Empowering Black Wealth: Insights from Northwestern Mutual Event

In honor of Black History Month, Northwestern Mutual – Chicago hosted an event on Thursday, Feb. 15, to discuss the racial wealth gap and ways to help close it. Panelists provided finance-related anecdotes from their lives, inspiring testimonies and knowledge regarding the African-American community on advancing racial equity. Wealth increases throughout life, but there is a concern about whether African Americans reap the benefits. For Black households, many social media gurus try to get people to sign up for information about wealth building but don’t have the experience, educational background or knowledge to help them. That’s why it’s past time for Black people to be included in conversations about closing the racial wealth gap, said Bezos Academy Chief Equity Officer Robert Johnson.& “When you talk about the racial wealth gap, most of us have been excluded from the opportunity to participate in these financial vehicles because they have minimums, or they are not marketed to us, or they have fees that diminish anything that you might be able to accomplish from.” Most of the panel at this event would agree that it begins with changing your mindset to make better financial decisions for yourself and your family and finding a...