Insights from By Liz Ngonzi. Founder / CEO Amazing Taste, LLC / Adjunct Faculty Member, New York University Heyman Center for Philanthropy on the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s 41st Annual Legislative Conference Panel--The Matthew Effect: Closing the Economic Gap.
More information about Liz Ngonzi: http://lizngonzi.squarespace.com/
More information about the CBCF's panels: http://www.slideshare.net/ElizabethNgonzi/congressional-black-caucus-foundations-41st-annual-legislative-conference-emerging-leaders-series-journal
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Pathways to Economic Success: Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's 41st Annual Legislative Conference: The Matthew Effect Panel Insights
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Pathways to Economic Success: A De-brief of Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s
41st Annual Legislative Conference: The Matthew Effect Panel
By Liz Ngonzi
African Americanshavebeen andcontinuetobe disproportionatelyaffectedbythe economiccrisisinAmerica --so muchso
that their medianwealthis1/20th that of whites, witha 53% dropbetween2005and 2009,as comparedtoa16% dropfor
whites. In terms of unemployment,therearecitiesin Americawherethedisparitywith a black-to-whiteunemploymentrateis
as muchas3.8-to-1. Theaforementionedarecompoundedbythe fact that in African Americancommunitiesincomecirculates
less than onetime,as comparedtowhitecommunities(unlimitedtimes),Jewishcommunities(12+times);Asians (ninetimes),
andLatinos (six+ times).
Thestatisticsdon’tlie: the economic gapasit relatesto the Blackcommunityis wideningatalarmingrates. It is against the
backdropofalarmingstatisticssuchasthe ones above, that the CBCF’s September2011 panelentitled TheMatthewEffect:
BridgingThe EconomicGap,focusedonaddressingthe increasingdividebetweentherichandpoorand providedpossible
pathways to successfullyclosingthegapfor African Americans. Thepanelwaspart of the CBCF’sEmergingLeadersSeries
duringthe recent41st Annual LegislativeConference --designedto engageyoungleadersbetweenthe ages of 18 and35 --
as a meansto provide them with issueforumsto inform theircareerandcommunitydevelopmentefforts.
Themajorityof the dialogue during TheMatthew Effect panel focusedon AfricanAmerican economicdevelopmentthrough
the followingavenues:entrepreneurship,blackphilanthropy,increasededucationalattainment, protection ofintellectual
property, developmentofsound financialmanagementpractices,seekingofgrowth-orientedrelationshipsandpartnering
towarddevelopment. Emphasiswasplacedonthe needfor African Americansinvolved in informal entrepreneurship to
developways to formalizeandscaletheirbusinesses – therebyenablingthem to createmorewealthandjobs.
Hereare theTop 7 Takeaways and Pathwaysto Success:
1. Develop,Scaleand SupportofAfrican-American Entrepreneurial Activities:Thepanelistsallagreedthat
entrepreneurshipisakey ingredientto African Americaneconomic development,withspecialemphasisonmoving
beyond the traditionalsmall“mom andpop”serviceoperationstothose that are largerand operatemoreefficiently
(e.g., throughfranchisingmodels)andlookingtodevelopbusinessesthat reflectand leveragethe growingdigital
economy. DiscussionalsocenteredaroundtheneedforAfrican Americansto activelyseek out opportunitiesto
supportblackbusinessesas exemplifiedbyoneof the panelists, MargaritaAnderson,FounderandCEO, of The
EmpowermentExperiment,whichadvocatesconsciousconsumerism. EricaSmiley,SeniorFieldOrganizerwith
Jobs with Justice addedthat whileblack-ownedbusinessesaregreatsourcesof employmentforthe community,she
suggestedthat their businesspracticesneednotreflectthoseof largermainstream onesthatexploitemployees,
suchas paying belowfamilywagelevels.
2. Protectand Monetize Intellectual Property:PanelistLateefMtima,Professorof Lawand Founder/ Director,
Institute for IntellectualPropertyandSocialJusticeatHowardUniversity Schoolof Law, providedinsightsinto the
importanceofunderstandingtheintellectualpropertyinour communities,suchasmethodsofbraidinghair,etc.,
whichcanbetrademarked. Heindicatedthat1/3 of Americancorporation’svaluesare derivedfrom their protected
intellectualassets–whichmanyin our communityfailto protectand, therefore, lose out on potentiallysignificant
monetarybenefits. Forfree informationonhowto recognize,protectandmonetizeassets, visit the Institute for
IntellectualPropertyandSocialJusticeatHowardUniversity Schoolof Law.
