- 8 hours ago
We need to do more than buy Black to build generational wealth in the Black community. This all-New Orleans panel dives into what really is needed to achieve Black wealth, the creativity of Black entrepreneurs in our economy and the role Black culturalists play in promoting policies that lead to Black joy. (W.K. Kellogg Foundation)
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00:00Minor one, something deep is going on
00:03It's like we've been here before
00:06Oh girl, seems like God above
00:11Had a reason to bring your love
00:14To me
00:17I love what I'm feeling
00:19A spiritual thing
00:21You're moving to me
00:24A spiritual thing
00:26I know it's real
00:29It's spiritual thing
00:31It's spiritual love
00:34You breathe
00:37It's a spiritual thing
00:39Love can't fade away
00:41And it's a spiritual thing
00:44It's like we're one and the same
00:47Oh yeah
00:48Girl, we've got a love
00:50That the whole world's been searching for
00:53You and me
00:56Don't you know I'm feeling
00:59A spiritual thing
01:01A spiritual thing
01:03You're moving to me
01:04A spiritual thing
01:07I know it's real
01:09It's spiritual thing
01:12It's spiritual love
01:14Girl, you breathe
01:17I love you feeling
01:19A spiritual thing
01:20A spiritual thing
01:21A spiritual thing
01:22You're giving to me
01:24A spiritual thing
01:27I know it's real
01:29A spiritual thing
01:32A spiritual love
01:35You breathe
01:37It's a spiritual thing
01:39I know it's real
01:49I know it's real
01:50Oh yeah
01:52Your heart is in beat with mine
02:01Your heart's in beat with mine
02:03And no stronger love
02:05And no stronger love
02:05Will I find
02:07No, no stronger love
02:09Together our souls
02:11Intertwine
02:12Together it's one
02:15I love you
02:17I love you
02:19I'm feeling
02:20A spiritual thing
02:21I love you
02:23You're living to me
02:25A spiritual thing
02:27I know it's real
02:29A spiritual thing
02:32You're fighting
02:33Yeah
02:34Yeah
02:36Yeah
02:37Я know it's real
02:37I'm feeling
02:37I love you
02:38I'm feeling
02:38I need
02:53I'm feeling
02:53I love you
02:56I love you
02:58I love you
02:59I love you
03:01Baby, talk to me, baby, talk to me, I know it's my real world, I know it's my real world.
03:31Baby, in the light of the sun, I was dazed, I was burned, I was lost, deep in the stone of a grave, had a bed as a coffin, you were only the one that made me fulfilled, only the thing that made me reveal.
03:57My destiny was before us, a beach of a forest, anything ain't nothing, it's just, it's just, you, just us, nobody but love on, trust on us, nobody but.
04:16And we swim a lake by the ocean, we'll be one like drops in slow motion, lake by the ocean.
04:37Oh, tell me the way that it is, waves like it is, the traps cause, why do I live inside of you, baby, wanna be every part of you, it's just, it's just right, it's just like.
04:55We can be strong, we can wait, we can live for so long, live in a flame where we'll never burn, no one could ever, ever return.
05:08You are the reason I'm on, you're the reason I love you, you're the thing I need, cause it's just, it's just, you, just us, nobody but love on, trust on us, nobody but.
05:28Can we swim a lake by the ocean, can we swim a lake by the ocean, can we swim a lake by the ocean?
05:58Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Global Black Economic Forum.
06:08We are here for a panel of closing the racial wealth gap is a cornerstone of black joy presented by Kellogg Foundation.
06:17Please welcome our moderator, Rhea Williams-Bishop, director of New Orleans Programs Kellogg Foundation.
06:24And our panelists, Judy Reese Morse, President and CEO, Urban League of Louisiana.
06:34Please welcome Kalisha Garrett, Vice President of Operations and Governmental Relations, Louisiana
06:41Chamber of Commerce Foundation.
06:44Please welcome Asali Devon Ecclesiastes, CEO, Ashe Cultural Arts Center.
