Dr. Boyce Watkins’ 10 Commandments of Black Economic Power is a must-read.
While the book is easy to understand and super digestible, the rules and ideas he outlines are all-encompassing – running generations deep.
He doesn’t sugarcoat what Black people should know about money. He speaks directly about personal finance, community empowerment, and establishing generational wealth.
He is unapologetic and for good reason.
The racial wealth gap is daunting. While Black folks have generated wealth for America through enslavement and undeniable disenfranchisement, we have never been the direct recipients of America’s cash flow and resources. Racist policies have only tried to keep us down by denying education, access to assets like real estate, establishing businesses, and more.
We remember the past with solemnity.
At the same time, we move forward with intention and recognize the pursuit for economic equality is on-going.
In 2022, research from the Survey of Consumer Finances—which examined assets such as savings, investments, retirement, pensions, and especially homeownership—found White families had six times the wealth of Black families.
Watkins emphasizes the importance of the Black community as a whole and how to evolve from simply surviving to thriving. Not only does he discuss money, but he also references the importance of healthy relationships and their correlation with building wealth.
Check out the 10 Commandments of Black Economic Power below, along with some impactful quotes from each precept.
Commandment #1: Always Be an Asset to Your Family
- “Trillions in black wealth have been lost because of relatives who became liabilities to their loved ones when they should have been raised to be assets.”
- “Our perception of money being a taboo subject needs to change right now. Instead of showing someone you love them by cooking a meal, also show your love by supporting their business.”
Commandment #2: Buy Black Whenever Possible (Buying Black is Key to Our Survival)
- “The reality is that everyone boycotts black-owned business, including black people… To fix this issue, black people must consciously seek out and support black-owned businesses whenever possible. This should start with the businesses being run in your own family and neighborhoods. Supporting black-owned business doesn’t just mean buying the products: it means adding value by any means necessary and in any way possible.”
Commandment #3: Black Wealth Training Must be a Rite of Passage
- “Our children should know wealth as much as they know sports and dancing……This is the arena where 100 percent of our kids will eventually go pro. We must prepare them for this reality if we want them to succeed.”
Commandment #4: Create Fertile Economic Soil for Your Family
- “Part of helping your loved one [with their business] is providing critiques in a constructive and helpful manner. This means allowing them to make the final decision but offering advice that might make the product better, reduce the costs, or increase the likelihood that they are going to succeed.”
- “Spending with black-owned businesses is a very natural and simple way to multiply black wealth. We don’t have to ask for permission to do this. We only have to have economic awareness and discipline.”
Commandment #5: Invest in Healthy Relationships and Maintain Them
- “Relationships are a huge part of your wealth-building process. Having healthy relationships with others and being able to pour into the right relationships can go a long way toward securing your economic future.”
- “Toxic relationships ruin your wealth … Lots of arguing will drain you of time that could have been used to pursue your goals…Bad relationships drain you of emotional energy…High levels of cortisol can cause high blood pressure, osteoporosis, muscle weakness, and mood swings.”
- “I encourage you to consider things like family meetings, therapy, and positive communication to be part of your investment strategy. Happy families create opportunities for each other in the long run.”
- “Be kind and helpful to others as a general rule. This leads to the law of reciprocity, where most good people will want to be helpful to you.”
Commandment #6: Keep It All in the Family Whenever Possible
- “When we are together in groups, we are stronger. When we have solid families, we are a greater force. When everyone is working together as a collective, it is far more difficult to harm or exploit us.”
- “Relationships are everything…..When relationships are created and maintained, projects begin, empires are built, and wealth is created. When relationships become toxic or destroyed, wealth is lost.”
Commandment #7: Capital Must Be Preserved, Protected, and Efficiently Used
- “African-Americans are not taught to go after wealth. We are instead taught to chase income until we grow old and die. This isn’t healthy.”
- “The public school system educates us on how to get jobs and not make investments. Children are rewarded for sitting down and being quiet, not for being creative and bold.
- “The first pillar of wealth is owning your own business…. The second pillar of wealth is stock market investing… The final pillar of wealth is real estate ownership.”
- “Knowledge serves as a barrier to asset ownership largely because many of our families don’t have conversations about economics or wealth.”
Commandment #8: Always Plant Seeds for the Future
- “The reality is that after you’re gone, your children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren will live lives that are deeply affected by the choices you are making right now.”
Commandment #9: Always Leave Worthy Inheritance
- “The idea of leaving a worthy inheritance can begin with asking yourself this question: Are the people I love going to be economically better off after I’m gone than they would be otherwise?”
- “A lot of wealth is lost because we procrastinate.”
- “Wealthy families groom their children to be CEOs, not employees.”
Commandment #10: Ownership is the Key to Power
- “Your life matters more than your financial wealth or income. Some of us are trained (notice that this is also linked to culture) to ruin our lives over a job or to make more money. People go to prison chasing money. They ruin their families, destroy their health, and create mental illness within their spirit.”
- “Working is something that should be done temporarily to earn income. After you earn enough income, you should not have to work anymore because you’ve transferred a portion of that income into an asset that generates income without you having to work.”
- “Wealth comes from ownership.”
