CLICK HERE FOR A CURRENT LIST OF AFRICAN AMERICAN BANKS AND CREDIT UNIONS.

Every sustainably prosperous culture "Churns" their dollars within their "kinship community", seamlessly (without conscious effort) before those dollars enter the "mainstream, global" economy. They "Bank their Culture!"

Due to the unique history of African Americans in the U.S., this "cultural churn, as 1st priority"  was denied for 246 years.  Upon  emancipation,  a period of "Reconstruction" emerged, giving flickers of hope for a rising "African American Economic BASE."   

As the name "Reconstruction" implies, for the first time, African Americans began to reBUILD and reUNIFY our bonds of  family, community and culture!

"Reconstructed" families coveted their meager earnings, in hopes and preparation for better futures. We intentionally circulated our dollars, in commercial enterprise, among one another.

While there were no banks to which we could entrust our financial resources to grow and compound, no access to borrowing at our disposal, these limitations fostered an austere reality with our money. We HAD TO LIVE WITHIN our means, or be subject to the bondage of indebtedness to others.  By 1877, Reconstruction came to an end, and legal segregation began.

By 1907, Mechanics and Farmers opened, to accommodate the depository and other financial needs still denied to African Americans by white banks.  Other "Black" Banks opened in the following years.

Imagine! Had the Internet existed back then, we would have known the whereabouts of these institutions, and in the discriminatory atmosphere of the times, I can only imagine we would have eagerly turned to "Black" banks and churned our dollars, exponentially, forming the economic BASE that so many cultures take for granted, enabling them to gain economic prowess and progress.  The period of Reconstruction fell short of it's hopeful beginnings.

While Civil Rights ushered in the hopes of equality through Affirmative Action, the dissolution of community also began, as we sought to assimilate and integrate. Eurocentric banks realized  the benefit of welcoming "Black Dollars" , to which they paid a meager interest, while they churned and compounded those dollars to the greater benefit of their kinship community, for building and wealth accumulation.  Since the 1900's our millions of dollars have been the "cash cow" for Eurocentric capital investment and cumulative wealth. 

Fast forward to 2025. In spite of minimal support, African American Banks, 34 to date, some of which prevailed through the Depression, the Recession, and COVID are still standing! They have proven their resilience and financial prudence. 

Yet the majority of African Americans do not have deposits in these banks. What can be said about a people that do not "bank their culture"?

African Americans now face zero median family  wealth by 2053 (Inequality.org), in part resulting from a 147+ year absence of  compounding and churning of our dollars in African American banks,  before they enter the mainstream banking economy. 

Here, at WePrepare.Us and the Century 5-10-10-75 Campaign...To  #Prediction2053 we say, "NOPE!...Not on Our Watch!"

Lest anyone think protracted divestment of dollars away from a minority culture to the majority culture is solely a "black problem" , the  Latino American community faces the same prognosis in 2073. Source: Inequality.org 

Once we know, we can't un-know.  Banking is how wealth is created in a culture. "Bank your Culture".

Solution? 

• Use 5-10-10-75 to reduce spending and increase saving. 
• Bank YOUR CULTURE FIRST! Bank BLACK!   
• Make more deposits than withdrawals. This keeps our banks in a stronger position to lend. 
• Don't put all your eggs in one basket. We're not suggesting you move all of your money to an African American bank. Balance is key.  But certainly, "Bank Your Culture!" 
• Have a "succession preparedness plan" for your "depository assets." Don't die intestate, and let your wealth go to the state or unintended beneficiaries! 

Until we intentionally, consistently, and generationally  "Bank Our Culture" we are posturing, not prospering! 

When we prosper, America will prosper. 

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CLICK HERE FOR A CURRENT LIST OF AFRICAN AMERICAN BANKS AND CREDIT UNIONS.

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