money’s 2025 African American Owned Credit Union Directory | HBCU Money

Black-owned banks and credit unions have historically played a vital role in expanding access to credit, deposits, homeownership, and small-business financing in communities that were excluded or underserved by mainstream financial institutions. Their challenges are not simply operational weaknesses; they are tied to long-standing disparities in wealth, capital access, regulatory burden, technology investment, and community economic stress.

Core Challenges

1.      Historic undercapitalization: Many Black-owned financial institutions began with smaller capital bases because Black communities were historically denied equal access to wealth-building tools, investment networks, and institutional support.

2.      Small scale and limited operating margins: Smaller asset size can make it difficult to absorb compliance costs, invest in technology, hire specialized staff, or compete with large banks and fintech platforms.

3.      Higher community economic risk: These institutions often serve areas facing lower household wealth, higher unemployment, lower property values, and greater vulnerability to recessions, which can increase loan defaults and reduce deposits.

4.      Technology and visibility gaps: Limited digital banking tools, marketing budgets, websites, and mobile-first services can make it harder to attract younger members and retain customers who expect convenience.

5.      Regulatory pressure: Community banks and credit unions face complex reporting, examination, cybersecurity, anti-money-laundering, and consumer-protection obligations, often with far fewer employees than larger institutions.

6.      Deposit flight and competition: Customers may move funds to larger banks for branch access, ATM networks, perceived safety, app features, rewards, or business services, weakening the deposit base of smaller institutions.

7.      Succession and governance challenges: Some Black-owned credit unions are rooted in churches, civic organizations, HBCUs, or community groups. When leadership ages out or the sponsoring institution weakens, the financial institution can lose momentum.

8.      Mission-versus-margin tension: Black-owned banks and credit unions often extend credit where traditional institutions have refused. That mission is essential, but it requires patient capital, strong risk controls, and outside support to remain sustainable.

Why #BlackBankingMatters

When a Black-owned bank or credit union fails, merges, or disappears, the loss is larger than a balance sheet. Communities lose trusted lenders, culturally connected financial guidance, institutional memory, and local control over credit decisions. The result can deepen reliance on large outside banks, payday lenders, check-cashing services, and other institutions that may not be designed around community reinvestment.

Framing statement: The failure of Black-owned financial institutions is not evidence that the mission is flawed. It is evidence that institutions serving historically excluded communities are often expected to solve structural financial inequality with fewer resources, smaller capital reserves, and less institutional support than their larger competitors.

Step 1 – Partnery your Bank or Credit Union www.Alkebulan.us

Atonement for 2.4 billion #Heirs of Salvation

#JoyToTheWorld -- Lord Jesus, as we rejoice in Your coming, let our joy overflow into acts of love. Teach us that true atonement transforms hearts and societies. May we, as Your people, rise together to end poverty and bring Your kingdom of justice and peace to earth. Amen. 

By Eric Stradford, U.S. Marine Corps, Retired

Fiduciary Trustee, FAS2 Free African Society for the 21^st Century

AMWS-FAS2, Sunday, December 13, 2026, Alkebulan – The #BlackJesus Family Trust Fund supports a one-year demonstration for financing United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 1.  The African Development Bank has been invited to partner with 2.4 billion #HeirsofSalvation to model a multi-donor thematic trust fund focused on resilience and youth entrepreneurship. It aligns with AfDB’s strategic priorities and UN SDGs 1 and 17, aiming to empower Generation Z and Alpha across Africa and the diaspora.

A $100 million crowdfunding campaign supports multi-year engagement culminating June 9, 2030, the Day of Pentecost.  #ThePentecostProject anticipates signs, wonders and miracles through cheerful giving by the planet’s youngest beneficiaries.

On this Third Sunday of Advent, the candle of joy signals #JoyToTheWorld —not a fleeting happiness, but a deep, abiding joy rooted in the promise of reconciliation. Advent values hope, peace, joy and love as community assets for #KingdomFellowship. A fifth candle, lit The Night Before Christmas, anticipates a supernatural atonement to restore what was broken between humanity and God. This gift of grace is not passive; it calls intentional engagement as agents of restoration in the world.

Atonement is not only vertical—between 2.4 billion #HeirsofSalvation and God—but also horizontal—between you and 8.2 billion neighbors you are supposed to love.  The miracle of #NoPoverty2030 #MissionPossible with #BlackJesus is neither ambiguous nor esoteric.

FACT 1: Christ’s coming reconciles humanity to God.

FACT 2: #MissionPossible is the heir’s endowed capacity to reinvest in those who suffer under the weight of poverty and injustice. #JoyToTheWorld becomes complete when it is shared, when the hungry are fed, the oppressed are lifted, and communities are sustained.

FACT 3: “The assistant director of the Office of Economic Opportunity, Hyman Bookbinder, in a frank statement on December 29, 1966, declared that the long-range costs of adequately implementing programs to fight poverty, ignorance and slums will reach one trillion dollars. He was not awed or dismayed by this prospect but instead pointed out that the growth of the gross national product during the same period makes this expenditure comfortably possible. It is, he said, as simple as this: “The poor can stop being poor if the rich are willing to become even richer at a slower rate.” Furthermore, he predicted that unless a “substantial sacrifice is made by the American people,” the nation can expect further deterioration of the cities, increased antagonisms between races and continued disorders in the streets. He asserted that people are not informed enough to give adequate support to antipoverty programs, and he leveled a share of the blame at the government because it “must do more to get people to understand the size of the problem.”

― Martin Luther King, Jr., from Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community?

How can 2.4 billion followers of #BlackJesus end poverty?

#PrayerChangesThings

Social Action: “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.” — Philippians 4:4

Imagine 2.4 billion people of faith united under a shared vision of ending poverty, potential impact could be enormous. Here is one practical, boots-on-the-ground that such a movement could adopt:

1. Collective Resource Mobilization

The $100 m capital campaign is replicable.  It establishes AfDB Trust account for 100 Generation Alpha Reparations Trusts at $1 million each to include operating expenses for a Generation Z Trustee (See Diasbank 10-year 1 million SME Vision of the future).

The AfDB issues a $10k #BlackJesus credit card to the certified Gen X, Y CAM (adult grantee) and Gen Z Trustee advisory team. (See 7 Money-n-the-Bank advisors The Annual Youth Achievement Awards).

These funds could be directed toward youth-led SMEs supporting any of seven Whole of Government Economic Security sectors:

2. Global Advocacy and Policy Influence

2.4 billion people represent nearly 30% of the world’s population—a massive voting and lobbying power.

They could push governments and corporations to:

Implement fair trade policies.

Increase social safety nets.

Support universal education and healthcare.

3. Community-Based Action

Organize sustainable local initiatives:

Food security programs (community farms, food banks).

Skill-building workshops for sustainable employment.

Empower communities to become self-sufficient rather than dependent on aid.

4. Technology and Innovation

Use digital platforms to:

Connect donors directly with beneficiaries.

Share knowledge and resources globally.

Promote open-source solutions for education, agriculture, and healthcare.

5. Cultural Shift

Encourage values of generosity, stewardship, and equity.

Combat consumerism and redirect wealth toward impact-driven projects.

If this movement were well-organized, it could realistically eradicate extreme poverty within a generation. The challenge isn’t resources—it’s coordination, transparency, and accountability. 

There has never been a shortage of resources…JUST RESOURCEFULNESS!