final pitches. weekend, live coverage of the presidential candidates in iowa. >> 2015 marked the 150th anniversary of the friedmans bank, incorporated by congress and 1865. avesas for newly freed s in the postwar area. the treasury department host the ceremony to rename the building. this was built on the original site of the friedmans bank. this is about 30 minutes. >> good afternoon. assistant secretary for management here at the treasury department. thank you for being here today. those of you joining us virtually as well.

it is a tremendous pleasure to come to work here every day. often times in the day to day routine, it is easy to forget the historic significance of the institution we work for, the legacy we are part of, and the people we serve. a small step and preserving the history of the building and the legacy of service and inclusion at treasury. i want to start off by recognizing someone. it was his idea that we name the treasury annex the freedman's bank building, and i'm delighted this idea came to fruition. [applause] thank you for your leadership and continued commitment to

financial inclusion for all americans. we are also honored to be joined by liberty bank ceo alden mcdonald, and the man who needs no introduction, and ms are young. -- ambassador young. professor william spriggs could not be with us today, but since his warmest regards. be first speaker today will mr. alden mcdonald junior, president and ceo of liberty bank and trust, a position he has held since the bank inception in 1972. he is the longest tenured african-american financial executive in the country, and on january 11 he celebrates his 50th anniversary in banking. he is recognized -- [applause] he is recognized as a

passionate advocate and a dynamic catalyst in helping people own homes, build wealth, and develop as community leaders. to start us off with more on the history of the freedman's bank. thank you. [applause] alde: thank you very much mr. secretary. the sting wish guests, members of congress, ladies and gentlemen. guests, members of congress, ladies and gentlemen, i come before you this afternoon standing on the shoulders of historic men and women who recognize the need to build wealth in the african-american community to make us a strong and prosperous

nation. today, the u.s. treasury department is dedicating its annex building as the freedman's bank building. symbol of ourr country's continued commitment to inclusive asperity -- prosperity. treat for me to be part of this history-making event, because on monday i celebrate 50 years of being in the banking business. [applause] alden: i also want to share with you a piece of history. i was the first african-american banking officer to be employed in the state of louisiana in

1967. to be able to stand before you today and share this bank's history makes me a very special moment for me. the tradition of inclusive prosperity has had it starts and stops in the history of our country. the establishment of the freedman's bank following the civil war was one of the most inspiring efforts aimed at developing a stable, diverse middle-class and reducing the disparity between rich and poor americans. providing banking services to the newly freed slaves was hurt by the assassination of president lincoln. a congressional compromise between the north and the south

essentially relegated african-americans to a second-class citizenship. environment,ow african-americans continue to develop avenues for financial growth as witnessed by the dill and -- by the development of black banking institutions following reconstruction. two of the early black-owned banks to operate in the united states where the capital savings bank of washington, d.c., which began in 1888. that same year. william washington brown, a next late, found the true reformer savings bank in richmond, virginia. there were many other successful banks that were owned by african-americans in the united states. one of the most successful of

the early block-owned banks was the alabama penny loan and savings bank. others included mechanics and farmers in durham, north carolina, which is still in existence today. which is still in existence today. citizens and southern theadelphia, pennsylvania, penny savings bank of richmond, virginia, whose founder was madam cj walker, the first woman president in the united states. [applause] 1888 to 1934, african-americans owned more 130 financial institutions. during that same time, the number of black-owned businesses rose from 4000 to 50,000

businesses, african-american banks in our communities, in our country, make a difference. we help to grow the economy, and we help to build jobs. , and we been history continue to do it today. orleans citizens found the bank in 1972, followed what i like to call the second civil war, the civil rights movement of the 1960's. historic men and women like my fellow new orleans citizen, ambassador young, who fought and won battles for basic protests nonviolent that ended the denial and access of african-americans to public places and insured our right to

vote. equitytle of economic and overcoming blatant disparity for which dr. martin luther king was murdered continues today. there are only a handful of african-american-owned banks. a little over 25. that is from a number when i got into the banking business of , and during the time i mentioned earlier, 130 african-american-don't banks. the assets of these institutions today are nearly $6.1 billion. they employed 2000 plus people and have equity capital of $550ximately $550,000 --

million. this is a great asset for our communities and country. we grow the community. we grow the economy. and we grow jobs. un-bankedrhoods left by mainstream financial institutions. 2008, great recession of these 25 institutions served some of the most economically challenged markets in our country. birmingham, montgomery,- atlanta, detroit, milwaukee, i can go on and on. these communities today are still challenged in the african-american financial institutions are's still there supporting economic growth. american financial

