Congresswoman Maxine Waters was the keynote speaker at a recent forum designed to help Black and other non-White businesses, as well as those run by women, gain greater access to major banks and brokers to help sustain and establish their corporations.

“Since the recession really took hold in December 2007,” the congresswoman explained, “about 2.3 million homes have been repossessed by banks. Currently, about one in 10 American households, with a mortgage, is at risk of foreclosure.”

The unemployment rate in approximately 75 percent of large cities in the United States increased in June, as nearly 1 million teenagers entered the workforce looking for summer jobs.

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently reported that the jobless rate increased in 291 of 374 big cities in June, while at the same time decreasing in 55 areas and holding steady in 28. That is in contrast with the trend of the previous three months, when joblessness fell in most metropolitan areas.