Households headed by a black college graduates have less average wealth than households headed by white high school dropouts, according to Ibram X. Kendi, Boston University professor and author.
Kendi is sometimes described as a radical when it comes to racism, according to D.A. Abrams, managing director of the CFP Board Center for Financial Planning who moderated the conversation.
“I think it is radical to live in a nation where there is widespread racism and it is radical to not recognize the policies that let this condition exist,” said Kendi, the author of How To Be An Antiracist and the Andrew W. Mellon professor and founding director of the BU Center for Antiracist Research at Boston University.
“It is also radical to not do anything to change these disparities,” he said during the closing session of the CFP Board Center for Financial Planning Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DE&I) Summit Thursday. “Black people do not have less because there is something wrong with black people.”
Financial planners need to recognize the disparities that exist and acknowledge that everyone needs a good financial planner, he said. Financial advisors can help push change by helping clients invest in black-owned businesses or fund organizations that are addressing the racial wealth gap.
To make changes within a firm, Kendi said advisors should assess the conditions that exist, make changes where needed, and then keep going back to the drawing board to re-assess the situation. If some employees do not feel included, the culture has to change. If advisors are overwhelmed by the changes that need to be made or the wealth of information that is now available, they should start by defining the terms involved. A person cannot reverse racism, if he or she does not know what racism is, he said.
Kendi noted that changes may need to be instituted at a financial firm before the staff and managers buy into the moves. “Historically, you make the change and then white people see it is not going to hurt them – in fact the improvements will actually help them. They then buy into the new policies.”
Abrams said advisory firms should mirror the demographics of the area where they are operating. “It makes good business sense to reflect the population we serve.”
Reflecting on the “cancel culture” that often exists now, Kendi acknowledged that times have changed and some people may have been guilty of racist actions or words in the past. “Part of the process of being an antiracist is admitting that you made mistakes and saying how you will fix them. Racists continue to deny their past actions” were racist.
Kendi likened eliminating racism to treating cancer. You remove the tumors that the current culture has enabled and then flood the body with a chemotherapy of new policies and attitudes to prevent the recurrence, he said.