institutions continued to face challenges relative to earnings, capital, and cost of operations. many continued to improve. according to the fdic research study published in 2014, it was stated that the african-american banks are very successful in serving the african-american population of low and moderate income. it was also stated in that same study that over 60% of the loans made to individuals in these census tracts were made by african-american institutions. approximate 30% were made by non-banks, and the balance made by the mainstream financial institutions. place in this economy. grow our place to help

economy, grow our community, and provide jobs. we have learned how to effectively serve disadvantaged uild credit, b worthiness, and expand economic opportunities for small businesses and young professionals. we understand that we have to be engaged in providing greater social, political, and economic opportunities for the people we serve. that is why we have invested in ng are youth, expanding home-buying opportunities, and fought for greater inclusion of black businesses in mainstream economy. we can only survive and thrive when the people we serve are making progress and building wealth. are on american banks the front lines of combating urban decay, battling predatory

lenders, and continuing the critical fight for homeownership and wealth building. opportunities for black americans. i want to take this opportunity to thank the u.s. treasury department for providing us with creative and flexible financial tools to address disparity challenges. the u.s. treasury department is ,t the forefront, attempting and have recognized the disparities that exist. the community development financial institution program, cdfi, has proven to be an effective method for closing some of the disparity gaps. there are a number of programs in the toolbox. to name a few, the bank

enterprise program, technical assistance, empowerment grants, new market tax credits, very important for the african-american financial institutions to provide. the new market tax credits help provide earnings, help create e, and helpomer bas build and maintain communities that would normally be untouched and create decay in many parts of our country. i would like to encourage the u.s. treasury department to not tools, butue these find a way to expand these tools. members of congress, we need more funding for the u.s. treasury department, because these tools represent an investment in our country. [applause]

again, i would like to thank the treasury department's leadership for supporting this mission. while we are here today to dedicate a federal building in bank,me of the freedman's one of the nation's most important efforts to balance the economic scales in america, i challenge everyone in this room to recommit yourselves to continuing the fight for inclusive prosperity for every american. sacredstewards of a american legacy that every man and woman has the right to life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness. let's make future generations proud of what we could a college

together. forank you once again keeping history alive by naming this building the freedman's --k building and containing continuing the mission of serving the underserved in our country. thank you very much. [applause] >> i would like at this time to invite my good friend, the honorable ambassador andrew young to come to the podium for a few remarks. [applause] mr. young: thank you very much. we are really celebrating something that few of us know much about, but as we look back

at the freedman's bank, we civile that before the war, there were 27 black millionaires in louisiana alone. hometown of marion, alabama, there was a school that was built by nine lakh landowners at the end of the toil war, where they wrote the american missionary association in boston and said, we have land and we can build a building. , and so thehers american missionary association sent down teachers, and they built the lincoln school in marion, alabama. out of so happens that that county, when horace mann

bond wrote his dissertation in the 1940's, there were more phd's for that one county in alabama, black phd's, than there were from any state in the union , so there is a relationship there. too thatso happens key our wives all happen to go to that same school. [laughter] mr. young: so we might not have had a civil rights movement because none of us were any better than our wives made us. [laughter] mr. young: but when we look at the history of the integrationican into our america, the one thing that has been most difficult for us is the desegregation of the money. it wasn't an accident that we didn't talk much about money.

every black institution that had been overturned had been overturned because of some financial discrepancies. so dr. king always said to us know, to be free, you have got to overcome the level of wealth and the fear of death, and so we did not talk much about either. though we did know that both were very significant in creating the world in which we live. we were right out of the mccarthy era, so to talk about money too much made you a communist, especially if you were talking about sharing the not to mention that that was right out of the new we have had a long struggle trying to make it cannotry work, but

work so long as we have the reverse of race, creed, gender, and wealth.gin, to desegregate, to get the right , and notn a democracy have access to capital is to only be halfway free. we have always known that. [applause] in fact, it was the poor people's campaign in which martin luther king gave his life, which brought not black people together -- we had 23 of differing ethnic groups throughout america, which vivian, who is here, help to organize in

january of 1968, and we were beginning to raise those economic questions of economic justice. we have sort of made it work in atlanta despite the fact that it was stopped nationwide. john brian's moving to atlanta with operation hope constantly nags us and pushes us not to , and we haveney really demonstrated first that the fortune is at the bottom of the pyramid, but second, four people can save capitalism. when you look at atlanta, atlanta is a city that is really thriving, because we have made it inclusive financially. embarrass akali care , whentlanta, bill rogers

we were trying to keep dr. king's papers and atlanta, shirley franklin went to him and said we have to have $34 million, and got it. , but we have ak civil rights museum and we have dr. king's papers there because of an active relationship andeen the whole community access to capital. i know some people don't like wall street, but in atlanta, we like wall street. [laughter] because maynard jackson told us how to go to wall street and get money and build an airport, and we have an have put $14we .illion in , butng aaa bond ratings last year that airport generated

