The idea of civil rights has spread beyond traditional boundaries in today’s fast changing world. While social justice and similar opportunities are still crucial, financial literacy is a new frontier that needs our focus. Financial education is the civil rights issue of this century, just as the Civil Rights Movement fought for justice in election, work, and education.
We live in a time where one’s postal code can have more of an impact on their life benefits than their dreams or work ethic, as I claim in the thought-provoking 1865 Project. Addressing the differences that result from a lack of financial knowledge is urgently necessary.
The 1865 Project aims to complete the work of the Freedman’s Bank, which was founded by American cultural activist Frederick Douglass and President Abraham Lincoln and was originally intended to teach the former slaves about money. The Treasury Annex, formerly the Freedman’s Bank headquarters, was renamed by the U.S. Treasury in 2016 to the freedma banks building. In order to help level the playing field for Americans of all ethnicities and ensure that families may prosper in a free business sector, Operation HOPE is currently convening the public and private sectors as it develops into the Third Reconstruction.
Financial education is a device for autonomy and social justice, not just about understanding numbers. People and communities are prone to cycles of poverty, debts, and constrained economic mobility without proper financial knowledge. Many Americans will be on the periphery of the financial conventional without a strong financial education, mired in the cycle of high-interest bill, with limited access to banking services, and with few opportunities for upward mobility.
The lack of financial literacy in America even contributes to the success gap’s growing size. The median net worth of white homes is about 6 times higher than that of Black families, and it is almost 5 times greater for Spanish families, according to a recent Federal Reserve research. Traditional injustices and structural barriers that prevent marginalized communities from having access to financial knowledge and resources are at the root of this stark disparity.
The 1865 Project serves as an example of this. But I think there’s more to this abyss than just culture. The lack of access to capital, chance, and economic education that limits financial prosperity for all has an effect on poor white remote neighborhoods just like it does on Black and brown communities.
Financial education is essential for economic participation and independence. We give people the tools they need to make wise financial decisions, which helps them pave the way for financial stability and contributes to a more equitable society for all. The cycle of poverty starts to end when people learn how to budget, save, invest, and manage their debts because they have more control over their economic life.
Financial education is not just a matter of personal responsibility; it is also an urgent political need. Today, we must fight with the same vigor for equitable access to financial information as the Civil Rights Movement did for voting and educational rights. Given that this generation’s civil rights issue is financial education, the 1865 Project urges us to complete the work that The Freedmans Bank began.
Let’s commit to giving every member the resources and knowledge they need to understand the complicated world of cash and finances as we work to create a reasonable and just society. By doing this, we can end the cycle of economic inequality and create a future in which having access to financial information is not just an advantage but an essential correct.