VOA常速英语2007年-Operation Hope Comes to Harlem

By Mona Ghuneim
New York
09 November 2007

A new branch of Operation Hope opened its doors recently in New York's Harlem neighborhood. The Hope Center of Harlem focuses on connecting minorities with mainstream¹, private sector² resources and empowering underserved communities. From VOA's New York Bureau, Mona Ghuneim has the story on the national nonprofit group's latest venture.

Operation Hope's founder³ John Bryant likes what he hears in Harlem these days. The sounds of drills and jackhammers beating in the background during the opening reception of the new Hope Center were like economic music to his ears, he says.

"Those are not gunshots you hear. Those are not problems you hear. Those are not kids hanging out on the street corners creating problems you hear. Those are men working - building the new Harlem. And that's a beautiful thing," he said.

Harlem was the center of African American culture in the first half of the 20th century, but for much of the second half, it was associated with crime, drugs and poverty. Today the area is experiencing an economic boom, but according to Bryant and bankers who work with his group, many Harlem residents don't receive or seek out enough financial information.

Bryant founded Operation Hope in 1992 in the wake of civil unrest in Los Angeles, California. On April 29th of that year, riots broke out when a predominately white jury acquitted⁴ four police officers in a racially charged trial. Fifty-three people were killed. Since then, Bryant has worked to help disadvantaged communities attain⁵ economic stability and equality.

For Harlem's Hope Center, Bryant recruited private banks, investment groups and even local government to raise money for the center and find advisors⁶ and volunteers to offer services there. New York Superintendent⁷ of Banks Richard Neiman says Harlem suffers from a lack of financial institutions and bank branches, making residents more susceptible⁸ to predators⁹.

"When communities lack traditional branches, they risk being targeted by non-traditional entities¹⁰, particularly check cashers, mortgage brokers¹¹, mortgage banks. Not all are done in predatory practices but they do, in many cases, subject individuals to higher fees and other services," he said.

Bryant says the Hope Center will be a place for community members to learn about financial services, research economic options and empower themselves with the information needed to make sound financial decisions. He says it's not about how much money you have, but what you do with that money.

Michael Smith, president of the New York Bankers Association and an Operation Hope board member, agrees. He says he wants to see the center's programs, like Banking¹² on Our Future, which offers personal finance instruction at public schools, grow and expand in Harlem, and all over New York City.

"If there is one thing that the most recent crisis in the housing market has proven, it is the need for financial education. If there's one organization that has made it the clearing call, it is Operation Hope and its Banking on Our Future program. Financial literacy is the long-term cure for predatory lending," he said.

Arlen Gelbard of E*Trade Financial says many Harlem residents don't even have a bank account. His firm, along with financial giants like JP Morgan Chase and Deutsche Bank, contributed to the Harlem Center. Gelbard says that while his company does a lot of outreach and nonprofit funding as goodwill¹³, investing in Harlem could also be a good investment for financial institutions.

"If you look at this from a pure business perspective, less than 50 percent of the people who live in Harlem have a banking relationship. So really, if you want to take a longer-term view, these are our future customers, not only for E*Trade, but for Chase, for Deutsche Bank, etc.," he said.

For those future customers in Harlem, one man has some sound advice. Though he's not a banker, Operation Hope's global spokesperson Andrew Young has some serious credentials¹⁴ of his own. The former congressman¹⁵, mayor of Atlanta, and United Nations ambassador says arming people with the right information is the first step to financial literacy. Young says that when he was working with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., he wasn't a big fan of the way capitalism¹⁶ works. But, he says, he's learned that you can make capitalism work for you, and he hopes people will take advantage of the new Hope Center in educating themselves about money.

"How is it that there's always somebody in the world making money? And when you see somebody losing money, don't get upset. Look around and see where are the people who are making money, and find a way to hook up with them. That's what the Hope Center is about. A Hope Center is about hoping that you gonna get hooked up with some money," he said.

The Hope Center also offers seminars, classes, access to computers and the Internet, and networking services for jobs and internships.

Founder John Bryant says education is the key to eliminating poverty. "This Hope Center is the embodiment of this dream - it is a 'Silver Rights Movement' of moving people up and out of poverty and giving people a hand up and not a hand out," he said.

