We need the historian and philosopher to give us with trenchant pen, the story of our forefathers, and let our soul and body, with phosphorescent light, brighten the chasm that separates us. We should cling to them just as blood is thicker than water.
— Arturo Alfonso Schomburg
(Scroll to the end to learn more about the life and legacy of this Black historian.)
I felt moved this week. Being invited to speak in front of a group of developers about ideas and approaches for regenerating wealth in BIPOC communities, deep wounds surfaced, unexpectedly. Upon deeper reflection, I used a new, skillful mindfulness technique I am practicing to name the hurt that I was feeling.
Let me take a step back and share a little history about me. Following a Catholic school education, I was primed to enter college to major in business. I followed the advice of my high school guidance counselor whose assessment profiled me as being well suited for this career. With a scholarship in hand, I would graduate with no debt and earning more money than my parents’ wages — combined. Generating wealth was a motivating factor, but earning the money would not be enough.
Wealth and money are not the same. That is the lesson I have come to learn, which I am so grateful to distinguish here. For example, having the money to afford a new car for my daily commute was empowering. But on day one, I was accumulating debt. Luckily, I had strong influences from my parents who helped me manage my money those early days. Then I learned how quickly it can be earned and spent.
Knowledge is like money. Once you learn something, only some of it sticks with you. How you apply what you learn generates power. That wisdom generates wealth.
In the same way that savings and retirement funds accrue interest and accumulate dividends — generating wealth in the long run — the constant pursuit of knowledge creates wisdom over time. That includes investing time understanding and passing down history, examining our systems of capitalism and justice, and investing in one’s own understanding of oneself. This is how we grow wisdom and power, and when that knowledge cycle gets disrupted, the long-term value of our wealth declines. This last point might create some uneasiness for some. And this is the work we need to do. Regenerating wealth for BIPOC communities requires accounting for historical inequities.
It occurs to me that the trauma I was feeling in the talk was a deep, intergenerational wound. The topic of regenerating wealth led me to reinvestigate the trauma my ancestors experienced. I am a descendant whose people endured 400 years of colonization, enslavement and genocide. When we talk about wealth creation, it is hard for me to separate that history from the work we need to do today. I cannot operate solely within today’s definitions of making money, with today’s tools, and with today’s structures and business models, knowing that there was an inheritance stolen well before me.
What was stolen from me, and so many generations of people like me, was wealth in all of its forms — land, beliefs, religious practices and knowledge, included. Now, our social consciousness is waking up to the realities and truth of how much power was stripped away through colonialism, sexism, racism, and xenophobia — systems that benefit white supremacy.
More than the money we might make, the knowledge passed on from our predecessors — when we are fortunate to pass it on from one generation to the next — that is a priceless inheritance. When we turn that understanding into wisdom, perhaps that is as important to generating true, long-lasting wealth. Let’s treasure this knowledge now, as much as we do those dollar bills.
If money is like knowledge, then wealth is like wisdom. Let’s work to preserve both.
Onward, my People.
One of the most influential forces behind the creation of The New York Public Library’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture is the man the building is named after, Arturo Alfonso Schomburg.
Born in Puerto Rico in 1874 to a Black mother and a father of German descent, young Arturo often wondered about the lack of African history taught in his classrooms.This interest formed the cornerstone of Schomburg’s eventual lifework consisting of research and preservation—work that would lead him to become one of the world’s premier collectors of Black literature, slave narratives, artwork, and diasporic materials.
Learn more about his life and legacy here.
very helpful to hear you speak about money as knowledge, and even more to reframe the conversation on money through the much broader concept of wealth - this is real wisdom. I want to share your post in our work space today, as a foundational moment of awareness.