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There are a variety of reports that are issued every day, but there are a few that are critical to the social and economic survival and sustainability of people of color. Hear from the leaders who have championed critical reports, the Black Census Report, the Cash Poor Report and the Black/Latino Report, that drive civic participation, economic opportunities and accessibility of fair and equitable financial products.
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00:00Data does more than document disparities.
00:05It can shape strategy, drive investment, and move communities to action.
00:10Coming up now on the Global Black Economic Forum stage,
00:14opinion writer of the Boston Globe, Eugene Scott.
00:19Co-founder and president, Solo Funds, Rodney Williams.
00:25Executive Director, Black Futures Lab, Kristen Powell.
00:31And joining our panel in progress will be Michael Franklin,
00:35Executive Director of Speechwriters of Color.
00:43Good afternoon.
00:45Good afternoon.
00:46It's so great to see you all here to join us for this very important conversation
00:51at this very important time in our country, politically, socioeconomically,
00:56and I'm so glad to have these really great brains here
00:59to break down some very complex information for our guests
01:06and for people watching online who really want to know where we are
01:11and where we're going and what the data can tell us.
01:14And so, first of all, if you can introduce yourselves
01:17and tell people what it is that you work on
01:20and why it's relevant to this current moment.
01:23Okay.
01:24Would you like to start?
01:26Hey, everyone.
01:27I'm Kristen Powell, Executive Director of Black Futures Lab,
01:30and we are building black political power.
01:33One thing we're known for is our Black Census Project,
01:35so check us out at the table over there.
01:38It's the largest known survey of black people.
01:40We've done it now three times.
01:42The last time we reached 211,000 black people across the country,
01:47and this time we are doing it with 300,000 black people across the country.
01:53Hello, everyone.
01:54I'm Rodney Williams, co-founder at Solo Funds.
01:58Us, Solo Funds, alongside the Global Black Economic Forum,
02:02commissioned a study that we call the Cashflow Report.
02:05It's our third year of the study,
02:07and the reason why we wanted to, I guess, influence the study
02:13was really to articulate how Americans face financial challenges.
02:19We really felt like the studies that were present
02:22didn't really answer key questions.
02:24Key questions like, what does it mean to be cash poor?
02:27What does it mean to have credit cards,
02:30make over six figures, but you still need loans?
02:33Where do you go for access to capital when you don't have a job?
02:37We answered a lot of these questions, and I can't wait to share more.
02:44Hello.
02:45Hello, hello.
02:46I'm Michael Franklin.
02:47I am the Executive Director of Speechwriters of Color.
02:51We previously partnered with the Global Black Economic Forum
02:55on a report evaluating building consumer trust
02:59alongside how AI is impacting that consumer trust in particular.
03:03I also am proud to be the Chief Communications Officer with the forum
03:07and have had the opportunity to help tell and advance some of the stories,
03:10particularly with the Cashflow Report that we've partnered on
03:13with Rodney and Solo Funds for the past couple years, too.
03:16And I am so excited to really just dive into this a bit more
03:19because when we think about all of the data in particular with these reports,
03:24being able to tell the story beyond the numbers
03:25and humanizing it is so, so important.
03:27And it also is a very beautiful full circle moment, too,
03:31being up here with Kristen because I used to work at Black Futures Lab
03:34and helped run the rollout of the second Black Census Project a few years ago.
03:39And so seeing the continued growth and actually their partnership here
03:42in this space this year, too, is also incredible.
03:45And so very excited and happy to be here, too.
03:48Awesome.
03:49So glad to have you.
03:50One of the great things about these gatherings is they do function a bit.
03:53It's a bit of a, like, family reunion, class reunion,
03:55and I've run into so many different people.
03:57I'm sorry.
03:58I didn't introduce myself.
03:59I'm Eugene Scott.
04:00I'm an opinion writer for the Boston Globe covering national politics.
04:03And so I want to start first with something very political.
04:08What piece of data have you all discovered that is of particular interest to you
04:14that you think the political media has not given enough attention to?
04:20And I want to hear from all of you all on this one.
04:23So I can speak to that.
04:25So the Black Census Project is doing a few things.
04:29We're understanding what messaging reaches Black people.
04:31We're understanding what narratives are being told about Black people
04:35and disputing that with the data.