06:53Good afternoon and welcome y'all.
07:03Happy Sunday.
07:04I am Ria Williams Bishop and I serve as the Director of Programming for the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.
07:11Very proud and excited to lead the work here in New Orleans.
07:15So throughout this week we've talked about justice and joy and the intersection of those
07:20too and reminded to lean in intentionally to our greatness.
07:26In New Orleans, 60% of the citizens are black and black entrepreneurship has grown through
07:34the decades but only realizing 2% of the receipts.
07:39This has been static for years.
07:42There's a reason why and we're here to talk about that today.
07:46It is more than buying black.
07:48Today we will talk about closing that racial wealth gap and what it will really take in
07:54order for us to do so.
07:56So our panelists here are native New Orleanians and they have done this work and been involved
08:01in this work many, many years.
08:03They're also a part of the I am New Orleans campaign that was created at the onset of COVID
08:09with one goal in mind and that is inspiring conversation and more importantly action around these issues
08:17of racial equity and we are very honored to bring this conversation to the Essence stage
08:22today.
08:23Recently, Ashe has hosted a convening of black economists from all around the country to discuss
08:32the issue and building humanitarian economy in New Orleans.
08:36The data support buying black is good, it's very necessary, but it is not enough to close
08:45the racial, the wealth gap.
08:47And the truth is, other factors significantly influence this gap and the ability to scale
08:54and sustain black entrepreneurship.
08:57This conversation will build on that and expand the discussion bringing clarity to and greater
09:02connection between black economy, black political and black voting power.
09:08So let's tell the truth and shame the devil.
09:12Sometimes we hear the word policy and we completely glaze over, but we need to be focused on how
09:19we influence it, making the connection between the vote and policy and how it affects both lines,
09:28the bottom lines for both of these.
09:32So, Kalisha, if you could tell us how does policy play a role in black entrepreneurs' ability to
09:38both build, grow and scale their businesses?
09:42Thank you so much.
09:43When we talk about policy and having something to be built, we're looking at what that foundation
09:49is included of.
09:50If you talk about building a bridge, you have to have the pieces in order to put the concrete
09:55together and make something really stable.
09:58So when we look at policy as an ability to be able to outline an initiative or a guidance
10:06that can be given to either municipalities, governmental agencies, our corporate partners, and having
10:12our businesses understand how to follow those guidelines, it puts in place regulatory control.
10:19It looks at ways that you can have compliance and reporting.
10:23It allows us to have a pathway forward to understand how to start our businesses, where we can impact
10:30different opportunities so that we can scale our businesses, and also understanding how to
10:36grow them either through industry, through our delivery, our service methodology, working with
10:42each other, also looking at ways that we can grow our workforce by hiring from within our
10:48community.
10:49That gives them an ability to be able to scale those businesses and provide services to various
10:54different individuals rather than having a single source of income or stream of an opportunity
11:01coming from one particular industry.
11:04I do think that policy leads the way for this in working as we do with the Louisiana Chamber of
11:10Commerce Foundation directly with minority chambers that provide the pillars that allow businesses
11:17to know the pathway forward and be able to scale and grow those businesses through access, awareness,
11:24and participating in opportunities.
11:26Great.
11:28So now we'll turn to Judy, my friend.
11:31Judy.
11:32Hey.
11:33How does policy relate to our individual lives, and how can we now be better informed about
11:41that?
11:42Thank you so much for the question.
11:43I have to begin by saying thank you to Rhea and everyone at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation
11:50for giving us this opportunity to talk about this very, very critical conversation.
11:56And also to feature I am New Orleans.
12:00For those of you who are from New Orleans, this represents who we are and what we do and
12:06what we care about.
12:07And for those of you who are visiting from other parts of the country, I hope that you
12:11will hear something that is reminiscent of what's happening in your city and that this
12:16will be meaningful to you.
12:18So thank you for the question about policy because I have the honor of serving as the president
12:23and CEO of the Urban League of Louisiana, and we focus on policy issues every day.
