Economic Education Field Fellow-Region 7, District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia

As National Association of Advancement of Colored People, NAACP Economic Education Field Fellow –Region 7, I am charged with the implementation of educational campaigns and strategies on economic issues and implementing the training curricula for adults and youth in the priority areas of the NAACP Economic Department throughout the regions.

The priority areas of the NAACP Economic Department are founded on the Economic Sustainability game changer of the NAACP. Which is a chance to live the American Dream for all. That every person will have equal opportunity to achieve economic success, sustainability, and financial security. Marking the progress through the narrowing and ultimate elimination of race-based differences in the following measures:

Unemployment:

•     Unemployment rate: 16% of black people are unemployed vs. 9.6% of the general population and 8.7% of whites (Census, 2010)

Poverty:

• Poverty rates: 25.9% black, 14.3% all, and 9.4% white (Census 2009)

Wealth:

•   Median family net worth: $23,300 nonwhite families, 149,900 white families (Federal Reserve, 2009

Building upon the Economic Sustainability platform the department has developed three objectives.

·         Empower local communities with the necessary education, resources and partnerships to develop sustainable economic models that advance diversity and equity.

Ø  Identify resources and partners for your states work

Ø  Identify a strategy to provide economic education advocacy and resources to units in your state conference?

Ø  How will this economic education advocacy and resources benefit the communities in which local NAACP units are located?

Ø  How will this economic education strategy impact the individuals which your units are serving?

Ø  What Sustainable Economic Models will your state conference seek to implement over the next 5 years? Describe the model and your steps to achieving this model.

Ø  How do these goals impact your state conferences overall goals and objectives?

·         Ensure that government and industry are knowledgeable, and committed to bridging racial inequality particularly as it relates to employment, wealth, lending and business ownership.

Ø  Identify economic racial disparities you would like to bridge?

Ø  Identify major places of business including government agencies who can be leaders in inclusive hiring?

Ø  Define the advocacy campaign associated with this strategy and how you will work to implement this advocacy campaign

Ø  Outline a timeline to implement this strategy

·         Grow a movement of concerned citizens and organization who work together to produce an inclusive and strong middle class economy for the 21st century.

Ø  Identify a strategy to engage concerned citizens and organizations around Economic Justice and advocacy

Ø  What aspect of economic justice will you focus your campaign on and how will it affect your state conference and the community that you serve

Ø  How will this campaign engage community members and organizations

Ø  Identify the leading economic justice coalitions in your state.

Wealth Building Challenges of Generation X and Millennials

Challenges of a Generation

Strengthening and protecting economic security is a priority issue for all individuals, whether it is in the form of a house, savings, a college education or inheritance for children. Wealth softens the blow of unexpected events, such as job loss or even a downturn in the economy. This can be seen clearly in the aftermath of the Great Recession of 2007-2009, which devastated the life of families with little to no wealth while affluent families recovered relatively well. Yet wealth building in the modern day economy is a daunting task for young professionals as we face the highest student loan debt and the weakest job generating economy this country has seen.

Nearly 20 million Americans attend college each year. Of that 20 million, close to 12 million – or 60% - borrow annually to help cover costs. Of the 37 million borrowers who have outstanding student loan balances, 14%, or about 5.4 million borrowers, have at least one past due student loan account. So what does a young professional do to ensure that they capitalize their wealth building years?

 I’ve researched this question and the following tips is what I’ve uncovered:

• "Its not how much you make, but how much you save.” Young professionals believe they do not earn enough to invest and often hold off until later in life when ages 25(post college) to 40 are actually the best time to save and invest aggressively[i].
•     Go for the Roth 401k. Early investments in 401ks and IRA’s can yield tax-free high returns in the long term[ii]. The benefits of Roth is the savings after-tax dollars, so, unlike a regular 401(k), you won't pay income taxes on withdrawals
•      Once you have a Roth 401k-“Don’t cash out”. More than half of workers in their twenties who leave a job do not roll their 401(k) into an IRA or their new employer's plan[iii].
•       Budget -budgeting is not a torture device—it’s you telling your money what to do instead of wondering where it went
•     Establish an Emergency Fund- First save a $,1000 to cover small emergencies, like flat tires and medical co-pays.[iv].
•     Prioritize Payments- Give high priority to debts related to necessities such as utilities and debts you can't discharge, including student loans and unpaid federal taxes[v].