04:37And one thing that we've been finding in each time is that Black people
04:42are less and less trusting of major institutions.
04:46That's not just elected officials and local government.
04:50They're becoming less trustful of religious institutions, less trustful of journalists,
04:56less trustful of local government.
04:59And what that tells us is that we have to have a different strategy of how we're going
05:03to reach our folks.
05:04We can't have the same tactics that we've been doing for the last 40 years to get Black
05:10people out to vote.
05:11We have to meet them where we are.
05:13But we also have to deliver what we say we're going to do.
05:16Otherwise, we're breeding the same mistrust.
05:20I think the biggest thing is the wealth gap.
05:23It's growing.
05:24It's the largest that it's ever been.
05:26And I know social media would give you the impression that Black folks and people of color
05:31are doing extremely well, which I do believe.
05:33But they're not doing as well as our counterparts.
05:36And it's getting worse.
05:37Right?
05:38And that's a real reality.
05:40I think the other part that I would talk about is this concept of being cash poor.
05:45We may all hear it.
05:46But then I don't think that we all understand that we are cash poor.
05:50Right?
05:51If any of it, you do have an emergency.
05:53If that emergency knocks out your savings or requires you to then use credit, you are now
06:00cash poor.
06:00And we should understand that being cash poor is at a disadvantage.
06:06That means you're not growing your wealth.
06:08That means many, many things.
06:10And I think that's what I would want to communicate.
06:12And one thing I would just add to that, this year with our test data of the census in 2026,
06:17the number one thing Black people said they wanted is to get debt free, which tells me
06:21that they're definitely cash poor, what you're saying.
06:25And I think the piece that I would want to add is particularly around communicating that
06:30lack of trust.
06:31Like, we see political media and institutions have created this institutional voice that
06:37we see across media, across academia, across politics that people just don't buy into, and
06:43especially young people and Gen Zers.
06:45And rather than trying to create something new or create something different, instead,
06:50it's trying to make excuses of, well, this is what respectability and these voices should look
06:55like, but they no longer resonate, they no longer drive action, they no longer drive change.
06:59And there has to be a level of accountability toward the fact that that failure of voice is
07:04led to where we are now.
07:06Yeah, I've seen that firsthand.
07:08And I've been a journalist for more than 20 years, and I teach college students, and none
07:11of my students read or watch anything that I want.
07:15But that's in part because, to your point, the media has done a piss poor job of not just
07:21covering Black communities, but just this country more accurately.
07:24How do you find that, the lack of trust in institutions, is presenting an obstacle to the work you're
07:32trying to do?
07:33When you go out and talk to focus groups or do surveys, do you get a lot of pushback?
07:39Are people nervous to tell you what they're really thinking and feeling and experiencing?
07:44Yeah, they're definitely nervous.
07:46What I will say is the average person that we talk to is actually dying to talk to someone.
07:51They're actually been feeling ignored, they want to be in a conversation, but they're
07:56skeptical that their conversation is going to lead to anything.
07:59And so we can't just have a conversation, we have to have a long-term relationship where
08:03we're actually delivering for Black people.
08:06One statistic that was interesting this time, so in 2022, when we did the census, 82% of Black
08:13people identified as a Democrat.
08:15This time, 63% are identifying as a Democrat.
08:19And the number one thing they're saying to us is, no one delivers for us.
08:23And so I think it's really important that we're not just getting them to open the door
08:29because they do want to talk.
08:30We're actually figuring out how we deliver for them, especially at the local level.
08:34You know, the trust factor was a basis in how we created my company, Solo Funds.
08:41It is a community finance platform that's built on peers.
08:44So that means people are lending and borrowing from each other.
08:48And we don't have this huge marketing budget.
08:50You're not going to see us on a banner.
08:52It's because people are talking to people.
08:54When they need a loan, they know Solo Funds is there.
08:57But also if they want to grow their capital, they also know they can lend and grow their capital.
09:01So it's an approach that takes into consideration the lack of trust amongst folks, right?
09:07They tend to trust each other more.
09:11And adding in, like, for me, like, I'm a Gen Z-er.
09:15And so even as I've started, I've come of age to vote in all of the things,
09:20every election is the most consequential election of my life.
09:23Everything is vote or die.
