Product: Mortgage

XXXX XXXX : A brief history I was born and raised in Colorado. After a few tries at college I decided to try a career as an XXXX XXXX. Growing up I had a flair for decorating. I had some initial success working for an XXXX XXXX XXXX in XXXX XXXX and before the age of 21, 2 of my projects were published in the Sunday home section of my local newspaper. 
I decided to attend a 2-year program to become a XXXX XXXX XXXX. To pay for my schooling I went to work for a XXXX in XXXX XXXX. I feel in love with the profession. I worked for several florists in XXXX XXXX before moving to XXXX, Colorado. I was fortunate to work for Special event florists that recognized my talents and I began refining my personal style. In XXXX I won the XXXX XXXX of the XXXX XXXX  at the State florists convention. 
I met my partner XXXX after moving to XXXX Colorado in XXXX. He worked for XXXX XXXX, a grocery wholesaler. He was on the fast track to move to home office which meant we would be moving for several years. We moved to XXXX, New Mexico in XXXX, then back to XXXX for a few months then we moved again to XXXX, Alabama in XXXX. 
For a few years I worked at a flower shop in XXXX, but I yearned to be part of the XXXX flower scene. XXXX has a storied flower culture. The wealthy ladies of XXXX went to XXXX to learn flower design and brought back the techniques that when coupled with the local greenery created an extraordinary culture of flowers and an iconic look called the XXXX XXXX. A handful of the original ladies who learned from their English teachers were even featured in a book entitled XXXX XXXX XXXX  published by the XXXX XXXX XXXX. It would be XXXX in XXXX where I would I opened a tiny 400 sq. ft shop in XXXX XXXX. I drove an hour each way from XXXX to be part of that scene. 
The shop in XXXX was only meant to be a way to express myself and keep myself busy as XXXX and I would be moving again. In XXXX XXXX found out he was XXXX positive. After an agonizing year of treatment that left him severely debilitated, he passed away in XXXX. At 30 years I lost the person who believed in me and my talent. Before he died, he borrowed money from his mother against what would have been his inheritance, together with savings and credit cards I was able to open my XXXX XXXX. He also knew the darker side of my personality. Back then I had what some might call a short fuse. I often quit many of the florists I worked for out of frustration and anger. There was something at work inside of my brain that I couldnt control or comprehend. When I went to work for myself everything suddenly changed. I had a handle on my mental health for the first time in many years. 
The owner of the 400 sq. ft building I rented added on an additional 300  sq. Ft to accommodate my growing business. By XXXX I had moved from the 700 sq. ft location to a 1500 sq. ft storefront in XXXX XXXX on XXXX XXXX, eventually moving to a 3000 sq. ft space. Again in XXXX XXXX. By this time, I was an in-demand XXXX providing flowers for social events. 
I had many firsts for a XXXX XXXX man in XXXX, providing the dcor/designs for : XXXX XXXX, providing floral content for XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX, XXXX   magazine and others. 
XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, traveling with them to their yearly conventions throughout the United States XXXX XXXX, publisher of XXXX XXXX among other magazines. 
XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX most prestigious fundraiser in XXXX. 
The XXXX XXXX XXXX An Alabama XXXX inauguration Alabama XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX And many weddings and social events. The people and many corporations in XXXX had embraced me and my work. 
When I told my parents, I was moving to XXXX they were very concerned. They had a secret they never told me. I was not XXXX at all. I was half XXXX XXXX XXXX. My parents had adopted me after I was placed in their foster home. My birth mother, XXXX was born to a family in XXXX, Utah. When she was XXXX years old her mother passed away. Her father was overwhelmed with his 7 children and the decision was made to put the children up for adoption. She and her brothers and sisters were sent to live with various families. My mother and her sister XXXX were sent to XXXX and XXXX XXXX. They did not want/like my mother. In fact, she was sent back to her father 2 times. At XXXX years old my mother gave birth to a still-born baby girl. The father was XXXX XXXX, her adoptive father. He had been XXXX XXXX her for years. When she was XXXX years old, they decided to get rid of her and she was sent to the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. There was nothing wrong with her but during that period in Colorado there were no social services for children. People would simply leave unwanted children with them. When she was XXXX, she was XXXX by an XXXX American orderly, my father. I was taken from her at birth and placed in a foster home run by XXXX and XXXX XXXX. I was later adopted by XXXX and XXXX. At XXXX years old I found out I was adopted. The origin of my beginnings gave me great anxiety. I wondered why my mother did not want me. Why did she give me up? At the age of XXXX I finally understand my emotions and anxiety all those years. I was always looking for love and acceptance. 
