Muncie Times, Muncie, Delaware County, 2 October 2008 — Page 31

The Muncie Times • October 2, 2008 • Page 31

News Briefs

continued from page 29 African Americans and other people of color.” Rep. Meeks, a member of the CBCF Board of Directors, said: “This year's participation from our emerging leaders has special relevance as so many young Americans are paying more attention to their government. We are seeing an exciting new energy and must harness the possibilities.” Nickels Launches Initiative To Help People Without Bank Accounts Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels launched “Bank on Seattle-King County,” a new initiative to connect people without bank accounts to affordable mainstream financial services including checking, savings, credit and financial education opportunities. “This initiative will help people keep more of what they earn and become financially secure,” said Nickels. “Access to checking and savings accounts is an essential tool that most people take for granted. It is simply unacceptable that some people pay high fees for the financial services that others get for free or at very low cost.” “Bank on Seattle” will help address the needs of

the “unbanked,” those without checking and savings accounts; and the “underbanked,” those who may have accounts in name only and rely on higher-cost financial services. The city of Seattle has collaborated with more than 20 banks and credit unions to provide people, who may typically be distrustful of banks or who may have experienced challenges managing accounts in the past, the opportunity to break through these financial barriers. Participating banking institutions will offer a variety of options for the “unbanked,” including checking accounts with low opening deposits of $50 or less, and holding a zero monthly minimum balance. All participating financial institutions are offering accounts with very low or no monthly fees and free ATM/debit cards and savings accounts. Approximately 52,000 households in Seattle and King County are “unbanked” and use higher cost services, such as check cashers and payday lenders, rather than the more affordable financial services offered by banks and credit unions. Studies show that using lending and check cashing services strips almost $22 million annually from families and com-

munities in Seattle alone. A $20,000 income household pays an average of $800 a year in check cashing fees. Key support for the initiative comes from former President Bill Clinton and the William J. Clinton Foundation. “The American dream promises that if you work hard and play by the rules you will be able to earn a good living, raise a family in comfort and retire with dignity. But that dream is becoming harder to realize for too many of our people,” said President Clinton. “I want to congratulate Mayor Nickels and the city of Seattle for their leadership in launching Bank on Seattle-King County. My Foundation's Economic Opportunity Initiative is working to help state and city leaders across the United States advance common sense, community driven and market-based approaches enabling people to get in and stay in the financial mainstream.” More than 25 nonprofit organizations will help connect their “unbanked” clients to the initiative and 10 of these organizations also are offering financial education to initiative customers. “I am thrilled that more than 20 banks and credit unions in Seattle and King County are participating,” said Seattle

Councilmember Sally Clark. “By providing services and products that meet the needs of unbanked people, they are helping change lives for the better.” U. S. Navy Ship Named for 'Men of Honor' Hero; USNS Carl Brashear Honors First Black Master Diver SAN DIEGO - The morning sun shone hot on the guests assembled on the high, crowded platform and DaWayne Brashear was “walking on clouds.” About 20 yards away, a huge ship bearing the letters T-AKE and the number 7 stood like a skyscraper laid on its side, on a ramp that sloped gently down toward San Diego Bay. Around him, at the General Dynamics NASSCO shipyard, members of his family mingled with reporters, with current and retired military, elected and corporate officials, and with Hollywood luminaries, including Robert De Niro, among others. The festive occasion for the diverse group was the christening and launch of the USNS Carl Brashear, named for DaWayne Brashear's father, the U.S. Navy's first Black master diver. Carl M. Brashear's story was told in the 2000 movie “Men of Honor.” “We thought that hav-

ing a movie made about his life might be the pinnacle, but I think ihis has pretty much exceeded that,” said DaWayne Brashear. He and his brother Phillip have worked to keep their father's values alive through the Carl Brashear Foundation, which they established. “All my dad wanted was to do his duty, honor the Navy and be the best diver that he could possibly be. And I don't think in his wildest dreams he thought he would have this honor bestowed on him. But here we are.” Call B. Mack, executive director of the National Society of Black Engineers, expressed the sentiment of many of the guests. “I am absolutely blown away by the magnitude of this event,” said Mack. Few who know Carl Brashear's story - either from firsthand experience or from Cuba Gooding Jr.'s and Robert De Niro's big-screen portrayals - would disagree about how unlikely this true plotline seems. Bom on a sharecropper farm in Tonieville, Ky., in 1931, Brashear dropped out of school after the seventh grade to work in his family's tobacco, com and wheat fields. At age 17, in 1948, he joined the Navy and was assigned to the officer's mess (dining continued on page 32