3. ImproveFinancial Management:Allthe panelistsagreedthat young peopleneed to practicedelayedgratification
as they navigate throughtheir careers,begin“sidehustles”and give backto others, so as to develop individualand
contributeto communitywealth. PanelistJeromeLove, FounderandCEO of the TexasBlackExpo,Inc. shared
anecdotesfrom hisownlife indicatingtheimportanceoflivingbeneathones’meansas a way of minimizingdebtand
investing in affordablerealestate, as a way to buildwealth.
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4. AcquireEducational Capital and Develop SkillsContinually:Withthe risingcostof highereducationandan
increasingnumberofcollegegraduatesfacingtheprospectofmoving backinwith their parents,as a wayto manage
student loanpaymentswhileseekingemployment, LateefMtima,suggestedthat students choosemajorsthatwill
enablethem to find higherpayingand morereadilyavailablejobs inSTEM (Science,Technology,Engineeringand
Mathematics)fields. Whilepanelist,Kristal High, FoundingEditor-In-Chief,Politic365.com,indicatedtheimportance
of continuingtoinvest inone’s education,despiterisingcosts,sherecommendedfocusingonone’seducationasan
investment that couldpotentiallyhave a highreturn.
5. IncreasePhilanthropicEffortsbyAfrican Americans:Panelistsspoketo the needfor olderprofessionalsto
provide mentoringsupportfor youngerAfrican Americans,as a meansto helpthem avoid potentialpitfallsand
improvetheir likelihoodforsuccess. PanelistLizNgonzi, a globalsocialentrepreneur (founderandCEO of Amazing
Taste,LLC)on the adjunctfacultyat NewYork University HeymanCenter for PhilanthropyandFundraising,citinga
Pew ResearchCenterstudythat indicatesthatreligionisimportantto 80%of African Americans,statedthat black
churches,whichbenefitgreatlyfrom this community,needto step-up morethroughentrepreneurialskills
developmentprograms,investmentactivities,and otherrelatedprogramsthat ultimatelyresult in moreaffluent
parishionersandobviouslypotentiallygreater tithingamounts. Additionally, shesuggestedthat affluent African
Americansarecontinuingtobeexcellentsourcesforimpactinvestingandgiving to causes that helpto empower
African Americans.
6. WorkToward GlobalBlackEconomicDevelopment:An additionalpointrelevantto the conversation,is panelist
Liz Ngonzi’srecognitionthatmanyof the challenges,includingeconomicdevelopmentones --facedby African
Americans,arequite similartothose facedby their counterpartsonthe Africancontinentandas indicatedby
moderator,Jaky Joseph,Quantitative Investment Banker, Bank of AmericaMerrillLynch --in the Caribbean. As
such,organizationssuchas CBCF have an opportunityto develop forumsencouragingthesharingofbest practices
andlessons learnedbyall, with the ultimategoalof workingtogetherto buildjoint pathways to globalblackeconomic
development.
7. Develop Growth-oriented Relationships:Inresponseto a questionfrom a participantregardingthechallenges
African Americansfaceindevelopingvalue-addedmaritalrelationships,panelistMargaritaAnderson,citingherown
marriage,indicatedtheimportanceofevaluatingpartnersbasedon theirpotentialto generatemutually-beneficial
relationshipsthathelpto creategrowthopportunitiesand wealth.
Notes:
“Themedianwealthofwhitehouseholdsis20 timesthat of blackhouseholds.”
“Thenetworth of blackhouseholdsfellfrom $12,124in2005to $5,677in 2009,a declineof53%.... Thedropinthe
wealthof whitehouseholdswasmodestin comparison,falling16%from $134,992in2005to $113,149in 2009.”
Pew ResearchCenter
“In 2010, Detroit, Milwaukee, Las Vegas, and Minneapolis all had black unemployment rates of 20 percent or higher,
comparable to the peak national unemployment rates during the Great Depression of the 1930s.”
“In Milwaukee, Minneapolis, and Baton Rouge, La., blacks were more than three times as likely to be unemployed as
whites in 2010. Milwaukee had the biggest disparity with a black-to-white unemployment rate ratio of 3.8-to-1.”
Economic Policy Institute
“TheHarvest Institute, a Washington,D.C.-basedresearchgroup,surveyed howmanytimesincomecirculateswithina
communitybeforeleavingand has foundthat inthe Blackcommunity,incomecirculateszeroto one time.In the white
community,incomecirculatesunlimitedtimes,inthe Jewishcommunity,incomecirculatesatleast12 times; Asians recycleat
least ninetimes,and Latinosrecycletheirdollarsat least six times.” LouisianaWeekly