According to TIAA Institute (2019)

“African-Americans make up 13 percent of the U.S. population. Yet financial literacy gaps exist across this demographic group regardless of gender, age, income, or education. There is a strong link between financial literacy and financial well-being among all races of people. Those who are more financially literate are more likely to plan, save for retirement, have non-retirement savings, better able to manage their debt and less likely to be financially fragile.” 

Financially fragile is a term used by economists to define as not being able to pull together $2,000 in cash within 30 days. 

Research (TIAA Institute, 2019), finds that “African Americans tend to exhibit lower financial well-being than others, for a myriad of reasons. Given the strong link between financial literacy and financial well-being, increased financial knowledge can lead to improved financial capability and behaviors.” 

RTU believes that through proper education, practice and resources, we can be better prepared to deal with earning, spending, saving, investing, borrowing, insuring, legacy, understanding risk, and gathering relevant, financial information. As a community that has been marginalized, discriminated against, scammed and denied education in school and work settings, there is little margin for error compared to other groups. We must take personal responsibility, continue to progress on this critical matter and improve upon our knowledge that is necessary to make financially responsible decisions. Financial decisions that are highly critical to our daily lives and existence, as early in life as possible!