As Black/African-Americans in this country, the common goals many strive for in America are to have a house with a white picket fence, a dog, and children that can comfortably inherit all the fruits of our labor. Some would say that is the American dream but oftentimes due to racial wealth gaps caused by racism, oppression, and various forms of class and social inequalities, financially for many that is unachievable. As industries like finance and technology and their hiring processes expand more deeply into marginalized communities, the forward motion continues in hopes that one day equity is achieved. Financial literacy and education can assist in making us all more aware of how we can better our overall money management and allocate our income to places that will allow for more growth. What will truly make the long lasting difference is not only access to more wealth but generation by generation passing along that wealth and information in hopes that financial planning will sustain it for our overall upward mobility. Equitable, sustainable, and accessible opportunities to achieve said wealth is needed from our non marginalized counterparts as well as everyone should have the access and ability to achieve financial freedom the same way many of us dream for a white picket fence.
As a financial professional, my devotion is to providing the needed information and access to our communities person by person. Prior to COVID-19, the median wealth of Black Americans was expected to fall to 0 by 2053. Numbers cannot project the full scope of how the 2008/2009 recession as well as the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the timeline of those numbers but as a Black financial professional, my work is pivotal in preventing that. Many Black financial professionals, advisors, attorneys, accountants, and understand the scope and degree of our work and that is why it is imperative for us to show up every day even when the work is tedious. What is consistently needed is support in dollars, backing, and opportunities from our non-Black counterparts as well. I am very blessed to have that at Empire Wealth Strategies with the expansion of Dei Dream Financial. All of it is in hopes to see more Black financial professionals be able to serve more clients and allow for our initial vision of more to be achieved with time, holistic planning, and continuous support.
Some actions steps/questions for all of us this Black History Month would be to ask ourselves:
- How can we help someone else achieve their dream today?
- What resources, connections, and information do I have that I can pass on to someone who does not look like me to allow for their progression?
- How have I gone out of my way to support someone who is not a part of my community in hopes that we can all achieve financial freedom?
