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: 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