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Chase Bank Executive Reveals Ways Bank Supports Black Community

In 2020, [JP Morgan] Chase announced its $30 billion racial equity commitment, a five-year plan that includes assisting entrepreneurs in historically underserved areas to access coaching, technical assistance and capital. Chase has also provided 15,000 loans to small businesses in diverse communities.

Published

3 years ago

February 28, 2022

Oakland Post

Myesha Brown. Photo courtesy of JPMorgan Chase.

Honoring Black Achievement and Doubling Down on the Work to be Done During Black History Month and Beyond

February is Black History Month – an annual commemoration of the achievements of Black Americans and their remarkable impact on history. It’s a time to celebrate the cultural heritage shaped by generations of Black Americans, who for many decades have fought for equity – a fight that continues today.

Though advancements have been made, there is still so much work to be done in our communities in the pursuit of racial equity. For more on how JPMorgan Chase is honoring Black History Month, and how you can too, we sat down with Myesha Brown, Oakland Community Manager from the branch at 3005 Broadway, to discuss some impactful ways to celebrate and support the Black community, not just this month – but all year long.

Oakland Post: What type of investments is Chase making to bolster the financial health of its Black customers and communities?

Brown: Let’s first talk about Black History Month. We’re committed to driving real and sustainable change for the Black community here at Chase and around the world. We’re using this time to both reflect on the past, aswell as our commitment to build a more equitable future for all people.

From the way we do business to the policies we advocate for, our commitments are part of a continued effort to bring an enhanced equity lens to JPMorgan Chase’s businesses and how we serve all customers, clients, communities and employees.

And so, our work to support the Black community goes beyond banking. By providing growth opportunities for diverse-owned small businesses, increasing homeownership rates, providing better access to affordable housing and more, Chase is committed to helping close the racial wealth gap and driving economic inclusion. We’re also giving underbanked communities better access to the necessary resources to improve financial health.

But the work doesn’t stop there. Every day we collaborate with community partners, policymakers, customers and employees to continue improving the financial health of underrepresented communities.

Oakland Post: How is Chase helping to accelerate Black-owned businesses?

Brown: In 2020, Chase announced its $30 billion racial equity commitment, a five-year plan that includes assisting entrepreneurs in historically underserved areas to access coaching, technical assistance and capital. Chase has also provided 15,000 loans to small businesses in diverse communities.

Additionally, Chase offers a suite of helpful tools for Black and diverse-owned businesses. For example, we offer one-on-one counseling with a business banking professional, access to the Chase for Business Resource Center and membership to the JPMorgan Chase Supplier Diversity Network (SDN).

Oakland Post: What are some ways people can support the economic growth of the Black community?

Brown: Black History Month is a great reminder that, while some advancement has been made, there is room for improvement.

In February 2019, JPMorgan Chase launched Advancing Black Pathways (ABP) to strengthen the economic foundation of the Black community. ABP focuses on four key areas where there are racial and economic disparities that can create barriers to long-term financial success: careers and skills, business development, financial health and wealth creation, and community development.

These four key areas acknowledge the power and importance that entrepreneurship plays in the Black community Unfortunately, the racial wealth gap widened during the COVID-19 pandemic, with only 5% of Black Americans holding business equity — a key driver of wealth — compared to 15% of white Americans.

There are many impactful ways to support economic growth of Black Americans on local and national levels, during Black History Month and all year long. Consider these opportunities:

Purchase a product from, or solicit the services of, a Black-owned business.
Spread the word about your favorite Black-owned brands.
Donate to a nonprofit that is working to advance racial equity.
Follow a Black business on social media and engage with their posts to help build their online presence.

We know that owning a business represents the best path to the middle class. So, if we are to make meaningful progress in closing the racial wealth divide, entrepreneurship must be a key part of the equation. We can never lose sight of that dream.

Sponsored content from JPMorgan Chase & Co. To learn more about how Chase can guide your business to the right resources, please visit the following sites: Chase’s new program to empower diverse small businesses: https://www.chase.com/businessconsultant and Advancing Black Pathways: https://www.jpmorganchase.com/impact/people/advancing-black-pathways.

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Oakland Post: Week of May 21 – 27, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of May 21 – 27, 2025

Published

3 hours ago

May 25, 2025

Oakland Post

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Chevron Richmond Installs Baker Hughes Flare.IQ, Real-time Flare Monitoring, Control and Reduction System

While the sight of flaring can cause concern in the community, flares are essential safety systems that burn pollutants to prevent them from being released directly into the atmosphere. They activate during startup and shut-down of facility units or during upsets or equipment malfunctions. The typical flare stack is about 200 feet high so that vapors are well above street levels.