As I move forward to deal with the issues that many of my peers are facing, I can’t help but feel it’s a sacrifice now and enjoy later game. Hopefully, the aforementioned tactics help me maximize my income and secure wealth for my offspring.

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[i] Investment Planning by the Decade, Frank McCoy. Black Enterprise, http://www.blackenterprise.com/money/investing/investment-planning-by-the-decade/4/

[ii] Building Wealth, Best Years if you’re 25 to 34. http://money.cnn.com/gallery/pf/2013/04/15/building-wealth-young-adults.moneymag/

[iii] http://money.cnn.com/gallery/pf/2013/04/15/building-wealth-young-adults.moneymag/

[iv] http://www.daveramsey.com/article/three-steps-to-wealth-building-for-young-adults/lifeandmoney_investing/

[v] http://finance.yahoo.com/news/5-tips-managing-debt-110805706.html

Power of Social Media

 Unlimited Potential 

Power of Social Media, while I have been reluctant in joining social media the majority of my life I do find interest in its engagement in politics. The power of social media to engage unreachable demographics that were once too silent and far removed from the decision making circles has changed. A new era of political awareness and activism has been awakened with the arrival of social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and etc.

Social media ability to influence public opinion has changed the reaction time of people’s engagement. Presently artists, to politicians receive real time criticism of their actions and choices made in a matter minutes. When these actions and choices are made public it is often a collective group opinion that proves to be most severe.

This enabling of a quick response allows for a continuous status update of the situation. People collectively update each other and circles of communities. The ability to be mobile while also having a social media presence has also greatly influenced political engagement.  

Social media use is not just restricted to the use of the individual people but also available for use by nonprofits, for profit, companies, governments, and various other institutions. It gives these organizations a platform to address relevant information to themselves at a real time of occurrence. The widespread communication can often times lead to inspiring new ideas, agreements, demands and political conflict. The platform of social media has made quick responsiveness a necessity of these institutions in trending communities of awareness. Where once voices were silent and still. 

Professional Development

A Journey of Understanding

As a young adult just embarking on life, I find myself thinking continuously on professional development. I think of professional development as being the skills and experience that you acquire through hands on learning and instructional teaching. Searching online I find that there is a collective agreement of what professional development entails. It’s referred to as an acquisition of skills, knowledge both for personal development and career advancement. Encompassing the facilitated learning opportunities from university degrees to conferences, and informal learning opportunities in situational practices.

Currently as I sit and evaluate all of the development that I have undergone since my graduation from undergrad. I can’t help but wonder at what point does all of the acquired knowledge come together to make an acute expert of an individual. The variety of developmental opportunities that one partakes in knowingly and unconsciously that help shape one’s individual perspective surely has to have an enlightening moment.

Indeed there are many circumstances or forces that participate in each individual’s development course. Some individuals pursue lifelong learning interest, others do so out of obligation, many may do so to maintain and improve professional competence in order to enhance career progression. In doing so keeping in stride with emerging techniques, technology and practices.

All of which should add to a competent individual with a credible skill set, degrees, certificates and understanding. This point of view is debatable, if an individual has no level of initiative, interest or desire then all of the formal coursework, lesson studies, or mentoring will be of no use. With anything the first priority of any sane person seeking more out of oneself should be what am I looking to grasp. Everyone must find this for themselves and pursue it vigorously with tremendous effort. It will not be handed to you, it’s most likely to be stumbled upon out of great effort. 

Lifes Pivots

Life’s most endearing moments can cause a catalyst of energy. With every moment of endearment we experience a significant change within ourselves. I remember as a young boy of 8 or 9, I experienced my first endearing moment. The moment included a few goodbyes and new beginnings. Here began my first official pivot. My brother, mother and myself were departing Fresno, California, the birth place of myself and brother. My mom had a loaded U-Haul truck with all our belongings stored in the truck. She had decided that it would be best if we moved to Houston, Texas, where we had other siblings migrating too. Before departing she let me meet my best friend and his family. Saying our farewells to each other and family members is where I felt the initial element of an unknown energy in my life. That element continued to occur mentally as we physically departed from the house’s view. I remember gazing out of the passenger window silently hurt and vulnerable. It was not the physical moment of saying goodbye to my dear friend or his family that caused this catalyst of sadness to creep upon my mind. But the genuine feel that my life was now pivoting into uncertainty.