Allowing Black Women the Financial Space To Fail and Excel
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Short of being a virtuoso, most people have to fail on the journey to success. So why aren’t we allowing Black women the space they need to fail and excel?
Lovely Merdelus (Tech Analyst and Entrepreneur), Alainta Alcin (Medical Operational Analyst) and Lawrence Gonzalez (Federal Auditor and Financial Literacy Educator) talk about the struggle and frustration of being a Black entrepreneur. As first generation Haitian-Americans, the road is harder since we were likely the first ones to pave it.
Our conversation tackled the struggle within our own perceived identity, social norms and coming to terms with money management.
Personal finance is a hard subject for most Americans. The Black community suffers for it.
The stress is weighing heavily on Black women who have obtain degrees, debt and long term care of aging parents. On top of finding a partner and building a home.
Furthermore, the median wealth for single black women in the prime of their working years in this country is $5, according to data from the 2007 Survey of Consumer Finances. A married or cohabiting black woman had a median net worth of $31,500.
It’s estimated that Single Black women with a bachelor’s degree ages 40–59 have a net worth range of just $6,000 to $9,500 (back 2018). The situation hasn’t gotten better since.
So where do we go from here? We discuss our vantage points in the podcast.
Resources that can help you create financial Space
- What Every Millennial Black Woman need to know
- How to do a Financial Deep Cleaning
- TNFG’s Top 10 Best Financial Literacy Podcasters
Why We Need to Create Financial Space
We created The Financial Griot Podcast to help provide context and words to our collective stories.
As stated before, a griot is a repository of oral tradition. Thus we tell the stories that others don’t. Stories of growth, opportunity and understanding. Beyond that we talk about Finances. Specifically, how to become Financially literate, incorporating actionable steps and ultimately building generational wealth.
Based on the discord on social media, the visage of the superwoman is breaking under the pressure of mounting student loan debt, lack of access to housing and a seemingly negative push toward the attainment of non-income producing assets.
We have to move away from conspicuous spending and toward that which is more meaningful, healthy relationships.
Change agent that you should be aware who is allowing Black women the financial space to heal and thrive
Anne-Lyse Wealth is the founder of Dream of Legacy, a platform dedicated to inspiring millennials to build wealth with purpose. Additionally, she is a financial coach and a Certified Public Accountant.
Anne-Lyse is the author of “Dream of Legacy, Raising Strong and Financially Secure Black Kids,” and the host of The Dreamers Podcast. Her work has been featured in Business Insider, NextAdvisor, Time, and other publications. Anne-Lyse lives in Atlanta with her husband and three kids.
She’s written transformative articles such as:
- 4 ways reparations for slavery can help close the racial wealth gap
- Understanding Generational Wealth & How to Build It
- Less Than 1% of Hotel Owners Are Black Women. This 34-Year-Old Is Changing the Game
- 5 strategies an entrepreneur used to go from making $41,000 a year to being a multimillionaire in her 30s
If you want to connect with TFG Crew, directly:
- Alainta Alcin – Blogger, Travel and Money Enthusiast @its_alainta
- Lovely Merdelus – Entrepreneur and Small Business Growth Specialist @lovelymerdelus
- Lawrence Delva-Gonzalez – Federal Auditor, Blogger and Tax Specialist @theneighborhoodfinanceguy
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