Published

6 days ago

May 19, 2025

Oakland Post

Image courtesy The Richmond Standard.

The Richmond Standard

Chevron Richmond recently installed flare.IQ, a real-time, automated system that will improve the facility’s flaring performance.

The technology, developed by Panametrics, a Baker Hughes business, uses sensors to monitor, reduce and control flaring in real time. It collects and assesses data on refinery processes, such as temperature, pressure, gas flow and gas composition, and adjusts accordingly to ensure flares burn more efficiently and cleanly, leading to fewer emissions.

“The cleaner the flare, the brighter the flame can look,” said Duy Nguyen, a Chevron Richmond flaring specialist. “If you see a brighter flame than usual on a flare, that actually means flare.IQ is operating as intended.”

“A key element in Baker Hughes’ emissions abatement portfolio, flare.IQ has a proven track record in optimizing flare operations and significantly reducing emissions,” said Colin Hehir, vice president of Panametrics, a Baker Hughes business. “By partnering with Chevron Richmond, one of the first operators in North America to adopt flare.IQ, we are looking forward to enhancing the plant’s flaring operations.”

The installation of flare.IQ is part of a broader and ongoing effort by Chevron Richmond to improve flare performance, particularly in response to increased events after the new, more efficient hydrogen plant was brought online in 2019.

Since then, the company has invested $25 million — and counting — into flare minimization. As part of the effort, a multidisciplinary refinery team was formed to find and implement ways to improve operational reliability and ultimately reduce flaring. Operators and other employees involved in management of flares and flare gas recovery systems undergo new training.

“It is important to me that the community knows we are working hard to lower emissions and improve our flaring performance,” Nguyen said.

Also evolving is the process by which community members are notified of flaring incidents. The Community Warning System (CWS), operated by Contra Costa County is an “all-hazard” public warning system.

Residents can opt-in to receive alerts via text, e-mail and landline. The CWS was recently expanded to enable residents to receive notifications for “Level 1” incidents, which are considered informational as they do not require any community action.

For more information related to these topics, check out the resources included on the Chevron Richmond, CAER and Contra Costa Health websites. Residents are also encouraged to follow @chevronrichmond and @RFDCAOnline on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter), where additional information may be posted during an incident.

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Oakland Hosts Town Hall Addressing Lead Hazards in City Housing

According to the city, there are 22,000 households in need of services for lead issues, most in predominantly low-income or Black and Latino neighborhoods, but only 550 to 600 homes are addressed every year. The city is hoping to use part of the multimillion-dollar settlement to increase the number of households served each year.

Published

7 days ago

May 18, 2025

Oakland Post

iStock.

By Magaly Muñoz

The City of Oakland’s Housing and Community Development Department hosted a town hall in the Fruitvale to discuss the efforts being undertaken to remove lead primarily found in housing in East and West Oakland.

In 2021, the city was awarded $14 million out of a $24 million legal settlement from a lawsuit against paint distributors for selling lead-based paint that has affected hundreds of families in Oakland and Alameda County. The funding is intended to be used for lead poisoning reduction and prevention services in paint only, not water or other sources as has been found recently in schools across the city.

The settlement can be used for developing or enhancing programs that abate lead-based paint, providing services to individuals, particularly exposed children, educating the public about hazards caused by lead paint, and covering attorney’s fees incurred in pursuing litigation.

Most of the homes affected were built prior to 1978, and 12,000 of these homes are considered to be at high risk for lead poisoning.

City councilmember Noel Gallo, who represents a few of the lead-affected Census tracts, said the majority of the poisoned kids and families are coming directly from neighborhoods like the Fruitvale.

“When you look at the [kids being admitted] at the children’s hospital, they’re coming from this community,” Gallo said at the town hall.

In order to eventually rid the highest impacted homes of lead poisoning, the city intends to create programs and activities such as lead-based paint inspections and assessments, full abatement designed to permanently eliminate lead-based paint, or partial abatement for repairs, painting, and specialized cleaning meant for temporary reduction of hazards.

In feedback for what the city could implement in their programming, residents in attendance of the event said they want more accessibility to resources, like blood testing, and information from officials about lead poisoning symptoms, hotlines for assistance, and updates on the reduction of lead in their communities.

Attendees also asked how they’d know where they are on the prioritization list and what would be done to address lead in the water found at several school sites in Oakland last year.

City staff said there will be a follow-up event to gather more community input for programming in August, with finalizations happening in the fall and a pilot launch in early 2026.