Bryant's way of describing his mission as the "Silver Rights Movement" is a word play on the "Civil Rights" period. But, he says, giving people the financial tools needed to get out of poverty, or as he refers to it, attaining¹⁷ the "silver rights" they are entitled to, is no game.

1 mainstream   

n.（思想或行为的）主流；adj.主流的

参考例句：

• Their views lie outside the mainstream of current medical opinion.他们的观点不属于当今医学界观点的主流。
• Polls are still largely reflects the mainstream sentiment.民调还在很大程度上反映了社会主流情绪。

2 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

3 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

4 acquitted   

宣判…无罪( acquit的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（自己）作出某种表现

参考例句：

• The jury acquitted him of murder. 陪审团裁决他谋杀罪不成立。
• Five months ago she was acquitted on a shoplifting charge. 五个月前她被宣判未犯入店行窃罪。

5 attain   

vt.达到，获得，完成

参考例句：

• I used the scientific method to attain this end. 我用科学的方法来达到这一目的。
• His painstaking to attain his goal in life is praiseworthy. 他为实现人生目标所下的苦功是值得称赞的。

6 advisors   

n.顾问，劝告者( advisor的名词复数 )；（指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• The governors felt that they were being strung along by their advisors. 地方长官感到他们一直在受顾问们的愚弄。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• We will consult together with advisors about her education. 我们将一起和专家商议她的教育事宜。 来自互联网

7 superintendent   

n.监督人，主管，总监；(英国)警务长

参考例句：

• He was soon promoted to the post of superintendent of Foreign Trade.他很快就被擢升为对外贸易总监。
• He decided to call the superintendent of the building.他决定给楼房管理员打电话。

8 susceptible   

adj.过敏的，敏感的；易动感情的，易受感动的

参考例句：

• Children are more susceptible than adults.孩子比成人易受感动。
• We are all susceptible to advertising.我们都易受广告的影响。

9 predators   

n.食肉动物( predator的名词复数 )；奴役他人者（尤指在财务或性关系方面）

参考例句：

• birds and their earthbound predators 鸟和地面上捕食它们的动物
• The eyes of predators are highly sensitive to the slightest movement. 捕食性动物的眼睛能感觉到最细小的动静。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 entities   

实体对像； 实体，独立存在体，实际存在物( entity的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Our newspaper and our printing business form separate corporate entities. 我们的报纸和印刷业形成相对独立的企业实体。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities. 北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。

11 brokers   

n.（股票、外币等）经纪人( broker的名词复数 )；中间人；代理商；（订合同的）中人v.做掮客（或中人等）( broker的第三人称单数 )；作为权力经纪人进行谈判；以中间人等身份安排…

参考例句：

• The firm in question was Alsbery & Co., whiskey brokers. 那家公司叫阿尔斯伯里公司，经销威士忌。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• From time to time a telephone would ring in the brokers' offices. 那两排经纪人房间里不时响着叮令的电话。 来自子夜部分

12 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

13 goodwill   

n.善意，亲善，信誉，声誉

参考例句：

• His heart is full of goodwill to all men.他心里对所有人都充满着爱心。
• We paid ￡10,000 for the shop,and ￡2000 for its goodwill.我们用一万英镑买下了这家商店，两千英镑买下了它的信誉。

14 credentials   

n.证明，资格，证明书，证件

参考例句：

• He has long credentials of diplomatic service.他的外交工作资历很深。
• Both candidates for the job have excellent credentials.此项工作的两个求职者都非常符合资格。

15 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

16 capitalism   

n.资本主义

参考例句：

• The essence of his argument is that capitalism cannot succeed.他的论点的核心是资本主义不能成功。
• Capitalism began to develop in Russia in the 19th century.十九世纪资本主义在俄国开始发展。

17 attaining   

（通常经过努力）实现( attain的现在分词 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况）

参考例句：

• Jim is halfway to attaining his pilot's licence. 吉姆就快要拿到飞行员执照了。
• By that time she was attaining to fifty. 那时她已快到五十岁了。