The significance of the moment is lost

For your viewing pleasure: "The Porter," a winner of The Chase Legacy of Homeownership Film Challenge, a competition for aspiring filmmakers.

According to a synopsis of the film, by Vincent Singleton, it's a "character study examining a family's three generational struggle to become homeowners. A Pullman Porter is faced with eviction from the company property that his family calls home. He passes on the importance of home ownership to his son, who grows and tries to buy his own home. However, Chicago in the 1970's has segregating communities down to a science and the son is forced to once again pass on the dream. Finally, in the present, the grandson of the Porter is able to purchase a home, though the significance of the moment is lost on him."

In a press release, Chase said it worked with HBO and Blackfilm.com "to discover emerging filmmakers in Atlanta, Chicago, Houston and New York to share their vision of legacy preservation through homeownership within the African-American community."

Chase and parent company JPMorgan Chase & Co. are among 17 major lenders that were sued last year by the NAACP, which claimed in a press release publicizing demonstrations this month that "African American borrowers were given loans with higher interest rates and other poor terms solely because of their race."

The NAACP cited data collected under the authority of the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act that shows blacks and Hispanics are more likely to take out higher cost loans than whites. There's some debate whether minorities are targeted for such loans or if other criteria lenders use in making underwriting decisions -- such as credit scores, loan-to-value and debt-to-income ratios -- are also factors (see stories).

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