( ENSPIRE Community Spotlight ) OneUnited Bank to Launch a Conference in Part of Their Movement to Bridge the Racial Wealth Gap
ENSPIRE Contributor: Michelle Bolden
This Juneteenth (June 19th), OneUnited Bank, the largest Black-owned bank in America, will present a free #OneTransaction Virtual Financial Conference to encourage financial literacy within the Black community. In partnership with Visa, the conference is a component of the OneTransaction Campaign, a national effort to “uplift Black communities to achieve the American Dream.” Following the campaign, Black Americans are encouraged to increase their network by focusing on just one of six core transactions. These six transactions include owning a home, owning a profitable business, savings/investments, a will, life insurance, and improving credit score. By committing to improving just one of these areas in 2021, Black America as a collective will make a huge leap in closing the racial wealth gap.
OneUnited explains how important it is to start making topics such as financial literacy commonplace in the Black community stating, “One United wants our community to accomplish all of them eventually, but for 2021 we want them to ‘claim one in 2021’ meaning focus.”
It’s no secret that Black America has not been afforded the same opportunities to build generational wealth as have other racial groups. In 2020, Brookings found that the Black household’s net worth was $17,150, a stark comparison to the White household’s $171,000. OneUnited explains that the systematic racism ingrained in America’s financial system is the root of such disappointing metrics. “From Jim Crow to redlining to the inability to receive business loans, the Black community has been shut out from building generational wealth. Such systematic racism prevents Black people from fully participating in America’s financial system.”
Building generational wealth within the Black community has been no short of a struggle. Although we’ve come a long way as a community and our financial system is improving, we have a lot of catching up to do. OneUnited Bank explains that our current financial status as a collective is “nowhere where it should be given the significant contribution the Black community makes to the economy.” The OneTrasaction campaign serves as a means to take a large step in the direction of building financial wealth for Black Americans. If given equal opportunity, OneUnited Bank believes that Black Americans can close the racial wealth gap on their own. “Nobody is coming to save us; we must save ourselves with financial literacy and decisive action to accomplish financial goals.”
Significantly taking place on Juneteenth, OneUnited explains the conference date as “The perfect day to learn about financial freedom and how to build wealth to move Black America forward.” Expect a day of fun and engaging learning about wealth and how to build it with presenters such as Tiffany Aliche, The Bugetnista, an award-winning financial education teacher, Sharon Epperson, Senior Personal Finance Correspondent for CNBC, Karen Hunter, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and host of The Karen Hunter Show on SiriusXM Urban View, Daymond John, globally recognized from ABC’s Shark Tank, founder and CEO of FUBU and a Presidential Ambassador for Global Entrepreneurship, Calvin Martyr, founder of #BlackOutDay2020 and The Blackout Coalition, Everett Sands, founder and CEO of Lendistry, a Black-owned SBA Preferred Lender, Michelle Singletary, personal finance columnist and author of the upcoming book “What To Do With Your Money When Crisis Hits”, Kemberley Washington, CPA and Tax Analyst with Forbes Advisor.
Find more about the conference at oneunited.com/onetransaction. Also find more about OneUnited’s recently launched Solidarity Card, “vertically designed card with a Black power fist to make a statement that we have come together in solidarity,” at oneunited.com/introducing-the-solidarity-card.
