To solve the Black employment crisis–you can’t rebuild wealth without a basic source of income–African American organizations have already begun the process. Last month, BLACK ENTERPRISE, in partnership with the world’s largest corporation, Walmart, held our 20/20 Vision Jobs Forum, and brought together brilliant minds in business, government and the non-profit sector to create short- and long-term initiatives. The National Urban League has made employment strategies the centerpiece of its annual conference in Boston this week while the Congressional Black Caucus prepares to launch a multi-city “For The People” Jobs Initiative to put at least 10,000 African Americans back to work. Collectively, such efforts–and many more will be needed–can have a powerful impact. So what can you do? On a personal level, I urge every employed Black man and woman to make a commitment to find a job or income-producing opportunity for someone currently out of work.
In terms of business development, we should take a chapter from past African American business leaders and organizations that were forced to pool resources to create institutions and incubators for entrepreneurship. I recently reported on a program in which my good friend and syndicated radio talk show host Warren Ballentine teamed with National Bankers Association, a consortium of minority banks, to encourage African Americans to make deposits in Black financial institutions which, in turn, will provide financing for small businesses. That’s a great start but we can kick it up a notch. That model can be replicated across an array of sectors, ranging from professional services and manufacturing to private equity and digital technology. The starting point: Enlist minority-focused NGOs (non-government organizations) and trade associations as well as partner with the BE 100s–the nation’s largest Black-owned businesses–and major corporations that do business with us or rely on minority consumer dollars to meet top-line and bottom-line results.
We must continue to educate our community–especially young people–about the most effective ways to manage finances, from buying homes to building investment portfolios. In fact, BLACK ENTERPRISE has helped hundreds by providing such direction through our Wealth for Life program and monthly Financial Fitness Contest in which we have selected households with access to free personal finance consultation and $2,000 to help them get back on track. African American financial planners, investment advisers, money managers and the like can play a huge role in the expansion of financial literacy working with schools, churches and community organizations to teach people the rudiments of budget and tax management, investment planning and home ownership as well as the process of developing multiple streams of income. Companies like Ariel Investments (No. 6 on the BE ASSET MANAGERS list with $5.5 billion in assets under management) and Carver Federal Savings Bank (No. 1 on the BE BANKS list with $744 million in assets) have done exceptional jobs in structuring such programs.
Those strategies represent but a few suggested power moves. The reality, however, is that it will take years for many families to recover and rebuild. To provide a foundation of wealth building for the next generation is another long-term proposition. But when we launched Wealth for Life more than a decade ago we maintained building lasting, multigenerational wealth would not be a sprint. It requires the focus, discipline and tenacity of a marathon runner who realizes achieving that goal is a lifetime pursuit.
So keeping that philosophy in mind, let’s lace up our track shoes today.