A community bank in the northside of Chicago, Devon Bank, responded to Donald Trump’s comments that many consider to be “racist” by placing a sign outside its doors that welcomes all immigrants from “shit countries.”
The Bank located in the Rogers Park neighborhood, with more than 40 percent of its staff members being immigrants themselves, responded to President Trump’s comments earlier this January referring to bringing more immigrants to the US from countries like Norway and Asia and keeping out immigrants that come from “shit countries” like Haiti, El Salvador and Africa.
“We have been pleased with the positive response the message on our sign has produced. We see our message not as a political statement, but as a human rights statement. We are proud of the diversity in our community, our neighborhoods, our customer base, and in our staff, and divisiveness is not welcome here,” said David Loundy, CEO of Devon Bank.
The sign didn’t remain unnoticed. It caught the attention of Jan Schakowsky, U.S Representative for Illinois’ 9th District. She tweeted: “So proud of my district today and every day. Immigrants are welcome here.” The tweet received 643 likes and was retweeted 225 times. Some of the responses included a message from Alexander Loundy who said: “Very proud of my dad (owner of Devon Bank!) and all the other local businesses standing up for what’s right!”
“I have been amazed and humbled at the reach of our message—we have literally received messages of thanks and support from around the globe. The comments that were reportedly made clearly touched a nerve, and our response shows that not everyone shares such views,” said David Loundy.
In addition to the positive responses, the bank received some negative comments as well. “We did receive some negative comments that either as a bank we shouldn’t be political, or that we were attacking the President. We were attacking prejudice, and for that we feel no need to apologize,” added Loundy.
Devon Bank was founded in 1945 by local merchants who believed in the community. The bank’s mission “has always been to be the bank that the neighborhood needs—to tailor its service offerings to the particular demands of the community.”
The bank looks forward to continuing to help all customers in its communities as they save for retirement, for education and life-stage events, for home buying, for essentials and vacations, and as they develop, launch, and grow their businesses. NN (By Nikoleta Morales)