$38 billion worth of economic activity and generated 400,000 jobs, and there are about 35% or 40% of that jobs and wealth is managed by people of color and women who were also locked out of the economy before maynard jackson became mayor, so an inclusive economy grows. milliongrown from 1.5 to 6 million, so we want everybody else to go somewhere else and use capitalism to grow their city. [laughter] but reminding us of the history of the freedman's bank is a significant part of and we arec legacy, doing a lot to try to spread that legacy not only to the cities of the south, but to the rural areas of the south. the civil rights movement came out of rural poverty, but right

now i think the best place to live and raise a family in the in thes the small cities south of the united states of america, where since we got integration and air-conditioning -- [laughter] mr. young: -- it is kind of hard to find a better place to live. treasury isetary of part of that legacy, though he has been so much behind the scenes that -- and that's one good thing about being a secretary of the treasury i was taken on my first trip to africa by one of his predecessors, good republican, george shultz. i was introduced to the world bank and to world markets by secretary shultz. at the same time, he was working o'neillo'neill -- tip

in congress, and he's worked with just about every administration since then. know, thoughwe america does not know, that in a world which is dominated by the struggles of a global economy, i say that it is not that we need more boots on the ground. we need more fairer, was on the ground. more stacy adams on the ground. bankers, investors, people to create jobs, because as john's friend says, the way to stop a bullet is a job. are onto something here. we are onto the idea that we have got to make free enterprise here in the united states, but through the united states we have got to make free enterprise work throughout this planet, because stable lysing a global

economy, which we did not create. it was created by all of these things we have in our pockets. we can't get away from it. there is no turning back, and a man who understands that and who struggles every day to keep america secure and probably has saved as many lives as the whole pentagon by his economic dealings with countries that are in constant conflict, but thank not know muchdoes about it, and neither does the press. i would like to introduce our secretary of the treasury and thank him. [applause] mr. young: for his leadership in keeping america strong and safe.

mr. lew: thank you best of young for that kind introduction. thank you to all of you for being here today. -- i was saying earlier that we have to create our on special days, and this is one of those. i'm sure many of you were reminded at the ceremony today about the incredible history that lives forever in this neighborhood where we live and work. our neighbor to the west gets much of the attention, but lafayette square itself has a own, hosting of its protest and parades, housing government buildings, including the treasury department. today we are shedding light on an important chapter of this

neighborhood's history, and a story that deserves to be better known. do, i would like to thank alden mcdonald for his wise words and all the people who were critical in putting today together, starting with our assistant secretary and all the treasury staff who work to make this happen. , controllervivian , thank youector watt all for being here and for the dedication that so many of you have every day to the cause of financial inclusion. i also want to thank john hope bryant, chairman and ceo of operation hope and the member of the presidents advisory council on financial capability for young americans. he really did help make this day possible. the outstanding work that he does every day on financial

inclusion is really an inspiration to many. [applause] mr. lew: since about a year ago, john suggested to me that we rename our annex building, and i want to thank him for that idea, because today that idea is becoming a reality. the history of the freedman's bank began more than 100 50 years ago when congress passed and president lincoln signed a law to create freedman's savings and trust. the freedman's bank was established to help newly freed african-americans to build wealth and save earnings. its headquarters were in the building that is now -- in a location where our treasury annex now stands. to commemorate that legacy and you are commitment to

the promise of financial inclusion and the opportunity for better life, we are naming the treasury annex building, the freedman's bank building. [applause] mr. lew: in the early years of its existence, the freedman's savings and trust function well. within nine years of its founding, the bank had 100,000 customers. created was originally for african-american civil war soldiers, most of the account holder's work laborers, cooks, custodians, nurses, barbers, and blacksmiths. institutions and churches, including how are university. today, as we commemorate the promise of the freedman's bank, we must also remember the complicated legacy and challenge to reach financial security. had -- struggling

and failing in 1874. sadly, most of the savings and the bank were lost. bankheless, the freedman's remains a significant part of american history. andymbolize the hope aspartame should of americans to be fully integrated into our nation's economic life. the bank represented the federal government's commitment to helping make financial inclusion a reality, and that as a challenge we still face today and a commitment we need to renew today. today. many are excluded many americans, especially low income and minority families, have little or no access to the financial system. without a credit or banking history, it can be difficult, if not impossible, to qualified for the most basic access to a small businessr loan. without access to the financial

