FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 10, 2021

CONTACT
Carter Dougherty
carter@ourfinancialsecurity.org
(202) 251-6700

AFR Lauds Confirmation of Lisa Cook to Federal Reserve Board

With the confirmation of Lisa Cook to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, we should take a moment to celebrate the historic moment. Lisa Cook will join the board as the first Black woman governor. Philip Jefferson will soon become only the fourth Black man to serve on the board. With Lael Brainard as Vice Chair, the Fed Board, long a preserve of white men, is starting to look more like the country as a whole.

Dr. Cook, in particular, was forced to endure – and overcome – an outrageous campaign of racist and sexist attacks on her work and character. She has blazed a trail for those who will surely come later, but that does not excuse the outrageous behavior of opponents of her nomination.

The Fed still urgently needs a vice chair for supervision who will focus on guarding against risks to financial stability, make sure major financial institutions are following the rules, and be guided by a commitment to racial and economic justice. This works starts, but does not end, with undoing the damage done by the previous vice chair’s deregulatory campaign.

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