09:26And while I might vote and the election leads to, like, things happening that aren't great for me and my
09:32community,
09:33I'm still here.
09:34And even the folks who are saying, vote or die, I'm alive, but, like, you're not fighting for me.
09:39And it's, like, I think so often of the quote, I believe it's from Maya Angelou,
09:44of I can't believe what you say because I see what you do.
09:47And so time and time again, we're seeing people attempt to make these commitments.
09:51And it almost feels like it's a threat of, like, if you just don't vote, hold your nose, whatever it
09:56may be,
09:56then you're going to face these consequences.
09:58We're still facing consequences.
10:00And the folks that I'm told to vote for are not putting in any effort, any fight to try and
10:06deliver.
10:06And when we see that dichotomy and that contrast in particular,
10:10that's when it turns into these messages no longer land.
10:13Like, you can't trust these messages to make an impact when you're just seeing the same thing over and over,
10:18but there's not a change in tactic or a change in effort or a change in wanting to bring my
10:23voice
10:23or credibility of my generation's voice into leading that moment rather than just being a part of it.
10:28I totally understand.
10:30The first election I voted in was the year 2000, which is when the vote or die phrase really took
10:35off.
10:35But it does seem like what we're hearing in this current moment, this next election,
10:40even the midterms, is, in fact, the most consequential election of our lifetimes.
10:45Do you feel like the people you're talking to understand that,
10:49or does the data suggest that this is an election that really could improve the condition of many of the
10:55people you're involved with?
10:57Absolutely not.
10:58The average voter is not clear on that.
11:02And why should they be?
11:03Because we've been crying woof, like, this whole time.
11:05So they don't trust us.
11:07And I don't think that's the message, that this is the most consequential election.
11:11I think if we're saying that, we've already lost the conversation.
11:15I think what's important is to listen to people and understand what is it that you want
11:19and help them figure out from what you want to how you get there,
11:23whether that's a local school board race because you're talking about education as being the most important thing
11:29and you didn't know that there was a school board race happening right now.
11:32Or like in Valdosta, Georgia, where we're organizing right now, people's utility bills are three times what they were two
11:40years ago.
11:41Some of them higher than their rent.
11:43They had no idea that there was a state election happening last year where they were going to be able
11:49to vote
11:49on who was in charge of their utility companies.
11:53And so, like, doing that string for people and helping them understand is what's most important.
12:01You know, I will always say that I think the most important factor for anyone is their economic situation.
12:08And for me, and I think for anyone that's listening, the more economic power you control,
12:15the more of your destiny that you can control, the more you can impact a local election or any election.
12:21So, for me, even, you know, as someone young or someone early in their career, as a small business owner,
12:29even someone living in poverty or low income, it doesn't matter, your economic plan, you should have one, right?
12:36And everyone should have an economic plan where you're trying to figure out how every year you're going to get
12:43better
12:43and be able to plan out what you want.
12:46Because, number one, you're then going to see the politician that meets that goal.
12:50You're going to see the agendas that meet that goal.
12:52And everything should align to that goal on your economic position.
12:56I truly believe that.
12:58Yeah, and I just want to emphasize what you just said.
13:00Your local government needs to have an economic plan for you.
13:03And you need to know what it is.
13:05And if they don't have one, you need to be showing up at city councils, showing up at your county
13:09commission.
13:10The problem is your local officials don't have a plan.
13:12And so, we're sitting there waiting for something to happen, and they have no urgency to do that.
13:18And I think it's really a testament to even to the space that the forum always focuses on.
13:25Like, we have four pillars of the future of work, wealth, health, and democracy, because we know they all go
13:29together real bad.
13:31Like, if you want to make good money, then, like, you've got to make sure that you have that power
13:35and agency in your day-to-day life,
13:36not only in making decisions about your body, but also being able to make your decisions at the ballot box
13:41for everything day-to-day.
13:42And if we're not focused on that economic position, then we're not going to be able to focus on our
13:46health.
13:47We're not going to be able to focus on our vote.
13:48And so, all of them have to continue to go together.
13:52Otherwise, we're going to be stuck.
13:53We can't keep being siloed in this work either.
13:56I'm glad we moved the conversation in this area.
13:59I covered national politics from Washington, as I shared.