When I opened my shop and through the subsequent years, I found the love and acceptance I had always been searching for. The everyday operations kept my mind busy and alert and the planning and execution of large events gave me a sense of accomplishment. I have a box that I have keep with me with notes from my clients. The overall theme of each note focuss not only on the professional work I performed but also the pleasure of getting to know me, with many expressing what a kind man I was. I felt blessed to be recognized as a good steward of the resources entrusted to me. 

My Dream In XXXX I had saved enough money to buy a piece of property in XXXX, Alabama. The property was offered by XXXX and XXXX XXXX, a local couple who owned XXXX, a small eatery in XXXX. 
The property was a perfect fit for me. I could run the business in the back and have a showroom for my event decor. Eventually when I retired, I planned to rent the property so that I could retire and be able to travel and pass the property to my family. This was my American Dream. I understood that financial freedom would allow me to pursue many opportunities that had alluded my own parents like traveling. 
In XXXX I signed the mortgage for the project with a construction budget of XXXX from XXXX bank with an interest rate of 6.5 %. At the time I owned a home in XXXX that I purchased in XXXX for XXXX. I improved the property adding a new kitchen and an extensive garden that included a koi pond. The Garden was chosen as a stop on the exclusive XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX and was also featured on the cover of XXXX XXXX. I sold the property for XXXX and realized a profit of XXXX. Selling my home was a requirement of the loan. XXXX XXXX, my loan consultant was adamant I use that money to purchase merchandise to sell in my new store. 
When the building was finished in XXXX the builder, XXXX builders revealed they went over the construction budget by XXXX. I had been required by XXXX to hire a construction supervisor and was also required to give them a XXXX contingency fee should the builder go over budget. I thought I done everything right. By this time XXXX had merged with Regions. XXXX, my contact at XXXX XXXX left before the merger and I was given a new contact at Regions, XXXX. It was shortly after that when I heard from XXXX. She advised me that Regions would fund the extra XXXX, but my interest rate would change from 6.5 % to 8.5 %. My mortgage payment would go from XXXX a month to over XXXX a month. A difference of XXXX! WOW! I had proven I could afford the XXXX a month but XXXX for 20 years would be a real stretch. I tried reasoning with XXXX. I proposed adding the XXXX to the mortgage, adding the XXXX to the back of the loan, anything but changing the interest. She wouldnt budge. I tried obtaining a new loan from other sources but with no luck. Even though I did everything right I was punished because the builder went over budget. For so many years I had given XXXX everything I had. Whenever I was asked to donate, I donated. Whenever anyone needed help, I helped. I thought all the good will I had shown my customers and XXXX at-large would come back to me. I took this action personally. This did not seem like the XXXX I knew. A place where despite the history of oppression, those who valued my work opened their arms to me. 
The anxiety that I had been able to keep in check for years became unbearable. I remember the day shortly after I had moved into the new building when XXXX showed up unannounced. She told me that unless I signed the new mortgage, I would lose my building. Backed into a corner I unwittingly signed the mortgage. I always understood that when one is in business everything is at-risk. Anything can happen, but I never dreamed that an institution whose very business is to aid borrowers would treat me with such ill regard. 
