Black personal finance influencers focus on financial freedom

Social influencers focused on financial education in the black community are emphasizing a message of financial freedom this Juneteenth as the nation commemorates the end of slavery in the United States.

“I really think the memory of June 19 should have a level of economic understanding as part of it,” Rashad Bilal of the Earn Your Leisure podcast told CNBC. “But I think the problem with the holidays is that whatever it is – Christmas, Easter, New Year – it’s all just done as a celebration, and you lose the meaning of it.”

Bilal, a former financial adviser, added: “The importance of both economic and social freedom on June 19 is something people should keep in mind every day.”

Earn your leisurewhich focuses on financial literacy, has over 1 million followers on Instagram and is part of a growing movement of content creators providing news and advice on markets, real estate, cryptocurrency, entrepreneurship and more.

“Let’s see where it goes. Maybe it’s not just this holiday or a week or Black History Month. What if we could have this everyday economic conversation?” said Troy Millings of Earn Your Leisure, a former PE teacher.

They also make an explicit connection between the goals of financial freedom today and the economic impact that slavery had on America and its black citizens.

“Understand that people literally died for finances,” Bilal said. “That was really slavery. It was a financial system that was set up for free labor.”

“So when you see our ancestors sacrificing their lives and it was done for economic empowerment, it forces you to look at your finances,” he said. “You don’t want to just waste your money. You can actually use that money to change your family’s trajectory.”

Black Americans are at a disadvantage when it comes to wealth. According to a Federal Reserve study release in 2020, median net worth black families in the United States was about $24,000. The approximate median net worth of white families was $188,000.

Other influencers spreading the message of economic empowerment this Juneteenth include Ian Dunlap aka The master investor, Kezia Williamsthe Wall Street Trapper, Philip Michael and Ross Mac. They have millions of social media followers, and each has their own niche but the same goal of helping the black community balance their books and build wealth.

Dunlap told CNBC he thinks economic freedom is just as important as social justice. “If we don’t have economic freedom and financial literacy, we really don’t have justice,” he said.

Dunlap urges black Americans to pay special attention to a 2017 report which projects median black household wealth to fall to $0 by 2053 and to seek out investment opportunities. “I don’t want our people, our children, our grandchildren to become destitute, and that’s the challenge we face if we don’t act collectively,” he said.

Williams calls herself an “emancipation activist” as well as an influencer. Williams is the CEO of Black upStarta company that provides training and support to start-up entrepreneurs.

In previous years, Williams has urged black consumers to view Juneteenth as an opportunity to support black businesses and post their receipts with the hashtag #myBlackReceipt.

“Invest in these black entrepreneurs who will use those dollars you spend on their business to give back to their communities and create products and services that our community needs and also create wealth for their families that can generate generational returns “Williams said. .

Michael, meanwhile, aims to help 100,000 black people become millionaires by 2030 through real estate. He has a $250 million real estate portfolio created from $850,000 in seed money from a relative.

“The asset class that has created more millionaires than any other is real estate. It’s one of the ‘easiest’ ways to get that point,” Michael told CNBC. “Really what I want to do is normalize those conversations in a casual format where we can talk about our investment portfolio as easily as we talk about a trip we took or shoes we bought. “

The Earn Your Leisure podcast is considered a pioneer in the emerging finance influencer space and has tagged many personalities from across business, sports and entertainment to discuss their financial plans, mistakes and goals. These guests have included Mark Cuban, Shaquille O’Neal and Steve Harvey.

The hosting pair also created the hashtag #AssetsOverLiabilities, which became their content ethos and a motto used on t-shirts and other merchandise. Bilal and Millings launched their podcast in January 2019 with the aim of demystifying Wall Street for the black community.

“We wanted to make learning about finance and generational wealth a cool thing. We wanted to make it a mundane conversation,” Millings said. “I didn’t grow up with conversations like that at the dinner table. But imagine if we did. Imagine if at the barbershop we didn’t argue about the best basketball player but we talked about the best companies – what it could do in a neighborhood.”

Bilal and Millings say Earn Your Leisure has moved from content creation to truly educating the black community about wealth creation.

“Education is something that is sustainable over the long term,” Millings said. “In the formal setting, the way you understand someone’s learning is you assess them. Our assessment is when we hear feedback, when we go out and see people and they see us. tell stories or when they email us saying, ‘It changed my life.'”