Michael Eric Dyson: Banks Are Not the Way to Grow Wealth, Investing Is

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As the Black bank movement picks up steam and interest in financial empowerment grows, Georgetown professor Michael Eric Dyson has some much-needed advice for Black people: Get a financial adviser to help you invest and grow wealth.

On the Monday, Feb. 20 edition of “The Breakfast Club,” Dyson said Black people have to overcome centuries of “internalized white supremacy” and learn that putting your money into banks isn’t the way to keep and grow wealth.

“When the financial markets were regulated and segregated we didn’t have access to them,” he explains. “So, what ended up happening is that we saw the bank as [a] savior.”

The prominent Black scholar believes that most Black people are not financially literate and are incapable of making smart financial decisions. Co-host DJ Envy suggested that Black people invest in precious stones and metals like gold, silver and platinum, but Dyson offered more practical investments.

“Look at what you buying every day. Look at what you eating every day. Look at what you are riding every day,” Dyson counters. “If you ain’t investing in it, somebody else is investing in it. Those stocks and bonds, invest in that. … Get you a financially literate adviser. Everybody needs an accountant. You need to have somebody that knows that industry who can grow your dough.”

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