12:31Policy has to be demystified.
12:34We have to break down this idea of policy as something complex that only certain people
12:40understand and, more importantly, certain people can turn policy into law and practices.
12:47That is not the case.
12:50Policies are the things that happen to each and every one of us every day.
12:54Their laws or their practices for things to happen or things to stop happening.
13:00And that's the way we think about policy at the Urban League of Louisiana.
13:05It is critical that we pay attention to policy, that we pay attention to what's happening around
13:12us and that we vote.
13:15It is so critical that we connect policy to voting because we can vote for a policy or
13:22vote for a candidate who will then become an elected official who will be making those
13:27decisions that represent us in our communities.
13:31So we first have to understand that we, each of us, and every one of us, we are policy makers.
13:39That is not just limited to those individuals who make policy for a living.
13:44We, community, we are policy makers.
13:48And once we understand that, then we have to understand how to take that next step, which
13:53is to pay attention to how policies are being created.
13:58You just heard Kalisha talk about how policies can be created to help small business owners.
14:04We know that building generational wealth is critical.
14:07So we want to demystify policy.
14:09We want to understand that we are all policy makers.
14:13And then we want to understand when and how to influence those who are responsible for
14:20making policy.
14:21I think when we start to do that, Ria, we can really start to see the changes that we want
14:25to see in our communities.
14:27Exactly, Judy.
14:29So none of this, we all know none of this happened overnight.
14:32This has been three to 400 years in the making of systemic oppression.
14:37And it's just being played out right here, right now, in local and federal political spaces.
14:42We all know this.
14:44Consider this.
14:46The black community spends $13 trillion per quarter in the U.S.
14:51Let me repeat that, $13 trillion.
14:55But this is still not enough to reach parity for black-owned businesses.
15:00So they need flexible capital.
15:02They need quality human capital.
15:05And also home ownership.
15:06These are all must-haves in the equation or the formula to close this racial wealth gap.
15:12So with that, I will ask the next question, Asali.
15:17Why is the input of black culturalists so crucial to implementing policy change?
15:24Well, when this panel first started, they were playing Wipe Me Down in the background.
15:31And as important as this conversation is with my illustrious colleagues who I admire so much,
15:39and this audience that I want to impress so much, I had to stop myself from chair dancing.
15:45You know?
15:47Right?
15:48Because that is what culture and art is able to do.
15:52The people who make art, the people who make culture are able to get into places and spaces of intellect,
15:57of intention, of logic, of spirit, of heart that can change things that seem intractable.
16:04And what really does seem intractable, especially considering the rulings that have come down,
16:11both from judicial spaces and from legislative spaces, you know,
16:16they're pouring a lot of hate into the atmosphere, into our daily lives.
16:21And it is going to take the work of culturalists to shift that in society.
16:25One, to help us to deal with the impacts of that.
16:28But when you put culturalists at the policy table, they help us to vision something that we don't even know is possible.
16:36Because they can create a world we can't see yet.
16:39And we don't want to see these policies that we have now.
16:43So any chance, because I know there are artists and culture bearers in this audience who are listening and hearing me,
16:50I want you to know your role as policymakers and understand your power to reach places that most policymakers could never even consider.
17:00Thank you, Asahi.
17:01That's exactly right.
17:02So it also reminds me that the black community has had to become creative in making money and achieving joy in spaces where we've been stifled.
17:11So you make a great point. And I'm reminded this is Sunday.
17:14Black joy, the song, this joy that I have, the world didn't give it to me and the world can't take it away.
17:21So we have to live that every day.
17:23Black folk have managed to thrive in spite of all the barriers because of our ingenuity.
17:29This is what we do.
17:30We're here celebrating 50 years of hip hop, jazz, blues, all this, all the things we built.
17:36We built, we built it, but we don't always enjoy the primary benefit of monetizing it.
17:42And until we do that, the wealth gap will never be closed.
17:46So question for Kalisha.
17:48How can policy work bridge the reality of where we are to the opportunity of where we need to be?
