Designated Economic Development Resolution No. 12 in the NAACP's 2026 resolutions and concurred as amended, the policy framework identifies three institutional failures that leave elderly Black Americans with cognitive impairment unprotected from financial predators:
1. Banks that process questionable transactions and then obstruct family inquiries
2. Local law enforcement agencies that lack the training, resources, and institutional will to investigate financial crimes against elderly victims,
3. State Adult Protective Services agencies operating under policies that exclude family caregivers and Powers of Attorney from exploitation investigations.
The resolution demands that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) identify financial institutions that have wrongfully treated elderly Black people with dementia, and that the U.S. Department of Justice investigate perpetrators of schemes targeting this population and hold them accountable.
"I stood before this branch at their Freedom Fund dinner, and I told them what I tell every unit. Members are the lifeblood of the Association," said Derrick Johnson, President and CEO of the NAACP. "The work of this organization is done locally and carried out nationally. Pine Bluff did exactly that. They documented a pattern their state ignored, and because of those efforts, the NAACP will work to address these issues."
How the Campaign Began
The resolution traces to the case of Dr. McCray, a Pine Bluff educator and community leader inducted into the Arkansas Women's Hall of Fame in 2024. Two physicians diagnosed her with dementia and severe memory impairment in November 2020 and May 2021. In June 2021 (39 days after the second diagnosis was confirmed) a family member allegedly isolated her from her Power of Attorney and transferred the family trust account at Simmons Bank in Pine Bluff.
Her son, Michael McCray, a licensed attorney who held her Medical and Financial Power of Attorney and served as her primary caregiver, learned of the transfer only after vendors threatened criminal charges over checks written on the closed account.
What followed became the factual spine of the national resolution.
The bank. A certified letter requesting banking instructions and citing potential elder abuse went unanswered for 1,116 days (more than three years). Simmons Bank responded only after a July 2024 Consumer Financial Protection Bureau complaint compelled it.
The police. The Pine Bluff Police Department opened fraud case No. 24-28839 in September 2024. No meaningful investigative action followed, despite medical records, trust attorney correspondence, and evidence of unauthorized dealings involving federally administered conservation programs.
The state. Arkansas Department of Human Services Adult Protective Services investigated and returned a finding of "unsubstantiated." The determination rested on a diagnosis date of 2022 (after the transfer) when the medical records document diagnoses in 2020 and 2021, both before it. DHS also declined to interview the Power of Attorney, the trust attorney, and the forestry management company retained to manage the family's timber property.
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