Civil rights leaders demand foreclosure halt

“The only person who should be evicted from his house is George Bush. The people will foreclose on him,” said Jackson.

The rally called attention to the racist impact of the nation’s loan practices and to the economic crisis facing all Americans if the calamity is not solved. Jackson called it an “economic tsunami.” He has called the foreclosure crisis the most important issue facing the country besides the war in Iraq, and termed the subprime loan schemes a “21st-century noose.”

The National Community Reinvestment Coalition reported earlier this year that “African-Americans of all income levels were twice as likely or more to receive high-cost loans as whites.”

“It is no accident that we are here on Wall Street today,” said John Taylor, the coalition’s president. “Welcome to the birthplace of the subprime crisis.