system, it is almost impossible to build savings and investment that are essential to a secure financial future. without a financial education, many do not even understand the tools they need to build his future. under president obama's leadership, the administration has worked to address these issues. as the president has said, if you're willing to work hard and play by the rules, you should build a find a good job, feel secure in your community, and support a family. to help move people towards a brighter, more secure, future, we need to better connect individuals and enterprises to a robust financial system in fair and appropriate ways. here are treasury, we are intensifying our efforts to improve financial inclusion. we continue to work with our partners across government through the financial literacy and education commission to make sure that all americans, and especially our young people, have the knowledge, skills, and tools they need to make informed financial choices. ago infew weeks december, we held a dynamic form with government and private

partners to serve as a platform to announce private sector commitments and treasury initiatives to expand financial inclusion. these initiatives included investing in public goods like our payments infrastructure, providing seed funding to entrepreneurs to identify breakthrough ideas that will reduce financial exclusion, and leveraging new technologies to drive down the cost of serving low-income customers. in addition, we are working to expand availability of financial services and access to credit in underserved communities through the programs of the community development financial institutions fund. today, we just held a very productive roundtable, which will it advance our work even more. in the weeks and months ahead, as we work with our partners across the executive branch and capitol hill and the private sector to improve financial inclusion, we will continue to take additional steps as we make sure that we implement the commitments that have already been made. bankg the freedman's

building today represents that promise. as we honor the legacy of the freedman's bank, it reminds us of the need for effective regulation and oversight and symbolizes our commitment to ensuring more americans have the financial tools and education they need to build a secure future. today,t is a little cold i'm sure that even right now visitors to washington a walking up and down pennsylvania avenue. from this day on, families and students from around the nation all over the world will see a sign telling them that they are looking at the freedman's bank building. when they see it, many will be inspired to pick up their smart phones and look up what freedman's bank was an about its history. and i hope they will take a moment to complement this contemplate what it meant for freedman and women to have a bank at all, and what it means for americans from every community to feel fully a part of our country with the tools to build their unfit or. thank you for being here today, and thank you for joining us.

[applause] [applause] >> you are watching american history tv, 48 hours of programming on american history every weekend on c-span3. forow us on twitter

information on our schedule and to keep up with the latest history news. week until the 2016 election, wrote to the white house rewind brings you archival coverage of presidential races. this weekend, a look at the 2004 campaign and the concession speech by how are dean on the i will caucasus. -- iowa caucuses. , you haveou guys already got the picture here. i was about to say i'm sure there are some disappointed people here. you know what? you know something? you know something? if you had told us one year ago that we were going to come in third in iowa, we would have given anything for that. you know something? to newy are we going

hampshire, tom harkin, we are going to south carolina, oklahoma, arizona, north dakota, new mexico, california, texas, new york and south dakota, oregon, washington and michigan, and then were going to washington, d.c. to take back the white house. [applause] >> we will not give up. [applause] >> we will not give up in new hampshire. we will not give up in south carolina. we will not give up in arizona, new mexico, oklahoma, north dakota, delaware, pennsylvania, ohio, michigan. we will not quit now or ever. we want our country back for ordinary americans. [applause]

and we are going to win in massachusetts. missouri carolina and and arkansas and connecticut and new york and ohio. [applause] see the entire program sunday at 10 a.m. eastern here on c-span3's american history tv. monday night on the communicators, to guess holding differing views on net neutrality. walter mccormick, president and ceo of u.s. telecom, the company that was the first to sue the fcc over its rules on internet service providers which allow access to all content and

applications regardless of the source. and christopher lewis, vice president for government affairs at public knowledge, who supports the fcc's plan. by alex byers,nd political technology reporter. >> what we objected to was the way the sec when about the open internet standards. adopted as regulations pursuant to common carrier of authority, a 19th century regulation originally provided -- applied to railroads, airlines. it has been repealed for all those traditional common carriers, and we don't think common carrier regulation is the right form of regulation for the 21st century internet. >> we are worried about consumers. that is what drives us. while we want consumers to get the best, we also want to make sure everyone has access to the great opportunities that the internet offers, and when you

start to see a two-tiered internet created because of any datatitive way that ratings are applied, that causes concern. >> what's the communicators monday night at 8:00 p.m. mcnair,nair, -- ronald followed by mike smith and greg jarvis. 28,0 years ago on january the space shuttle challenger aftered 38 seconds liftoff. taking the lives of the crew members pictured here. conclusions