17:55Rhea, I love the fact that we are talking about bridging yet again.
18:00And when you actually talk about reality versus what is stated in policy,
18:07oftentimes we too have to sit back and say, is that able to be accomplished?
18:12There are so many things within policy, whereas we have had integration,
18:18but there is still not equity and equality in the opportunity in order for us to participate
18:25and to be able to reap any benefits that would bridge and close this wealth gap.
18:30As we look at policy changes that socialize the ability for us to be seen at the table,
18:37but still has institutionalized through implicit and inherent bias,
18:43not having us able to actually do any work or to see any change in movement
18:51in the ability to spend dollars with our contractors,
18:55to have those organizations be able to provide services for us,
18:59have them be able to grow in scale as we talked about earlier.
19:03So when we talk about reality of where the opportunity is, opportunity lies everywhere.
19:07This is the land of opportunity.
19:09And oftentimes we have to break those doors down and we have to make our own opportunity.
19:14There is nothing that we as a people cannot do.
19:16When Asali was talking about stopping from chair dancing,
19:19trust me, I was over here trying to wiggle and keep a straight face.
19:23But that's because we are multidimensional people.
19:27We can walk and chew gum at the same time.
19:29And absolutely, we have had to break those glass doors down and make sure that we are seated at the table.
19:36Because unfortunately, if you have the same people of the same race or same gender seated around the table,
19:43creating the policy, there will be no innovation.
19:46There will be no inclusivity.
19:48There will be no equity.
19:49There will be no parity.
19:50And it's not equitable.
19:52And so thinking that just because we have an opportunity to participate that that's it and that checks the box,
19:59we are here today to tell you that no, we need every one of you, each and every one of you,
20:03to go back to your community to participate in the opportunity to cast your vote, to be heard,
20:09to sit around the table and make sure that you are bringing back the voice from the community
20:15and sharing that information so that we can have policies that we don't have to rely on decisions from one body of government
20:23that can try to set us back generations as we needed that little entrance in order to be able to participate in what is known as the American Dream and get a piece of the pie.
20:36So I think it is inherent upon all of us to know our voice, to understand that in order to bridge that gap,
20:43in order to access those opportunities, we too have to share in providing awareness.
20:49We have to talk to each other.
20:51We need to know what each other can provide from a business or service.
20:55And more importantly, we have to spend our dollars in our community supporting our businesses,
21:01educating our children and allowing them to expand in their vision of wanting to lead and be entrepreneurs
21:10and bringing their dreams to reality.
21:12So that's my reality of the situation.
21:14Right. Two snaps. Thank you. Thank you.
21:15Judy, how can we bring an economic lens to the way we vote and when can we expect to see results after doing so?
21:25Here's what I would recommend.
21:29You have to really be clear.
21:33We have to really be clear as a community about what it is that we want to see happen.
21:40I believe this so much that at the Urban League of Louisiana, we have created a signature initiative called the See Change Initiative.
21:51S-E-E Change Initiative.
21:54We work with a number of organizations, those represented on this stage, supported by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.
22:03And the whole idea is to find the data that will tell us exactly, precisely, how to close the racial wealth gap.
22:13We talked to community members across the state of Louisiana, and the number one issue for community members in the state of Louisiana is closing the racial wealth gap.
22:26Our people want to be able to build generational wealth that can be passed on to future generations, just like our white counterparts have had the benefit because systems have been created to allow them to do so historically generation after generation after generation.
22:45And so, we partnered with a data organization, the data center here in the greater New Orleans area, and we found the data.
22:54Guess what we discovered?
22:56There are actually three ways to close the racial wealth gap here in the greater New Orleans area, by increasing income and wages, through home ownership, and through business ownership, through supporting entrepreneurship.
23:11And so, now that we know the pathways, we're beginning to work to see the change in those areas.
23:19This is not short-term work. This is long-term, many years work in the making.
23:26But we're okay with that, because we are resilient, and we understand that this is something that has always been ours, but we're now trying to access it.
