Armenian Americans will overcome the latest disgrace, Citibank’s credit refusals | Opinion

Take a drive through the San Joaquin Valley of California and it’s hard to miss the constructive contributions of Armenian Americans. This small group of seemingly “unimportant” people, as native Fresnan and Pulitzer Prize-winning author William Saroyan punned, has played a major part in the life and vibrancy of this great valley, state and country.

From, for example, the beneficence of local businessman Leon S. Peters, who endowed and enriched a variety of local causes, to the recent announcement of Ed and Jeanne Kashians’ multi-million dollar commitment to UC Merced, Armenian Americans have generationally invested — both deeply and daringly — to better our diverse communities. Speaking of greenbacks, you probably didn’t know that the iconic color of United States paper dollars was created by Chistopher Ter-Serobyan, an Armenian.

How about the Deran Koligian Ambulatory Care Center at Community Medical, named after the political giant whose outsize love for his community was matched only by his service to it? Or, what about the countless other Armenian Americans who have donated to local medical facilities making sure that everyone who’s sick gets treatment? Many of their names appear proudly, but without much pomp, on donor walls and paver markings.

Speaking of hospitals, many probably don’t know that the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine was invented by an Armenian, Raymond Damadian. Millions of lives have been saved through the detailed images of Damadian’s universally used diagnostic machine.

Opinion

The hit parade of Armenians’ contributions here in the Valley, and far beyond along the long stretch of Highway 99, goes on and on. However, with all these achievements and endeavors to upgrade communities across the United States, one would think that Armenian Americans would have earned just a little bit of respect. The work ethic of most Armenian Americans can be boiled down to this, “give us an opportunity and get the hell out of our way. We’ll take care of the rest and provide for our families, our nation, and our faith, focusing on education and core American values.”

Despite all this, the disdain and, yes, the jealousy against Armenian Americans is sadly real and growing. The recent news of Citibank discriminating against Armenians was shocking to say the least. In punishing the bank with fines and penalties of more than $25 million, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau found that bank employees had conspired and concocted an illegal scheme which denied Armenian Americans their financial rights because they were disparaged and falsely portrayed as likely to commit fraud. The Citibank employees were trained to deny credit applications with “ian” or “yan” endings of the applicants’ names, which are the common patronymic suffixes of Armenian last names.

Sad and glad that Armenian American and Fresno native Kirk Kerkorian isn’t here to see this travesty of justice. Kerkorian, with that suspicious “ian” at the end of his name, became a billionaire through living the American dream and working the Armenian way, ultimately contributing hundreds of millions of dollars to building the foundations of democracy in Armenia and gifting $200 million to the University of California Los Angeles through his Lincy Foundation. With Citibank’s discriminatory practices, Kerkorian, too, may have been denied a credit card. Or he would have just turned around and bought the whole darn bank.

As unbelievable as Citibank’s actions are, this shouldn’t come as a complete surprise. One remembers that it took Fresno Unified School District nearly 150-years to name a school after an Armenian American. Let’s remind you about that ordeal. FUSD put out a poll and an overwhelming majority of respondents wanted to name a new public school campus after highly touted and widely-respected journalist and educator Roger Tatarian. Despite this, the school board at the time still ignored the community’s groundswell of support and instead offered what many perceive as a consolation prize, to rename and re-purpose another school (Forkner) after Tatarian. Not sure if the name change from Forkner to Tatarian was to please the Armenian Americans or was a belated stopgap measure teetering at the precipice of cancel culture.

The Armenian Bar Association (ABA), an organization known for moving mountains behind the scenes, has weighed in. The ABA released a statement saying, “We know too well that Armenophobia is creeping forward in the United States and around the world.” The organization reminded readers that there was recently a firebombing at an Armenian church, a shooting at an Armenian elementary school, the public posting of incendiary flyers, racial profiling at an airport, and the restrictive covenants in the Central Valley that prohibited Armenians from owning property in certain areas.

How about the three historic homes near the Holy Trinity Armenian Apostolic Church in Old Armenian Town in downtown Fresno? When questions arose as to why they were being converted hush-hush into “affordable housing” (an awful place for that next to a freeway in a dark corner) without a community meeting, the relevant authorities were unfazed and, unfortunately, sounded more dazed and confused.

Armenians by and large have lived by the Golden Rule of reciprocal regard and respect. Citibank’s and other anti-Armenian actions will only cause Armenian Americans to hunker down deeper into their reverential values, to work harder and to push forward for the greater good with even more passion and commitment. You see, the same building that once didn’t allow Armenians to lease a room in it in downtown Fresno is now owned by an Armenian American, and the local golf course that once prohibited Armenians from membership was newly purchased by the same person the golf course was trying to prohibit from entering.

Over the long history of bigotry and injustice against the Armenian people here at home and abroad, we have held fast to the sweeping truth that perseverance and purposefulness are the most effective antidotes to the disease of discrimination. And so, we hold, fast and tight.

Sevag Tateosian is host and producer of San Joaquin Spotlight on CMAC Comcast 93 and Att 99 and TalkRadio 1550 KXEX. Armen K. Hovannisian is an attorney in Los Angeles with deep Central Valley roots. He is the past chairman and current board member of the Armenian Bar Association.