Rapper, businessman and activist Michael Render, known to the world as Killer Mike, has long been a strong advocate for black political and economic empowerment. Render recently joined Marquise Francis of Yahoo News and Suneye Holmes, professor of economics at Spelman College, for a discussion centered on Juneteenth and black financial well-being on the special “Juneteenth: Soul of America” From Yahoo.

A 2020 report by Citigroup found that if the wage, education, housing and investment gap for black Americans had been closed 20 years ago, $ 16 trillion could have been added to the US economy. And if the gaps were closed as early as September 2020, $ 5,000 billion could be added to US GDP over the next five years.

Render says that within the black community, improving financial well-being is just as important as strengthening political commitment.

“Take care of your money; your money is everyday. Voting takes place every two and four years… The dollar you save today will save your ass tomorrow. The vote you are preparing today for the next election, it will save you and do well, ”said Render.

Render, who is co-founder of Greenwood, a black-owned financial institution that works specifically with black and Latino people and businesses, says it’s important to maintain wealth in black and Latino communities.

“Let’s make sure the black people, that we take care of our room. If we take care of our room, you can fund whatever kind of local progressive politician you want to see. If you don’t take care of your room, then the politicians are [going] continue to prostitute themselves to companies that buy.

Holmes added that Americans have long been brainwashed and possibly intoxicated by the imbalance of economic power in the United States.

“In another era, this power imbalance was more profitable today. We know this is not the case, we know that racist discrimination, exploitation, economic exploitation in particular hold back the whole country when we hold back particular communities, ”she said.

The story continues

“In economics, we love to talk about how we optimize, how we make things better for everyone, and in truth, for America to be a more progressive country, we need to focus on how we can improve. the conditions, the economic conditions for the least of us, ”she said.

Reggie Wade is a writer for Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Twitter at @ReggieWade.

Read more: