by Sen. Reginald Tate
Special to the Tri-State Defender

Sen. Reginald Tate

Last week, I discussed a bill to allow community groups to clean up abandoned and overgrown properties in neighborhoods around Memphis. Absentee landlords account for some of those neglected houses, but others are overrun because of the incredible amount of foreclosures in our area.

Since 2005, there have been more than 23,000 foreclosures in Shelby County, which has 40 percent of all foreclosures in Tennessee. Many of these foreclosures are a result of subprime mortgages, high-interest loans that were given to people – including many residents in Shelby County – who couldn’t afford to pay them. For these people, the American dream of owning a home quickly became a nightmare.

But there could be a bigger reason so many people in black communities had these bad deals – because Wells Fargo, a major home mortgage lender, targeted them. The city and county are suing Wells Fargo for discrimination under the federal Fair Housing Act, saying that the bank aimed to sell these bad loans to black residents – even when they qualified for better loans.

In the lawsuit, there is a map of the city’s foreclosures. High-minority neighborhoods such as Whitehaven, which is in the state Senate district I represent, are practically covered up by foreclosures. In those neighborhoods, 1 out of 8 Wells Fargo loans in these areas ended in foreclosure. In predominantly white areas, that figure lowers to 1 in 59.

Something is wrong here, and we must demand answers. These foreclosures have left us with houses full of broken glass, and a city full of broken neighborhoods. Memphis draws 70 percent of its revenues from property taxes, meaning that we’re not only losing families – we’re losing money, too. With every empty house, we all suffer.

A recent news story about the lawsuit referred to a hearing of Tennessee banks last year in the Senate Commerce, Labor and Agriculture committee. I am a member of that committee, and I intend to pay special attention to this issue as the lawsuit moves forward. We as lawmakers have a duty to ensure that everyone, no matter their race, is given a fair chance to own a home.

Other cities have sued Wells Fargo, but none have been successful. The city of Baltimore’s lawsuit was dismissed last month, but attorneys there still have an opportunity to make their lawsuit more specific. Let’s hope our city officials get it right the first time, so that we can get to the bottom of this. We deserve to know the truth.

(Sen. Reginald Tate represents portions of Memphis and Shelby County. Contact him at sen.reginald.tate@capitol.tn.gov or 615-741-2509 or 320 War Memorial Building, Nashville, TN 37243-0033.)