Financial Literacy: Path to Freedom or Strategic Diversion?

Let’s play some Fact or Cap real quick…

“Teaching personal finance to kids can help to close the Black wealth gap.” – CNBC, 2021

We know that’s BIG cap.

But clearly the dominant narratives in media say otherwise. We’ve been told that financial literacy is the key to building wealth, especially in Black and other historically marginalized communities. But what happens when that advice ignores the structural forces that keep us underpaid, overworked, and economically excluded?

In this Theory Thursday we’re joined by our Black Liberation Media comrades, Dr. Jared Ball and Erika Brown (Broke-ish Podcast), to discuss why exactly “financial literacy” is framed as a path towards liberation and unpack how this concept distracts us from the deeper systems of economic oppression.

How do we create true economic power?

Let’s dive in.