Troy Millings, left, and Rashad Bilal from Take Your Free Time
Source: take your spare time
Social influencers focusing on financial education for the black community focus on the message of financial freedom on Juneteenth as the nation celebrates the end of slavery in the United States.
“I definitely feel that commemorating Juneteenth should be part of a level of economic understanding,” Rashad Bilal of CNBC’s Earn Your Leisure said. “But I think the problem with the holidays is that no matter what they are – Christmas, Easter, New Years – everything is just made to celebrate, it loses its meaning.”
Bilal, a former financial advisor, added that “the importance of freedom both economically and socially in Juneteenth is something that people should consider every day.”
Earn Your Leisure, which focuses on financial literacy, has over 1 million followers on Instagram and is part of a growing movement of content creators providing insights and advice on markets, real estate, cryptocurrency, entrepreneurship and more.
“Let’s see where it goes. Maybe this isn’t just a holiday or a week or a black history month. What if we could have this economic conversation on a daily basis?” said Troy Millings of Earn Your Leisure, a former physical education teacher.
They also explicitly link the goals of financial freedom today with the economic impact of slavery on America and its black citizens.
“I understand that people literally died for money,” Bilal said. “That’s what slavery was really about. It was a financial system that was set up for freelancing. “
“So when you see our ancestors actually gave their lives and that was done for economic empowerment, it forces you to look at your finances,” he said. “You don’t just want to waste your money. You can actually use that money to change the course of your family.”
Black Americans are at a disadvantage when it comes to wealth. According to a study released by the Federal Reserve in 2020, the average net worth of black households in the United States was about $24,000. The approximate average net worth of white families was $188,000.
Ian Dunlap aka Lead Investor, center, with Troy Millings and Rashad Bilal.
Source: Ian Dunlap
Other influencers spreading the message of economic liberalization on Juneteenth include Ian Dunlap aka The Master Investor, Kezia Williams, Wall Street Trapper, Philip Michael and Ross Mac. They have millions of followers on social media, each with their own niche but the same goal is to help the black community balance their books and build wealth.
Dunlap told CNBC that he believes 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 the 2017 report that predicts the average black household wealth will drop to $0 by 2053 and to look for investment opportunities. “I don’t want our people, our children and our grandchildren to become destitute, and that is the challenge we face if we do not take collective action,” he said.
Kezia Williams
Kezia Williams | black startup
Williams calls herself an “editor” and influencer. Williams is the CEO of Black upStart, a company that provides education and support to early-stage entrepreneurs.
In previous years, Williams urged black consumers to view Juneteenth as an opportunity to support black businesses and post their receipts using the hashtag #myBlackReceipt.
“Invest in these black entrepreneurs who will use those business dollars to give back to their communities, create the products and services our community needs and also build wealth for their families that can generate returns for generations,” Williams said. ..
Meanwhile, Michael seeks to help 100,000 black people become millionaires by 2030 through real estate. He owns 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,” Michael told CNBC. “This is one of the ‘easiest’ ways to get to this point.” “Really, what I want to do is casually normalize those conversations where we can talk about our investment portfolio just as easily as we can talk about a trip we took or a shoe we bought.”
Philip Michael
Source: Philip Michael
The Earn Your Leisure podcast is a pioneer in the emerging space for financial influencers and has recorded many prominent personalities from the worlds of business, sports and entertainment discussing their financial plans, mistakes, and goals. Among those guests were Mark Cuban, Shaquille O’Neal, and Steve Harvey.
The host pair also created the hashtag #AssetsOverLiabilities, which has become its content philosophy and slogan used on T-shirts and other merchandise. Bilal and Millings started the podcast in January 2019 with the goal of demystifying Wall Street for the black community.
“We wanted to make learning about finance and the wealth of generations fascinating,” Mellings said. “We wanted to make it a familiar conversation.” “He didn’t grow up with conversations like that at the dinner table. But imagine if we did. Imagine if we were in the barbershop not arguing about the best basketball player but we were talking about the best companies — what a neighborhood could do.”
Bilal and Millings say Earn Your Leisure has now evolved from creating content to truly educating the black community about creating wealth.
“Education is something that is sustainable in the long term,” Mellings said. “In a formal setting, the way you understand someone’s learning is evaluation. Our evaluation is when we hear feedback, when we go out and see people and they tell us stories or when they send us emails and say, ‘This changed my life.'”