Generational wealth is something that the Black community has been historically cheated out of due to systemic racism and oppression. Today, however, many within the community are working to end the cycle to help their children and future generations achieve a better quality of life. One man decided to take a step in ensuring his daughter’s financial freedom by buying her a house at the age of 13-years-old.
Earlier this year, Ashanti Shabazz surprised his daughter, Ajala, with a brand new home to put her on the path of financial independence at an early age.
“Today, I gifted my daughter with a house for her 13th birthday. This was not random, it was planned,” Shabazz wrote in a message on his social media page, according to Because of Them We Can. “This marks the beginning of a family tradition where every Shabazz will be gifted a house on their 13th birthday, and taught to build it into multiple properties before they are legal adults.”
Shabazz made the purchase with the hope to break the cycle of poverty and ensure that future generations can thrive and be more financially independent.
“No more being trained to work 25 of your best years before you can retire and then be free to live how you choose. No more being trained to bury yourself in debt and spend your best years digging out of the hole,” Shabazz said in a Facebook post. “No more being trained to live paying rent or years of mortgages and your home not being secure regardless of what life throws at you. No more being a slave to the banks and employers.”
Shabazz added, “Let’s put our children in a position to be free to live how they choose while they’re young and full of life. Free them as best we can to live out their dreams and desires. Free them to determine for themselves the relationships they may choose to have with banks and employers. Free them so they can be what they are inclined to be.”