About the Book
The US racial wealth gap is large, and it's compounding. It's time to close it. Minding the Wealth Gap shines a light on people doing this important work and explores how you can get involved too.
Generations of public and private practices have left Black households $15 trillion and 400 years behind white households. Engaging storytelling backed by data, Minding the Wealth Gap highlights the wide-ranging impact of this lack of wealth parity. It explores the intricate connections between issues such as housing disparities, employment opportunities, education, investment barriers, social networks, and over-policing, all of which contribute to the staggering wealth gap between Black and white households.
While the numbers are astounding, there is also hope. Investment professional Cliff Goins IV shines a spotlight on the courageous efforts of nine Black entrepreneurs and executives who are actively working to bridge this chasm:
- Kedra Newsom Reeves is a highly accomplished, very curious management consultant by day, serving as a partner at the Boston Consulting Group, where she drives holistic solutions to wealth creation.
- Mark Wilson became an accidental entrepreneur, then used his platform to empower economic mobility for under-resourced team members.
- C-suite executive Selena Cuffe is a world traveler and a talented business leader. She is a poster child for the power of cultivating diverse talent.
- Lee Henderson leveraged his role as partner at Ernst & Young LLP to help launch a network of resources to accelerate the growth of underserved ethnic minority-owned businesses.
- Shundrawn Thomas champions underdogs and unleashes access to financial and human capital as CEO of The Copia Group, a private investment firm.
- Tony Wilkins, an advisor for Google for Startups, is an entrepreneur whisperer, imparting wisdom and money that they need to flourish.
- Corporate lawyer turned entrepreneur George Fatheree III advocates for real estate justice and turbocharges home and land ownership.
- Small business banker Steve Hall locates the diamonds in the rough, putting capital to work in overlooked communities.
- Serial entrepreneur and sage Robert Blackwell Jr. is compelling large organizations to "just do business" and free the enterprises.
These "gap closers" have much to teach us, having pioneered initiatives such as empowering economic mobility, advocating for homeownership, and championing economic parity. Goins invites us to get in the game and become gap closers ourselves, unleashing trillions of dollars of potential trapped in our poorest communities. Minding the Wealth Gap is both a powerful catalyst and a call to arms, urging America's entrepreneurs, executives, government officials, and other leaders to join these efforts and take meaningful steps toward a more equitable future for all.
Table of Contents:
Team Huddle 1: The Racial Wealth Gap
$15 Trillion or 416 Years to Close It
Team Huddle 2: A Two-tiered Real Estate Experience
Team Huddle 3:Compounding Interest(s)
Game Time:Being a Gap Closer
Create Opportunities, Expand Networks, and Enable Ownership
Play 1 Kedra Newsom Reeves
The Forever Curious One, Shows the Strength of Being in the Know
Play 2 Mark Wilson
The Accidental Entrepreneur, Empowers Economic Mobility
Play 3 Selena Cuffe
Hollywood Woman of the World, Proves the Power of Diverse Talent
Play 4 Lee Henderson
The Master Networker, Launches Intrapreneurship Ventures
Play 5 Shundrawn Thomas
Champion of the Underdog, Unleashes Access to Financial and Human Capital
Play 6 Tony Wilkins
The Startup Whisperer, Invests in Early Stage Ventures
Play 7 George Fatheree III
The People's Advocate, Turbocharges Home and Land Ownership
Play 8 Steve Hall
Finder of Diamonds in the Rough, Banks on Small Businesses
Play 9 Robert Blackwell, Jr.
The Economic Militant, Champions Economic Parity
Play 10 You, The Citizens of America
Call Your Own Gap Closer Plays
The Final Play
The "R" Words Plus You and Me, the People
Overtime
Different Definitions of Love
Acknowledgments
Gap Closers Resource List
About the author
Index
About the Author :
Cliff Goins IV is an investor in private companies. He also co-founded Scaleup, a startup that began in Amazon, which helps diverse-owned and other small and medium-size businesses grow into large enterprises. Goins has held roles at Northern Trust Asset Management, including COO of an early-stage fintech acquisition and head of strategy for the $1 billion business unit. He holds an MBA in finance and strategy from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and a BS in accounting from HBCU Florida A&M University. He is obsessed with tennis and lives near Chicago with his wife and two smart, beautiful, and sporty daughters.
Review :
"This book changes not only the way you read about the economics and inequities of the wealth gap; it changes the way you understand the entire subject. Goins lays out in human terms how living within dated structures and biased systems defines what 'growing up differently' really means." --Dana Arnett, Founder, VSA Partners
"Goins clearly lays out the case for a collective effort to reduce the racial wealth gap. He provides impactful and practical ideas about where to plug in and become part of the solution." --Jennifer Steans, partner, Concentric Equity Partners
"Goins has been taking on and brilliantly articulating one of the biggest and most serious problems confronting the Black community--the wealth gap. With his keen historic perspective, he has clearly substantiated how, over centuries, Blacks have been systematically denied seats at the table when laws, policies, and deals were created producing this enormous wealth gap. He warns the reader, if the nation does not address this problem immediately, there will be a price to pay not only for Blacks but for all citizens of our nation." --James H. Lowry, senior advisor, Boston Consulting Group, and author of Change Agent
"Many Americans want to know what they can do about the Black-white wealth gap, and Goins's book provides nine examples of people working in the space who will inspire readers. Highly relatable and engaging, this is a 'what next' book for people who have learned about the persistent gap that has hovered around fifteen cents on the dollar since the 1950s." --Ebony Reed, coauthor of Fifteen Cents on the Dollar
"A road map to understanding the history of economic disparities and a practical plan for developing a strategy for personal and systemic improvement. This book provides critical perspectives on a critical issue and is a useful tool, especially for people early in their careers." --Howard Appelbaum, former president of Nielsen Entertainment and chief strategy officer of Liquid Soul Media
"The lack of real estate education in the Black community is the gap of the civil rights movement; Cliff Goin's book highlights that gap and so much more. And he provides the solutions that we need." --John Crossman, CEO, Crossman Career Builders, and author of Career Killers/Career Builders
"This book will shape and perhaps alter your understanding about the racial wealth gap, its compounding effects on people, families, and communities, and how to abolish it for good so that all US citizens can access opportunities that lead to social mobility and financial freedom." --Brandon M. Erby, PhD, assistant professor of writing, rhetoric, and African American studies, University of Kentucky
"Goins makes it clear that the wealth gap is the multigenerational economic cancer that is everyone's monster at the door.... Then Goins does something brilliant: he tells us exactly what we must do, with founding-principle resolve, to drive the monster from our nation forever." --Sandra Finley, president & CEO, League of Black Women
"Articulately lays out the historical causes and current ramifications of the wealth gap. Goins insightfully discusses practical ways and plays to address the gap and introduces us to inspirational leaders who have overcome it. An elegant call to action." --James N. Hallene, founder and managing principal, Capital Concept Holdings, LLC
"An essential road map to closing the racial wealth gap in America. Through engaging storytelling and solid data, Goins goes well beyond describing the systemic barriers and shines a valuable spotlight on nine inspiring Black entrepreneurs and executives who are leading the charge to bridge this gap." --Tammy Halevy, executive director, Reimagine Main Street, a project of the Public Private Strategies Institute; and board member, 1863 Ventures
