THE CASH STUFF FOR JULY 30, 2026

 TRUMP’S DEPT. OF ED, DOJ

 CITES ECU MEDICAL SCHOOL

FOR RACIAL DISCRIMINATION

By Cash Michaels

Contributing writer

The U.S. Dept of Education’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR) under the Trump Administration has cited East Carolina University’s Brody School of Medicine for alleged racial discrimination in its student admissions policy. This comes after the OCR investigated Duke University’s Medical school  and Duke Law Journal for the same accusation.

OCR is accusing these schools of violating Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. ECU’S Brody School of Medicine reportedly received a letter about the OCR probe last Tuesday.

The investigation is significant because unlike in the past where there federal government probed schools for alleged racial discrimination against Blacks and other people of color, the OCR’s current investigation is based on accusations of either white or Asian-American complainants, and complies with the Trump Administration’s anti-DEI (diversity, equity and Inclusion) policy, though no specific allegations have been revealed. Since last year, however, colleges and university have been required to keep written admissions records by race to ensure that institutions were in compliance with a 2023 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that outlawed race-conscious student admissions policies at UNC at Chapel Hill.

        Last year, the OCR froze $108 million in federal funding that had been designated for both Duke University and the medical school.

        An official letter last year from  Trump Administration Cabinet secretaries Linda McMahon of the Education Dept. and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. of the Dept. of Health and Human Services, accused Duke Health of “vile racism” in “hiring, student admissions, governance, patient care and other operations …[that] endanger human lives.”

The July 28th, 2025 missive defined “vile racism” as “affirmative action” that “undermines America’s commitment to merit-based justice and violates the nation’s civil rights laws…”, thus, the letter continued, “ [breaking] faith with patients….”

Those allegations “render Duke Health unfit for any further financial relationship with the federal government.” 

ECU’s Brody School of Medicine is just one of five new alleged racial discrimination targets for OCR. The investigation is a joint effort led by the OCR, along with the Dept. of Health and Human Services and the U>S> Dept. of Justice.

In June, the Dept. of Justice began investigating 15 medical  schools across the nation, now adding ECU and four more. Recently, DOJ announced it found “evidence” of the illegal use of race at the University of California San Diego and Yale University.

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M&F BANK MERGES WITH 

SOUTH CAROLINA

BLACK BANK

By Cash Michaels

Contributing writer

A 119-year-old Black bank based in Durham, founded in 1907, with seven branches across the state is merging with a South Carolina Black bank to become part of the Optus Bank network.

M&F Bank (formerly Mechanics and Farmers Bank) of Durham, the second oldest Black-owned bank in the nation, announced the merger last week, adding that it will change its name to Optus Bank. The merger will take place at the end of the year after regulatory approval, paying M&F shareholders over $105 million.

Current M&F CEO James Sills will become CEO of the merged company. “We share a common mission, aligned values, and a steadfast commitment to our customers and communities,” Sills said in a statement.

         M&F Bank has two branches in Durham, two in Raleigh, with one each in Greensboro, Charlotte and Winston-Salem. Its total assets are $490 million, making it the 20th largest chartered bank in North Carolina. 

        A year ago, the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB), by order of Trump appointee, Director Russell Voight, had not released $324 million in fiscal year 2025 funding by Congress to CDFIs (Community Development Financial Institutions).

        Furthermore, it was reported by The News and Observer newspaper of Raleigh that “The White House’s 2026 discretionary budget proposal removes $291 million in CDFI Fund grants and instead creates a $100 million grant program exclusively for rural communities, adding that  “Past awards may have made race a determinant of access to loan programs,” OMB wrote in its proposal.”

Optus Bank (originally named Victory Bank) was founded in 1921 and was South Carolina’s oldest Black bank. Like M&F Bank, Optus is an MDI (Minority Depository Institution), meaning that it primarily serves communities of color, and provides training and assistance to Black businesses.

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