Florida activist Al Piña starts hunger strike against Bank of America

Activist Al Piña, who heads the Florida Minority Community Reinvestment Coalition and is pushing Bank of America to aid more poor minority communities, on Wednesday began the third day of his promised hunger strike.

Last month Piña threatened to start a water-only hunger strike on June 15. That date was postponed when BofA made some conciliatory remarks, but Piña chose to start his strike Monday.

Piña told the St. Petersburg Times: "This will be my last hunger strike because my body is not handling it well like the times before."

In response, BofA Florida president Mike Fields issued a statement saying the bank disagrees with the statements raised by Piña's group but stands ready to continue a dialogue "to correct the record regarding the level of our commitment and investment in communities across the state of Florida."