Let our wealth be our legacy

During the past several years more magazines have begun regular coverage of

personal financial issues. Investment clubs are booming as one of the most popular ways for African Americans to learn about the stock market, the result of which has been the establishment of groups such as the Coalition of Black Investors, which recently celebrated its second anniversary. The growing number of Websites aimed at African Americans on the Internet invariably includes content and links aimed at connecting their visitors to investment information and services. And everyone from motivational speaker extraordinaire Les Brown to political and civil rights leaders such as the Rev. Jesse Jackson and his son, Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr., are leading seminars and publishing books on money management for African Americans.

Don't look now, but there's a movement afoot. We ought to know--we started it nearly three decades ago.

With this, our first issue of the 21st century, as we move toward celebrating our 30th anniversary with the publication of the August 2000 issue of BLACK ENTERPRISE magazine, we are calling on every African American to join this movement through our introduction of the Black Wealth Initiative. This is far more than a new column or a special issue devoted to personal finance. We've been there, done that, and we'll continue to be the No. 1 source of money management and investment information for African Americans. The Black Wealth Initiative is nothing less than an ongoing campaign aimed at challenging you to join the black wealth-building movement by committing to specific principles of disciplined saving and investing. Once you've made that commitment, we'll arm you with the tools, motivation, connections and information to follow through on that commitment, not only in this issue, but in every issue to come as we venture out into the new millennium. Here's how:

First, we've broken down the intimidating complexities of finance to 10 tried-and-true universal principles of wealth accumulation. It's simple: Commit to these principles, by signing the Declaration of Financial Empowerment (DOFE), put them into practice and you will begin to accumulate wealth for yourself and your family (we've included a copy of DOFE in this issue).

As an added incentive, we've launched the BE Financial Fitness Contest. By entering, you get the chance to win $2,000 toward the establishment of an investment account, an introductory session with a certified financial planner and a chance to be featured in the pages of BE. In addition, we've created the BE Wealth Building Kit, a package, including a guide to wealth building and how you can use the information resources provided by BE, designed to reinforce your commitment to the principles of DOFE. You can get copies of the BE Wealth Building Kit, DOFE and applications for the Financial Fitness Contest by calling, toll-flee, 877-WEALTHY, or by visiting our Website at www.blackenterprise.com.

This represents just a few of the programs and resources we'll be introducing to African Americans who want to gain financial empowerment during this, our 30th anniversary year. You can also look for The Millionaires Club: How to Start and Run Your Own Investment Club and Make Your Money Grow, the latest offering of the Black Enterprise Book Series, as well as special presentations of the Black Wealth Initiative at conferences and events across the nation. And in the spirit of one of the principles of DOFE--to teach business and financial basics to our children--we are accelerating our efforts to get our KidpreneurNews and Black Enterprise for Teens newsletters into the hands of as many young people as possible.

As you can see, we take wealth-building pretty seriously. But what do we mean by financial empowerment? How about freedom from the shame of being not unwilling, but unable to tithe to your church, despite being blessed with more income in one year than your parents (who have always tithed) earned in their working lifetimes? Or the ability to abandon an unrewarding career to make your entrepreneurial dreams come true? Or the peace of knowing that your children, as well as your children's children, are guaranteed a college education? Or the security of being able to afford the best medical care available for an ailing parent? Or the sense of fulfillment that results from your writing a personal check to keep the doors open to the community center that provides a safe haven (not to mention computer training) for your kids until you get home from work?

At Earl G. Graves Ltd., the parent company of BE and Black Enterprise Unlimited, the black wealth-building movement is not just a fad or "the latest thing"--it's a mission, the reason we exist. You see, we're not just talking the talk; we also walk the walk. Our company's 401(k) plan, which includes investment options a committee of employees helped to select, boasts near 100% employee participation. In addition, many of our employees are members of investment clubs, in addition to having established and grown individual investment portfolios of their own. In fact, the first round of our Financial Fitness Contest was conducted internally, for employees only. In this issue, you'll meet the winner, Nicole Simpkins, a newlywed who is a classified sales associate in our advertising department, and her husband Kevin, a sous-chef. Their goals: to establish healthy savings and investment habits, eliminate and avoid debt and--within the next five years--own their own home.