23:36But here's the key, back to policy. The change is going to happen through policy changes, through changes in practices, and through changes in programming.
23:46We want to make sure that small businesses have the opportunity to compete, that when a disaster happens, whether it's a global pandemic or it's a hurricane or tornado here in New Orleans,
23:59that our black-owned businesses have the opportunity to get those disaster-related contracts.
24:04That hasn't been the case in the past. We have to make sure that there are actually policies in place to be able to give them that opportunity.
24:13When individuals need to increase their wages, this is why it matters who you elect as your city council member, because that person is going to be voting on whether or not there should be an increase in wages.
24:29And when it comes to being able to buy a home that we know can be used to leverage to send our children to school and to borrow so that we can make investments in additional pieces of property that can be passed down, we know that the policies have to be fair and equitable so we have the opportunity to compete.
24:48So policies are critical, but income and wages, buying a home, starting a business, these are things that we understand.
24:58We have to make sure that we are at the table and present, and that's how it's connected.
25:02That's right. You're exactly right. So one last question before I close this out. Asali, why is buying black not enough to close the wealth gap?
25:10Y'all, I hate to tell you. We don't have enough money. We just don't. I looked this up right before we came out.
25:19There are 770 billionaires in this country. Eight of them are black. Of the 22 million millionaires, 8% of them are black.
25:31So I know we heard that, was it $13 trillion number?
25:3513 trillion dollars.
25:36Oh, that's buku money to put into the economy, right? They have buku more than us, right?
25:41And so, not, and we're never saying don't buy black. It is essential to do that.
25:46Right.
25:47But we did not buy ourselves into income inequality. I think that, you know, when we say that, when we say it, we mean for the love of our community and the support of our entrepreneurs to buy black.
26:00But when policymakers say it, they're saying, it's your fault. Get yourself out of it. No, we need the same energy.
26:08And I mean, like my children are always telling me, come at it with the same energy, mama.
26:12So we need this country to come at racial inequality, particularly income, economic inequality, with the same energy that they put into the hateful practices of taking away, of stripping racial equality.
26:29We lose intergenerational wealth at almost 70%. We need the full, what do they call it, the faith in force of the US government, which is what created the institutions and the policies that strip us of wealth to put all of that back in.
26:45Awesome. Thank you so much. So as I close out, I just want you all to think about this for a moment. Conversations like this can really lead to generational change and tie into the I am New Orleans campaign.
27:01We want you to join us and continue this conversation at I am New Orleans Voices dot com.
27:08We want to thank our wonderful panelists, Judy, Kalisha Asali. You all were fantastic. This felt like sitting at a kitchen table having a conversation. I hope you all felt that as well.
27:20So let me leave you with the last thought. We have to come together just as we sing along with Monica or Jill Scott and not miss a word.
27:33The unity in the Superdome during the concert. We need to apply that same energy to this effort to getting out to vote. We need to apply the same energy that we utilize when we swag surf or electric slide.
27:52Put that put that energy in voting, put that energy in following policy. We have to stay connected through our local communities and working with organizations like Asha, like the Chamber, like the Urban League, and make sure that we stay in tune and in touch with them and educate ourselves so that we know the issues and we can take action on those issues.
28:17Educate yourself through resources like we have a document with WKKF called the Business Case for Racial Equity. We have a national focus, but we also have a New Orleans place-based specific focus that gives you tools and techniques and information that you can use to share around your kitchen table or share at your city council meeting or at the state or federal level.
28:42We must stand up and be heard. We must stand up and be heard. We must stand up and be heard. We do have a choice. Vote with your voice and make sure you keep in mind the song, This Joy That I Have. Thank you so much, ladies.
28:57Thank you, Ria. Thank you, everyone. Thank you, audience. You've been great.
29:01I just wish you would call again. Call me again. You just hit me on my line. Cause I've been waiting on my line. I feel like now's the perfect time to come back.
29:19Have a nice day!
29:36I never mind.ώρα.em but never mind.
29:38You've been great.
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