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"It’s a huge gap. To say the numbers are disappointing is an understatement." Closing the Wealth Gap from Annuity.org African Americans have struggled for decades to build wealth in America. Historical injustices — including slavery, systematic inequality, employment discrimination, racist housing policies and other barriers — have stymied economic well-being and harmed retirement confidence for the community. Today, the average white family has eight times the wealth of the average Black family, according to the Federal Reserve’s 2019 Survey of Consumer Finances. Closing the racial wealth gap in the United States is a complex issue with no one-size-fits- solution. But expanding financial literacy, education and job training efforts can help, experts say. Lawrence Gonzalez is an auditor for the U.S. Department of Treasury Office of Inspector General in Washington D.C. who says healthy conversations about personal finance often don’t exist in Black culture. “People never wanted to discuss money, understand it, or grow it,” Gonzalez told Annuity.org. “There’s almost a mysticism around it because not enough people understand the concepts.” Raised in Port-au-Prince, Haiti with Brazilian roots, Gonzalez excelled at math at an early age. He came to the United States when he was 11 years old and graduated with a degree in accounting from the Florida State University. After starting his career, Gonzalez wanted to give back to the Black community. In 2018, he started a financial literacy platform called the Neighborhood Finance Guy to share practical knowledge about eliminating debt and building personal wealth. Gonzalez says leveraging experiences common to Black culture can help break down barriers to financial literacy. “You try to use anything to trigger an idea, a concept that clicks and stays with people.” Continue Reading |
DID YOU KNOW?
In 2019, white Americans had a median family wealth of $188,200, while Black Americans had a median family wealth of just $24,100. Source: U.S. Federal Reserve TIP See if your school offers personal finance instruction by searching Check Your School, a tool from the nonprofit JumpStart Coalition. Additional Resources FDIC’s Money Smart for Young People The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s Money Smart for Young Adults program includes four free age-appropriate curriculum products for students K-12. Lesson plans for educators along with guides for parents teach the basics of handling money, including how to build positive relationships with financial institutions. Y4Y Financial Literacy for All Resources Interested in starting an after-school financial literacy program? This resource page from You 4 Youth offers numerous links to government and nonprofit resources to help educators and community leaders implement personal finance lessons into after-school programs. Million Bazillion Podcast for Kids Million Bazillion is a podcast about money for kids and their families from NPR’s Marketplace. The program features engaging episodes that answer questions like “What is the stock market?”, “Why is money green?” and “Why can girls’ things cost more than boys’ things?” |