KingCast presents: Christopher King v. Citibank, MCAD 09BPA02502

MCAD 09BPA02502 King Citibank Carlo Caramanna-1 Dear Attorney Velella:

Your move, Counselor. I look forward to Citibank's position statement and explanation of why you denied me the right to open a bank account on 24 March, 2009. Of course, you're not worried. You've got video that substantiates your position, so I'm sure you'll be eager to share the video from all four (4) bank visits with MCAD.

Well whether you're eager to do it or not, you will.

See you soon.

Christopher King, J.D.

"White Privilege -- Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack" by Peggy McIntosh:

13. Whether I use checks, credit cards or cash, I can count on my skin color not to work against the
appearance of financial reliability.
30. If I declare there is a racial issue at hand, or there isn't a racial issue at hand, my race will lend me
more credibility for either position than a person of color will have.
5. I can go shopping alone most of the time, pretty well assured that I will not be followed or harassed.

Dear Attorney Velella: You are about to get your wish, and a public discussion and boycott to boot.

I'm filing with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD) on Thursday, 24 September, 2009. Then you can produce for them the bank video and audio that you claim shows me to be acting in such a manner that would warrant your client refusing to open a bank account for me to cash Derrick Gillenwater's legal malpractice settlement check. And you can explain why you let my white girlfriend open such an account. And you can also furnish the other three (3) bank videos and audio including the express representations that your client would cash Mr. Gillenwater's check once he updated his state ID card.

And you can listen in online to Touch FM 106.1 at 8:30 a.m. on 8 October 2009 to listen to me discuss this case and urge a boycott of all of your client's banks.

In fact, you can tune in earlier -- at 8:00 that morning -- and listen to Boston Strangler Investigative writer Casey Sherman and me describe our respective attempts to put together the Truth about the Franconia NH shooting tragedy of 5/11 2007. Casey's book, "Bad Blood: Freedom and Death in the White Mountains" is published on 1 October 2009.

Touch FM does a lot of good things in the City of Boston, take a look.

Suggested reading:
White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack by Peggy McIntosh

KingCast shares Ethnic Online Volume 1.

Ethnic Online: New England's Magazine for Ethnic Professionals. Here is my profile and here is the Editor's Note from Kaye Long.

Additionally we want to demonstrate to our youth that to be positively profiled in the media, you don’t have to be an athlete, rapper or entertainer….but there are other positive and rewarding skills that can be developed. Ethnic On-line will also become the “Ethnic Media” platform of choice for our many “corporate partners” for recruiting and retaining the best of the best of New England’s talented professionals along with the many products and services they have to offer.

I told you about this last week during my ride to visit my sister and family in Connecticut. As I said in the profile:

“Surround yourself with brilliant and dedicated people and believe in your dreams… because there are no guarantees in life but if you manage to keep on doing what you love, you have succeeded.”

PS: Of course to Citibank I am a threatening black man. That's okay. There will be MCAD, Federal Court and community discussions about all of that soon enough.

Citibank racism: KingCast receives transcript, asks for beer summit and consults Union of Minority Neighborhoods.org

Citibank racist 911 transcript KingCast seeks beer summit with 911 dispatcher to explain the facts that Citibank left out: The Citibank 911 transcript and my new racket came in this weekend, a Wilson Surge to replace the defective Wilson K Pro Tour that cracked. That's a responsible corporation, living up to its word on customer service. Citibank is anything but that, having even refused my request to open an account, then claiming that it was okay for them to threaten to arrest me and not cash a legal malpractice settlement check I would have deposited into my account for Derrick Gillenwater.

First of all a minor apology to Attorney Velella, as his letter claiming I swore prior to a 911 call is only partially incorrect -- it is however, entirely misleading:

The transcript I received (which will be scanned and linked by Monday -- in which Citibank convinces the dispatcher that our conduct was "outrageous") does not reflect the FIRST call to 911 that was made before our eyes at the teller window. Perhaps they did not connect with 911 but the threat of arrest was made at that time, even as I was asking the bank manager Carlo Carmanna to open an account in my name. He refused me for no lawful reason. I was fully qualified to open an account and cash Mr. Gillenwater’s check if the bank was going to refuse to cash it for a non-customer, which is questionable in the first instance because he was a Holder in Due Course with an instrument drawn on their bank.

Therefore, it was THAT call, plus the fact that the bank was:
a) reneging on its specific promise to pay the check once a new State Identification Card and birth certificate was provided as requested;
b) refusing to allow me to open a bank account even though I was most definitely qualified to open one, and even though they had opened an account for my Caucasian girlfriend., a violation of 42 U.S.C. 1981;
c) threatening to arrest me after I showed them the law of Your Style v. Mid Town Bank of Chicago, 501 N.E.2d 805 (1986).

Those facts did indeed cause me to call Carlo Caramanna a “Motherfucker,” but only AFTER he had dialed 911 and threatened to have us arrested.

It must be noted that given those circumstances there was nothing “outrageous” about us trying to cash the check that was drawn on Citibank. The dispatcher did not even ask that question and was playing lawyer making legal conclusions – based on the erroneous and incomplete representations issued by Citibank.

Let's be clear: I’m not blaming the 911 dispatcher, just offering to take him or her out to lunch and discuss what happened here -- although I'm certain the pigs at Citibank will try to say that I bought another racket to use it to threaten them or beat them up, you know that's how African-American men are. Dumb and Violent.

PS: It is pretty interesting that they description from the bank was all about “two African-american males,” and the female’s race was not even mentioned. They didn’t even get her hair colour right – it’s screaming red, not black – like Derrick and me.

That's why, in addition to initiating legal action in the next week or two, my lawyer and I will be contacting the Union of Minority Neighborhoods and Horace Small.

The mission of the Union of Minority Neighborhoods is to ensure that skilled, committed, grassroots leaders of color, effectively organize on issues of concern in their communities, regions and nation. Based in Boston, we bring our mission to life by:

Organizing
Developing new leaders
Building broad-based coalition
Our programs are constituent driven. Activists develop skills and then put these skills into practice by organizing on the issues that affect them.

Our goal is full civic engagement of people of color: no more second class citizenship, no more being a political afterthought, no more ineffective Black political leadership, no more needing well-meaning people speaking on our behalf.