Alvin Hall

The fourth and final installment of Alvin Hall's story culminates with a return to Alvin's high school, and the celebration of Alvin Hall Day.

In part three of Alvin Hall's story, Alvin confronts his family's past and for the first time finds his father in old home movie footage.  

For the second part of Alvin Hall's story, we head to Shadeville Road, to places he once called home, and where memories of family and faith came flooding back. 

Alvin Hall was his school's first black valedictorian, but he says his photo was replaced with a picture of two white classmates. Now, he's making an emotional journey back.

Motown has become an American institution. But Motown also had a spoken-word label called Black Forum, which was set up in 1970.

It's that time of year when new graduates must sit through commencement speeches, some of which will be boring, some of which will be inspiring, and most of which will be very earnest...

Our discussion about BBC broadcaster Alistair Cooke and his iconic radio program, "Letter from America," continues with journalist Alvin Hall. The BBC, in conjunction with Boston Univ...

For 58 years, BBC radio host Alistair Cooke hosted "Letter from America" on the BBC, and the show became a singular and unique source of information for Britons on their neighbors acr...

Twenty five years ago, the novel “The Bonfire of the Vanities” was published. Written by Tom Wolfe, the book tells the story of a greedy, white Wall Street trader who accidentally kil...

Twenty-five years ago, in 1987, a novel called “The Bonfire of the Vanities” was published. Written by Tom Wolfe, the book touched on issues of class privilege, racism, greed, and pol...

This week we’ve been asking listeners to suggest ideas on how to fix the economy. So far we’ve talked about raising inflation and boosting housing prices. Today we're talking about capping the total compensation that CEOs earn — including salary, benefits and bonuses — at $5 million. Any additional money would go back to the company, hopefully creating more jobs. Who would step up to do this? Perhaps Warren Buffett, in light of his recent op-ed for The New York Times.

As riots and unrest continue to spread throughout England, some say they began with youths who are unhappy with the economic climate there. Throughout the U.K., there is a growing sense that many young people are going to face more difficult financial times than their parents' generation did. The future will bring fewer job opportunities and lower pensions, which will mature at a later date and come at a greater personal cost. Overall, there’s a feeling that politicians are inept to fix the nation’s economic problems.

We’ve been told repeatedly over the past several months that if the government fails to raise the debt ceiling by August 2, there could be dire consequences for the world economy. But many Americans are wondering: what does this have to do with us and our personal finances? If the government defaults on its debt, how will it affect our personal debt and investments?

Love them or hate them, the co-chairs of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform have released their draft proposals to slow the quickly growing national debt. Many politicians say the ideas will never, ever be approved by any future Congress. With proposals that call for major cuts in domestic and military spending, bumping the age to qualify for (decreased) Social Security benefits, and a simplified but much broader tax base with fewer exemptions, the plan is guaranteed to be unpopular among politicians and voters alike. But as unpalatable as these notions are to politicians, is it time to start getting serious about painful cuts?    

This month, the latest rules in the federal credit card overhaul come into effect. Credit card issuers, however, are already finding creative loopholes. Go check your mailbox: There's a good chance you have a letter from your credit card company or bank telling you about new rules and "improved" new features on your account. Some of those were actually mandated by Congress; others are workarounds to earn more money on new fees. 

We want to help you find out what new fees and charges consumers have to watch out for now that the credit card overhaul is taking effect. Tell us what your card company is asking you to sign up for. Or how they are pitching their new features. Send us pictures of the letters even. Or, tell us any stories for paying too much or getting overcharged by a credit card company. 

 

President Obama signed the CARD Act back in May 2009, but the new regulations on credit card issuers took until today to come into effect. The law was designed to protect consumers from many of the hidden fees, rate changes and small print traps that cost Americans $15 billion each year, but some aspects of the bill changed along the way. Now that it's here, how will it affect your monthly statements?

Is $100 million too much for one year for one Citigroup trader? That's what the White House pay czar may decide as he starts his compensation review at bailed-out financial firms. But...

It’s become a familiar story. People who pay their credit cards on time every month are seeing their interest rates go up, their monthly due dates changed without warning, and are wat...

Takeaway contributor and personal finance whiz Alvin Hall has been helping homeowners dissect the Obama administration's housing plan. Earlier we heard from Pamela Zombeck, a homeowne...

The Obama administration has released the details of its housing plan, which is meant to be a finger in the dam for the tidal wave of homes facing foreclosure throughout the U.S. Yest...