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As a partner and vice president with a large staffing company, for the past 15 years I have witnessed thousands of Black men and women being processed in order to secure gainful employment. Week in and out I have had the opportunity to place thousands of job seekers in short and long-term opportunities. There is a commonality that exists with the majority of applicants that fill out lobbies on a day-to-day basis: place and position of birth. Oftentimes, the job seekers come from communities that are wrought with poverty, poor educational systems, lack of healthy food choices and most of all, jobs that pay a good living wage.
Most, if not all, of the jobs in the communities in which they inhabit pay wages that are so low it requires the employee to work long hours just to live at, if not right below, the poverty line. This is a vicious cycle because it not only prevents them from seeking education that will certainly provide them with better paying job options, but it also creates an empty space in their homes, disabling the familial relationships. Their children end up raising themselves, and their siblings and adult relationships suffer.
As an executive with one company, who has first hand experience witnessing this vicious unbroken cycle of in our community, I have a moral imperative to break it. I can no longer witness our people suffering without making every attempt to use my resources and experience to create a better tomorrow for our community.
As with all problems we encounter, the solution is often times hidden on the inside. The answer to this problem persisting in our community lies within us. We must return back to and rebuild our inner cities, and we must rely on our community, not governmental programs, handouts or reparations to become the savior to our community. We have waited for a 100 years for the republicans, democrats, special programs, liberals and more to come into our community riding a white horse and solve our issues. They came, and they left, and we are still suffering.
The solution to our problem is to redirect our Black spending, which has hit 1.2 trillion dollars annually, back into our community. I have created and will launch a platform, Legacy Brands, in the spring of 2020. This platform is a place for us where we can purchase products or services. We can also create a profile and sell our products or services to our own people. 15% of every dollar purchased will be directed to our own non-profit, 501C3, Inspiring America. As a customer you will be able to track every dollar that you spend and direct your money to the city of your choice.
The goal is to raise enough capital in each city to support one of the following seven pillars:
1. Legacy Bank & Trust – We will house, invest and circulate our own money by creating our own banking system.
2. Legacy Markets – Our own grocery stores and corner stores that will sell healthy foods.
3. Legacy Technical & Community Center – This center is the epicenter of our campus. We will certify our people in technical and medical trades so they can earn a living wage. The center will also serve as the hub for our community by providing before and after-school programs, STEM learning, community kitchens and closets.
4. Legacy Educational Fund – Our own fund that will provide scholarships for our children and adults that are interested in pursuing higher education. Part of the fund will also assist in supporting our HBCUs.
5. Legacy M&D – We will manufacture and distribute not only our own products, but also create products that will compete in the global marketplace. Legacy M&D is crucial to the success of this lifetime endeavor. We must return jobs back to our community. This is the only way we can change the paradigm of our community.
6. Legacy Capital – For too long the barrier of entry to becoming an entrepreneur has been out of reach for our aspiring entrepreneurs. Legacy Capital will provide many services to prepare our budding entrepreneurs for the next steps in business ownership. Moreover, we will provide mentors as well as macro and micro loans to ensure that their dreams come to fruition.
7. Legacy Properties – We will reclaim and revitalize our inner cities. The once abandoned sectors will become bustling communities filled with apartments, homes, business, mixed-use developments, etc.
I am well aware that the first soldier through the door is often the one who gets shot. I have resigned within myself that I am that soldier, but I have the moral imperative to take this first step to rebuilding our community. I was placed here, not to acquire things or to fall into the trappings of success, but to take the first step of one million. The step starts in spring 2020.
