Freedom Card

Freedom Card, Los Angeles, is issuing the first credit card targeted specifically at African-Americans, Latinos and other minorities. In his article in the New York Times, Greg Winter explains this strategy by citing data from Claritas, a market research firm in San Diego. According to its research, while 67 percent of whites have credit cards, only 42 percent of African-Americans and 51 percent of Latinos do so. The firm and its credit card are named after the minority-owned Freedom National Bank in Harlem. Established by Jack Robinson and others, it was closed by regulators in 1990.

The founder, president and chairman of Freedom Card, Wesley Buford, has had a varied and successful career. Now 42-years old, Buford was a successful music promoter in his twenties. Then, he won a bid for a textile-manufacturing firm in Los Angeles. Turning that over to his mother to manage, he went to Africa to promote American hair care products. Upon his return to the U.S. in 1985, he formed Pro Ball Food and Beverage. This was the first company to license team logos from such organizations as the National Football League to be placed on drink bottles. In 1990, he joined Montel Williams, a motivational speaker, to market a television show across the country. Mr. Buford views his latest endeavor as a mission "to overcome the digital divide" by first bridging "the credit divide." To issue the cards, the firm has a partnership with Cross Country Bank.