14:01But the first half of my career, I was out in real America, and it's one of the places that
14:06I got to see firsthand
14:07how much local elections, local politics, affect people's day-to-day lives in ways that they think Washington does.
14:14Is there an issue that you feel like local elected leaders need to be paying more attention to based on
14:21the data that you've seen?
14:22When you look at your research, you think, hey, mayors and city council people, county commissioners, aren't talking about this
14:30subject enough.
14:31There's one.
14:33There's basically a stat.
14:34And it's basically, out of the average American, 7%, when they do have an unplanned expense, they cannot get access
14:44to a loan.
14:45And that 7% resort to crime.
14:48And it's a direct correlation.
14:50And that may be startling, but if I'm a mom or a dad, I get laid off, or I'm a
14:56mom or dad and I have two kids and I have to feed them.
14:59There's only a couple days that, you know, your son or daughter is not going to be able to eat
15:04until you're going to go figure it out.
15:07And that economic conversation, I don't think people understand it.
15:12So when you don't have access to loans, in many jurisdictions, they actually restrict the access to loans.
15:17They even restrict access to loans that you would call predatory, like a payday loan.
15:22But I always tell the story of that dad or that mom, if they did not get a loan and
15:29they go without, go without is significantly more expensive than anything you could charge.
15:34And if you don't understand that, you've lost.
15:38And I think many politicians are looking at the, they're looking at the fine print and they're not going and
15:45talking to these consumers.
15:47Yeah, I would, I would stay on the economic train.
15:50What we're hearing across this country, especially in rural communities, is affordable housing.
15:54I don't think that's shocking to people.
15:56But one point I do want to make is that rural America is black.
15:59I think on a national stage, rural America is painted as a white thing, and especially in the South, rural
16:08America is black.
16:09And they cannot afford their housing.
16:12Large jobs are being taken out of their communities.
16:15Even in the Midwest where I live, in the Rust Belt, you know, warehouses, the jobs that they were used
16:20to be able to rely on are leaving their community.
16:23And the wages are not keeping up with the housing prices.
16:26And there's no regulation on it.
16:27And so you see these small towns where rent is going $800, $900, $1,000, but the average income is
16:34less than $30,000.
16:36How does that math make sense?
16:38And the city government is kind of putting up their hands and they're saying, well, that's the developers.
16:43But the developers are here because you let them be here.
16:45And so we have to be pushing back on city commissions and councils taking accountability for that.
16:50And there's a couple pieces.
16:52So I was born and raised in Kansas City, Kansas before going to school in D.C.
16:57Hey.
16:58Hey.
16:58I know that's right.
17:01And between being in Kansas City, something that's been really interesting back home is the public school district I grew
17:08up in has recently decided to ban phones in schools for students.
17:12And it's a continuing, like, permeating topic that's going on of whether students should be able to have access to
17:18phones in school or is it distracting or impacting learning too much.
17:22And there's some people very passionately for it and very passionately against it.
17:27And we're starting to have to see school boards and local legislators make these decisions because it's something that's a
17:32priority to parents.
17:33The other is the data point of the growing distrust of AI.
17:37And I think both of these come down to the part of agency that individuals are having because we're seeing,
17:44like, a Google search browser now.
17:45We're not even able to put a normal search in without getting the AI results up top versus being able
17:51to scroll and, like, have non-diluted results.
17:54And, like, it's not something that they're letting you opt in or opt out for sometimes, but it's suddenly being
17:59there.
17:59It might be in your email or your Word documents where it's, like, where you like to get a test
18:03message or a test draft.
18:04And we're seeing people continuously start to lose trust in, like, staple platforms like Word or Google or search engines
18:11or whatever it may be because rather than having the agency to turn this owner off, it's just automatically being
18:17put in there.
18:18And those are the day-to-day topics that I don't think are being talked about enough in Washington, D
18:22.C.
18:22But instead, these are the things that when people are opening their phone or opening their computer they're dealing with
18:28every day or when they're sending their kids to school and now their kids are getting that impact too, like,
18:32it's making a change that's not particularly for the better,
18:36but it's something that needs to be talked about to find out what people are experiencing and making sure folks
18:40have the agency to make the decision of how they're able to participate.