One problem after another came my way. That same year XXXX XXXX XXXX forgot to put my listing in the phone book. People still used the phonebook in XXXX. No new customers for a year. Many of my customers thought I went out of business. Little annoyances became big issues. I had to cut the hours of my assistant XXXX who took orders and did some of the book work. She got upset and went to work for XXXX. She called my customers and told them I fired her. More than 50 % of my customers left. Then the XXXX recession hit. Barring what happened with XXXX which was a result of this issue highlights what can happen in business, why everything is always at risk. I had weathered many storms over the years but coupled with my crippling mortgage these problems created a nightmare situation. 
Up until this nightmare I felt so blessed and thankful. This black-brown kid from a poor family with a humble beginning raised by parents with a XXXX grade education had finally made it. The sense of satisfaction I had from owning my own business was such a grounding force for me. But before I knew it, I was clinically depressed. I started using anti-depressants and stimulants to keep me going. By XXXX my whole demeanor had changed. I was angry, battling side effects from the prescribed drugs and constantly contemplating suicide. I had always been a social drinker, but I even tried drinking during the day. I tried anything to escape. I knew that drugs and alcohol were the refuge of the disaffected, but I was powerless. My partner XXXX was a recovered alcoholic. He had been sober for 10 years when we met. The reason he had become an alcoholic was from an early business failure he went through. We had talked about the conditions that had contributed to the demise of his business. We had discussed at length the issues I might encounter when I opened the business. I thought I had covered all my bases, but like many minority businesss I had always been underfunded. I didnt have multiple streams of income ; I did not have family to borrow from like XXXX had been able to do. Through the lens of time I can see things differently. 
By XXXX I was so angry I went to the Regions corporate building in downtown XXXX a few days before XXXX and demanded to talk to the president of the bank. I was eventually escorted upstairs and talked with several people from Regions. I was reassured I would receive help after the first of the year. I did but it was too little, too late. The bank would eventually sell the loan to a debt collector who would call me and say things to put me on the defensive. Telling me what a shame it would be to lose such a nice building. I listed the building in XXXX and it eventually sold in XXXX. I remember the scene at the lawyers office so clearly. The lawyer handling the closing made a point of sharing that the owner would be receiving a special interest rate thanks to a special program. My heart was so heavy. I had been begging for years for help and it seemed like the only people who received help where the ones who didnt need it. 
We can look back at the interest rates being charged in XXXX and see that they were in the 6 % range. If you are white and well connected or rich maybe they were even lower. What I do know is that 8.5 % was too high. It was punitive. 
The events leading up to this time in history helped me to find my voice. One of the worst things that happen to people who are marginalized is that they lose their voice. 

The cries of XXXX XXXX that he could not breath went unheeded by those in charge. 
XXXX XXXX killed XXXX XXXX by putting his knee on XXXX XXXX neck for XXXX minutes and Regions had their Knee on mine for 6 years. Its difficult to put into words the despair brought on by the wounds of unfairness. Whats worse than losing your life? I would argue losing your dream! Death is difficult for those who are left behind. But once you are dead you feel no pain. I had to relive my pain every day. 
XXXX XXXX from XXXX, Our struggle is not the struggle of a day, a week, a month or a year, it is the struggle of a lifetime. 
Dreams sometimes take a lifetime to achieve. Mine took 40 years. And yet almost overnight it was destroyed. To have ones life work dematerialize before your very eyes is demoralizing in every sense of the word. 
Regions and XXXX, XXXX XXXX XXXX I challenge you to listen and take up my cause. Your bank has announced that it wants to use its resources to address XXXX XXXX, inclusivity and advancement. 
From an XXXX article. Regions XXXX and XXXX XXXX XXXX said it is the companys responsibility to use our resources and expertise in ways that address disparities and create positive change. 
I submit to you that the actions your bank took by raising my interest rate was neither fair nor reasonable. Raising the interest rate on my loan put an undue burden on my business that in turn put an undue stress on both my physical and mental health. Borrowers like me have systematically been forced to accept unfair treatment by financial institutions who back their customers into a corner. Neither public interest nor the interest of the borrower is served by such treatment. The people you serve both black/brown or white deserve better. Their dreams matter as should the dreams of all who live and strive to provide a build a better XXXX and a better world for themselves.