Planting Seeds for the Next Generation: A conversation about Wealth in the Black Community
On this episode of Financially Naked: Stories from The Financial Gym, our host is London, LA-based Financial Trainer, and he is joined by his colleague, Bevin Morgan, to discuss Black wealth and the racial wealth gap.
Podcast Notes
Many Black people don’t know why they don’t have money. Many attribute it to spending too much on phones or coffee. There is a personal responsibility, but there is also a 400-plus-year history that accounts for the fact that Black people do not have the same resources as white people.
Many people don’t grasp how much slavery or systemic slavery impacts people today. When slavery was over, white slave masters got to keep all of their money and Black people were expected to figure it out.
In 1865, Lincoln gave the emancipation proclamation, which freed the slaves in the rebelling states. There is some nuance to this, but this was when slavery more or less ended in the US. There were a lot of newly freed people who were not given any resources, homes, guaranteed jobs, etc.
They were also saddled with President Andrew Johnson, who backtracked all of the rights that were given to the newly freed people. He stripped away voting rights, took away the opportunity for Black people to represent themselves in the government, and he pulled away the union armies from the south.
These people were terrorized for the next 100 years and intimidated out of negotiating for themselves and working for themselves. There is a long history of marginalization, violence, and unfair practices and treatment. Black people started in this country in a hole.
Now Black people are in a place where they hold less than 15% of wealth as white people, and it is now mathematically impossible for them to catch up without some sort of systemic change.
As a Trainer, Bevin loves how people are changing their lives through the process. Having a bullet point list of to-dos gives people a feeling of relief.
Many of Bevin’s clients have shame regarding decisions they have made with their money, because society has put morality around money. We’ve created this idea in the US that rich people are worthy and you have to have a certain glow or IQ to achieve a certain financial level.
Money is the most important part of our lives, but nobody teaches us about it. If you hate having those conversations, or if you have any fears or shame, bring it to The Financial Gym and be empowered.
The FICO score wasn’t established until 1989, so if your parents bought their house in 1975, they may not understand why your credit score is so important.
The last 400 years have been dedicated to survival for Black people. It’s hard to break out of survival mode and figure out what you truly want.
Achieving wealth has been a dangerous thing. In 1928, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, an entire neighborhood that was predominantly Black and filled with successful business owners was bombed. The people were killed and businesses were set on fire.
If we want to move forward as a nation, it is imperative that we find a way to work with each other, reimagine possibilities, and learn how to pass those on to the next generation.
An emergency fund is a way to get out of survival mode and have resources to fall back on. It sets you up for success and allows you to think about the next level.
The Black Tax is part of survivor’s guilt and is the mindset that if you are not helping others out, you are selfish. This mindset doesn’t allow anyone to rise up and out. You need to put your own oxygen mask on first, before you can help others. Recognize where you are and what you can do, but don’t do more than you can handle.
One of the best gifts you can give to your child is the gift of being okay and a legacy for the next generation.
There have been more discussions in the Black community about breaking the generational curse. Steps include building your emergency fund, investing in a retirement account, and reviewing your expenses to find more money to save, so eventually you can save for a college fund and buy a rental property.
Think about what future needs are and put money aside for later. The goal is not to look wealthy, the goal is to be wealthy.
Meet The Trainers
Bevin Morgan - Follow Bevin on Instagram as @Bevinmorgan