18:43Yeah, so that's not a conversation I've heard in Washington, which is where I'm based and where I'm from.
18:48But my first reporting job was at the Kansas City Star.
18:53And so, but your point, Kristen, when you're talking about the Midwest, one of the things as a, you know,
18:59coastal elite that I'm very mindful of is just how little Americans know about America, right?
19:06I think even when you come somewhere like New Orleans, New Orleans is different from everywhere else that everybody else
19:11is from.
19:12And we talk very often about things that politicians and local leaders don't know about their electorate.
19:19But what's a data point that you've come across that you feel like most Americans don't know about other Americans?
19:26Because I often find myself talking to people and they get really frustrated that other people are voting differently than
19:33them or thinking differently than them or behaving differently than them.
19:36And it gets down, quite frankly, to them just not even understanding that people are different than them and just
19:41how different they are.
19:43So is there something you think about that you think, I wish more Americans knew this about their fellow Americans?
19:5041% of folks that are cash poor make over six figures.
19:55Wow.
19:56Can you say that again?
19:57So 41% of Americans that are cash poor make over six figures.
20:05And it's a stat that's growing.
20:09So when we look at previous years, the six-figure group is the fastest portion of the cash poor.
20:18This person went to school.
20:20This person may own a home, may have credit cards.
20:24This person goes to work every day.
20:26The challenge is that they're over leveraged.
20:29I was going to say that's why they're cash poor, right?
20:31They're over spending.
20:33So you would never think that someone that makes that much money needs $200.
20:38But after they pay their $3,000 mortgage and their $500 car.
20:43Daycare.
20:44And daycare.
20:45And, you know, all the expenses.
20:48All of a sudden, they can't afford their grocery bill.
20:51Right.
20:52And they need a loan.
20:54And that's a stat that I think, again, we can probably all relate to that scenario in some instance of
21:01our life.
21:01I always say that this also, the average American will have an unplanned expense two to three times a year.
21:09So that means two to three times a year, something is going to happen that's going to change your financial
21:13situation pretty dramatically.
21:15That could be a death in the family.
21:17It could be medical related.
21:18It could be a car accident.
21:20Something happens where you did not plan and all of a sudden your economic plan doesn't make sense.
21:25Yeah.
21:26And your challenge and all of a sudden you're like, wow, I didn't know I was cash poor because I
21:30couldn't sustain that emergency.
21:33What about you all, too?
21:35A stat you think most American or piece of data that you think most Americans don't know about other Americans?
21:40Yeah, I think to take it back to politics, I think most Americans don't know where black people live.
21:45Sure.
21:45And so a lot of investment we're talking about is in the South, and rightfully so.
21:51Lots of Southern people are black.
21:54However, over a million black people live in Ohio.
21:57Over a million black people live in Michigan.
21:58Over a million black people live in Illinois.
22:00More than in South Carolina, right?
22:03But all this investment around black voter turnout is in the South, and we're forgetting about people in the Midwest,
22:10people in the Northeast, even people out West.
22:13And the issue is, is when we're not invested in and we're not building relationships with our folks, they feel
22:18forgotten, they feel left out, and then they don't engage.
22:21And then you see millions of us not voting, and we all go, what happened?
22:26Well, we never spoke to them because we believe that they all lived in Atlanta.
22:30And so I think it's really important that we understand where our folks are.
22:34I mean, I'll just dig on my staff.
22:36Like, when I tell people that I'm from Ohio, the first thing they say is, cornfields?
22:40What?
22:41Ohio?
22:41I'm sure they say the same thing about Kansas, right?
22:43Wizard of Oz.
22:43Or Missouri.
22:44Yeah.
22:45And so we have to tell people, no, like, we are a chocolate city over here in Ohio, and we
22:50are struggling, and no one seems to care.
22:52Yeah.
22:53And so I'm actually going to take this in a completely different direction, stat-wise, too.
22:59And so with Speechwriters of Color, we care a lot about public speaking and all.
23:03And so we've seen, surprisingly, that more people are scared of public speaking than things like snakes, heights, or even
23:11death.
23:12And it's interesting where it's like everyone loves to yap for, like, oftentimes it might be internally with their family,
23:19but when it comes to a stage or a platform of putting your voice on the record, people feel a
23:24bit more worried,
23:25and it changes the perspective of how they navigate things or that comfortability in speaking up.
