Institute announces new Bank of America Diversity Center
Riverside, Calif. — February 27, 2018 — The Inland Empire’s vision for a new civil rights center is one step closer to becoming reality thanks to a generous $100,000 grant from Bank of America, the Civil Rights Institute of Inland Southern California announced today. One of three major facilities in the new Institute will be named the Bank of America Diversity Center in honor of the gift. The facility will be home to small conferences, public programming and performances, children’s programs, and community meeting space.
The $2 million two-year capital campaign for the Institute is well underway with more than $600,000 raised since the late October kickoff. The Institute faces a deadline for raising the first $1 million this summer in order for the project to proceed. Other major facilities with naming opportunities include the Institute’s public events plaza, exhibit center, and incubator space for non-profits engaged in civil rights work.
Bank of America’s Market President for the Inland Empire Al Arguello will present the funds Tuesday, February 27, 2018, as a part of the evening meeting of the City of Riverside City Council. Q’Vinc Asberry, a member of the Institute board and also the capital campaign committee, will be on hand to accept the check.
The Institute will focus on ongoing activities to protect and advance civil rights in the Inland Southern California region as well as recognizing past achievements of regional, statewide, and national significance. These milestones, featured on the Institute’s Walk of Fame, include first-in-the-nation voluntary desegregation of a large school district; dismantling of the Alien Land Law, opening the way for home ownership for those of Asian descent; and the judicial ruling striking down “don’t-ask-don’t-tell” in the U.S. military.
“We’re honored to partner with the Fair Housing Council and the Civil Rights Institute of Inland Southern California in making this leadership pledge to advance economic development in downtown Riverside. By investing in organizations that support economic and social progress through jobs, housing and education – especially in preserving important civil rights history of the region – we can support long-term sustainable growth here,” said Al Arguello, Bank of America Inland Empire market president.
“Bank of America has demonstrated its leadership in Inland Southern California by underwriting the Institute with this important gift,” commented Institute Board Member Q’Vinc Asberry, in response to Bank of America’s decision to fund the project. “I am honored to accept on behalf of the Civil Rights Institute, and pleased to be able to predict that the Bank of America Diversity Center will be an important center for our region-wide efforts to grow and nourish the civil rights we all depend on.”
The Civil Rights Institute will be located at 3933 Mission Inn Avenue and is planned to open in April 2020. It will be one of the cornerstones of Mission Heritage Plaza, a new mixed-use project being developed by Wakeland Housing and Development Corporation that will contain new offices for the Fair Housing Council and 72 units of affordable workforce housing, some set aside for military veterans, in the heart of downtown.
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Bank of America’s Market President for the Inland Empire, Al Arguello (left) presents Janet Green (middle) and Q’Vinc Asberry (right) with a $100,000 grant for the Civil Rights Institute Inland Southern California.
A RENDERING OF MISSION HERITAGE PLAZA AND A FLOOR PLAN FOR THE CIVIL RIGHTS INSTITUTE OF
INLAND SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA.
BACKGROUND
Bank of America Inland Empire
Bank of America is committed to growing responsibly and sustainably – ensuring everything we do aligns to our purpose of helping people live better financial lives. This includes our environmental, social and governance (ESG) leadership across the business, reflecting how we help fuel the region’s economy, build trust and credibility, and represent a company that people want to work for and do business with in the Inland Empire. Our 1,350 local employees and 87 financial centers help ensure the bank’s community presence through $1 million in grants and nearly 18,000 volunteer hours to local charities last year alone. Another important part of this work is forming strong partnerships with nonprofits and advocacy groups such as Path of Life, Fair Housing Council of Riverside County and Civil Rights Institute of Inland Southern California that bring together our collective expertise to achieve greater impact.
Al Arguello
As market president, Mr. Arguello is the senior executive for business, civic, and philanthropic activities for Bank of America in San Bernardino and Riverside counties. He provides business, civic, and philanthropic leadership for Bank of America throughout the market, and works to strengthen communication and integration among the company’s local business lines.
Mr. Arguello has spearheaded collaborative efforts to address issues impacting the entire region. During the economic crisis, his leadership led to the formation of the Housing Opportunities Collaborative of the Inland Empire to support efforts of housing nonprofit agencies helping distressed families facing foreclosures. He has also been the driving force in the formation of the MicroEnterprise Collaborative of Inland Southern California to encourage micro-business development in the region.
Mr. Arguello is presently on the boards of the Greater Riverside Chamber of Commerce, Rancho Cucamonga Community and Arts Foundation, San Antonio Hospital Foundation, and Inland Empire Economic Partnership.
Q’Vinc Asberry
Civil Rights Institute board member Q’Vinc Asberry (Q) has a long history serving the housing needs of Riverside County residents, first as a manager of hundreds of units in the Riverside County Housing Authority Section 8 program, where he worked for five years.
He then went on to supervise the Community Development Block Grant Housing Rehabilitation Program for the City of Riverside’s Redevelopment Agency, where he became an expert in all facets of housing rehabilitation and in homeowner-contractor arbitrations.
While there Q also facilitated the relocation of several historic houses and other structures from the former Press-Enterprise property, managed the demolition of several substandard and dilapidated structures and conducted numerous single housing property inspections. He was involved with the management of the restoration of the Mission Inn prior to its being sold to a private developer.
Q left the Redevelopment Agency after 17 years and began working at a local religious organization in Riverside, where he served for 25 years before retiring.
Civil Rights Institute Contact:
Dawn Hassett, Communications Consultant, 951-318-0907
Bank of America Contact:
Colleen Haggerty, Senior Vice President, Media Relations, 213-621-7414
