“You can’t know where you’re going if you don’t know where you’ve been.”
Jasmine Young knows where she’s been, where Black America has been. She’s keenly aware of a time when the Black dollar circulated around the Black community, and there was hope for our financial and social futures. Today, she’s hoping to help motivate Black communities in the present to be inspired by our pasts and reach for a brighter future.
Young is the founder and president of The Financial Literacy Institute, Inc. (TFLI), a nonprofit that provides educational programs and resources to increase financial literacy in underserved and underprivileged communities around the world. TFLI’s vision is to start a venture capitalist fund to support Black-owned businesses, develop a food pantry to serve BIPOC communities and develop an accredited financial literacy curriculum to be taught in schools, all with the purpose of putting the Black community on equal footing.
“The murder of George Floyd, in addition to people’s desperation for financial survival during COVID, pushed me to start TFLI,” Young tells BOTWC. “I realized the answer to the social injustice our community continues to face is financial literacy and recirculating the Black dollar back as leverage for political power and support.”
With social justice and creating generational wealth in mind, Young started the Annual Black Wall Street Expo in Atlanta, Georgia, to motivate Black entrepreneurs, educate Black families and future business owners, and celebrate the legacy of one of the most prosperous communities in Black American history.
The Expo enters its third year on June 1, 2024, where visitors can learn more about financial literacy through engaging panel discussions, see entertainment from local artists, and have opportunities to support Black-owned vendors. Young’s non-profit TFLI will also be on-site, providing mental health resources and voting informational resources in partnership with Fulton County
Making a guest appearance at the 3rd Annual Black Wall Street Expo, is the oldest living survivor of the Tulsa Massacre that left the original Black Wall Street in Tulsa, Oklahoma, destroyed by a mob of white racists. Mother Viola Fletcher, who recently celebrated her 110th birthday, will be honored by TFLI for her continuous work to bring attention to the history of Black Wall Street.
“The event commemorates a pivotal moment in the history of race relations in this country, and a piece of history will be present,” says Young. “[The Expo] will bring more attention to the history of Tulsa, and I hope that it will prompt more people to not only learn about Black Wall Street but actually visit.”
In addition to celebrating the legacy of Tulsa and the original Black Wall Street, the Expo will highlight Black-owned business owners who have made and continue to make commendable strides in businesses, and one lucky randomly selected business will win a $1,000 prize.
“The honorees consist of your everyday Black-owned business owners who have made and continue to make commendable strides in businesses and deserve to be honored for their resilience in a world that continuously tries to extinguish not only our rights as human beings but our very existence.”
Our existence is based on the sacrifices of our ancestors. Young wants to ensure that we never forget that history and that we do all we can to honor their legacy and sacrifices.
“Group economics is what allowed the Greenwood District to flourish into what we know as Black Wall Street. During this time, African Americans were the wealthiest, and the wealth gap between us and our counterparts was the smallest. In order to get back to that place, we must do what Tulsans did back then, which is to believe and trust in and support our own.”
Overall, Young wants Black people to be inspired and encouraged to pursue their entrepreneurial dreams and begin the journey toward financial literacy so they can build wealth that lasts for generations to come.
“I know the stigma of being a Black-owned business owner is tough to fight sometimes, but entrepreneurship has the power to not only change your financial trajectory, but your family’s financial trajectory as well,” she advises. “Don’t give up.”
The Expo takes place on June 1 in Atlanta, Georgia. Visit blackwallstreetatlanta.org for more details.
Cover Photo: Atlanta Nonprofit Hosting 3rd Annual Black Wall Street Expo to Provide Training & Resources for Black Entrepreneurs / Photo courtesy of Jasmine Young and The Financial Literacy Institute.