23:30And we see that manifest itself not only in just, like, speaking on stages, but it might be speaking up
23:35to an elected official.
23:36It might be speaking up to a doctor who they are the expert, but they're questioning you because you're black,
23:42or they're disregarding what you say.
23:44And so we've seen those fears happening right now, and we also see how that's impacted broader pessimism.
23:51That's impacting how people navigate their day-to-day life, whether it's the agency to make a decision about their
23:58job or their work,
23:59or whether it's their agency about engaging in politics.
24:02And so due to that pessimism, we're starting to look in to see how can we deal with this crisis
24:08of optimism right now,
24:09and how do we create messages and communications that make sense to be able to provide some sort of support,
24:15some sort of uplift, whatever it may be, because it's clear that we're not going to be able to keep
24:21the same playbook
24:22of communicating with people coming from a completely different place.
24:25Well, I can believe that because I think most people would be surprised by how many people in public speaking
24:31are anxious about speaking publicly, right?
24:34Like, I was going to say, you're on TV, you're worried about mispronouncing a word or saying something wrong,
24:39and so I imagine that that's even more so the case for most Americans.
24:44But you spoke about the crisis of optimism, and I would love to hear if you all have come across
24:48anything in your research
24:50that does make you hopeful, that does bring you some joy, that does suggest that things could be moving in
24:55a positive direction.
24:57I think the one thing is that with the next generations, there's quite a bit of an unapologetic nature
25:05of folks, particularly young folks, who are not going to be bounded to the same systems, you know,
25:11and because of that, there's a lot of trying of new things, there's a lot of embrace of entrepreneurship.
25:17I believe it's more Gen Zers are looking at starting their own business or looking at their own type of
25:22trade school
25:23or apprenticeship rather than going your traditional pathway of trying to go to college and get a good job
25:29and climb the corporate ladder or try and stay in an institution.
25:32Like, I remember when I started my business, my mom was like, whoa, what?
25:36Are you a stable paycheck?
25:38Like, where's that?
25:40But being unapologetic and being willing to take those risks, I think, is going to lead to some optimism,
25:45and we're starting to see there's just going to be new systems for how we engage and interact.
25:49Awesome.
25:50And you two, what have you come across?
25:52You know, I like to call it the hustle economy or the American hustle, right?
25:58It's a growing stat of when someone does need, have an unplanned expense, they get another job.
26:05Okay.
26:05And that's what I call the American hustle.
26:07Yep.
26:07Yep.
26:07That means in the daytime, they may be a teacher, but at night, they're Uber driving or they're a DJ
26:13that also does graphic design.
26:16They're part of the gig economy.
26:17What we see, I think, is 43% when an unplanned expense happens, they figure it out.
26:22And I thought that was powerful, right?
26:26So it's almost like, you know, they're never going to catch someone slipping.
26:30Yeah, yeah, yeah.
26:30You know what I mean?
26:31And people finding solutions to their own problems and not depending on lawmakers and elected officials to make their lives
26:37better.
26:37And that's the stat, right?
26:38They're figuring it out.
26:40They may have a lack of trust, but they are confident in themselves.
26:43Yeah.
26:43That's awesome.
26:44And Kristen?
26:45Yeah, and I would add to that.
26:46Like, we tested voter turnout in a few places last year in rural communities, and we had a 47%
26:53increase in black voter turnout in communities that we stayed in long term.
26:57And what that tells us is that when we have a relationship with people, not only do they vote, but
27:02then they start getting engaged in their local politics.
27:04And so we know what to do.
27:06We know that people are hungry for it.
27:08We just have to invest.
27:09And I love what you said about public speaking, because one of the things that we are challenged by is
27:14so many people who want to be an organizer are afraid to talk to their fellow human being.
27:21And so we have to overcome that.
27:24But what's hopeful is that when you have a conversation with people, people want to talk.
27:28Awesome.
27:28Well, I've enjoyed talking to you all, and I imagine that you've all enjoyed hearing them.
27:33Can you please give our panelists a hand?
27:38And thank you for being here.
27:40We're going to leave the stage, but please stay around.
27:43We have more panels for you.
27:44And if you're watching from home, follow our live stream and continue to stay engaged.
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