'Jail-Like' Entrances At Banks Target Black Communities: Priest

CHICAGO, IL - An activist priest has called out a major national financial institution over what he calls "jail-like" security entrances at some of its locations in the black neighborhoods on the South Side of Chicago. The Rev. Michael Pfleger, pastor of Saint Sabina Catholic Church in the city's Auburn Gresham neighborhood, says Fifth Third Bank has descriminated against African Americans with the placement of security entrances that include double doors and a metal detector.

"It is another form of discrimination and another stigma against our community," said Pfleger, a longtime priest at St. Sabina and well-known faith leader in Chicago. "These stigmas are what keeps businesses and people away from our community."

Fifth Third, in a statement, says their security doors "have been demonstrated to protect our employees, customers and guests" and won't remove them citing "safety and security" concerns.

Pfleger said he first learned of Fifth Third's security entrances at bank locations at 8140 S. Ashland, 11850 S. Marshfield and 1600 E. 79th St. on the South Side in the fall when an elderly woman in a wheel chair got stuck in the entrance at the Ashland location and others in the community began complaining about them as well. He said he did research and found that several of Fifth Third's other banks in downtown Chicago and the suburbs did not have similar entrances although statistics have shown bank robberies are more likely to occur there than in the black community.

"At first I thought the banks in the suburbs were the most likely to be robbed, but it's actually banks in downtown Chicago that are most likely to be robbed, then banks in the suburbs and then in the black community," Pfleger said, citing several examples in a video shared on his public Facebook page.

In the video, titled "Three Fifths of a Person at Fifth Third Bank: We Demand Respect," Pfleger described the Cincinnati-based bank's entrance practice as "discriminatory and disrespectful."

"Either put your jail-like doors in all your branches or take them out of ours," he said.

Fifth Third Bank did not provide a list of which of its banks have these entrances and which do not, but did issue an official corporate statement following a South Side Patch request.

In three parts, the bank stated: "1. The safety and security of our customers and employees is our greatest concern. 2. The safety doors have been demonstrated to protect our employees, customers and guests. 3. We continue to look for ways to improve the customer experience with these systems without compromising safety."

Pfleger said a regional president met with him on the issue toward the end of 2017, but that he received a letter on Jan. 10 of this year from the bank indicating that while they considered the recommendation, they have decided on keeping the doors based on the same safety concerns.

"Other banks in the area don't do it. Chase, Citi... they don't do it," Pfleger said. "If this neighborhood is too violent for you to do business here, then leave. We don't need you here."

Fifth Third does have security entrances at other banks in Chicagoland outside of the ones Pfleger mentions, including at least two on the North Side of the city and at locations in suburban Oak Park, Evanston and possibly others.

But several others referenced by Pfleger in the video, all of which have been robbed at least once in recent years, do not. They include several on the North Side, some downtown, one in Hyde Park and one in north suburban Lake Forest.

Even though Fifth Third responded to the situation, Pfleger says he will not give up this fight. He's reached out to Attorney General Lisa Madigan and members of the Chicago City Council on finding ways to follow through on this.

There was a similar situation with a Chase Bank location on Cottage Grove Avenue a few years back, he said.

"They (Chase) agreed with our stats... and ended up removing the doors," he said, adding that he's "hopeful" that Fifth Third will "come around" as well.

Top photo: The entrance to the Fifth Third Bank location at 11850 S. Marshfield in the Marshfield Plaza shopping center. By Tim Moran / Patch