The Breakfast Club - Black Tech Green Money: Social Impact's Effect on Black Wealth || Alphonso David, Global Black Economic Forum

Episode Date: April 20, 2024

The Black Effect Presents... Black Tech Green Money! Alphonso David has committed his life to actualizing a more just and equitable world. Currently, he’s President & CEO of the Global Black Economic Forum, focused on reimagining what diversity, equity, inclusion, and opportunity looks like in global workspaces and marketplaces, as well as achieving the notion of economic justice for the Black diaspora globally. The Global Black Economic Forum engages business executives, policy makers, entrepreneurs, activists, and consumers globally on thought leadership; corporate and entrepreneurial career development; and advancing social and economic justice for marginalized communities across the globe.  On this episode, Alphonso speaks with AfroTech’s Will Lucas about how tech can be leveraged to support justice at scale, the overlooked sectors of our community when we talk about wealth and business success, and how Black operators find success with government contracting. Follow Will Lucas on Instagram: @willlucas Follow Black Tech Green Money: @blacktechgreenmoney, @btgmpodcast Learn more at AfroTech.com Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Had enough of this country? Ever dreamt about starting your own? I planted the flag. This is mine. I own this. It's surprisingly easy. 55 gallons of water, 500 pounds of concrete. Or maybe not. No country willingly gives up their territory. Oh my God.

What is that? Bullets. Listen to Escape from Zakistan. We need help! That's Escape from Z-A-Q-istan on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. As a kid, I really do remember having these dreams and visions, but you just don't know what is going to come for you. Alicia shares her wisdom on growth, gratitude, and the power of love. I forgive myself. It's okay.

Have grace with yourself. You're trying your best. And you're going to figure out the rhythm of this thing. Alicia Keys, like you've never heard her before. Listen to On Purpose with Jay Shetty on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, y'all. Nimany here.

I'm the host of a brand new history podcast for kids and families called Historical Records. Executive produced by Questlove, The Story Pirates, and John Glickman, Historical Records brings history to life through hip-hop. Flash, slam, another one gone. Bash, bam, another one gone. The crack of the bat and another one gone. The tip of the cap, there's another one gone. Each episode is about a different, inspiring figure from history. Like this one about Claudette Colvin, a 15-year-old girl in Alabama who refused to give up her seat on the city bus nine whole months before Rosa Parks did the same thing.

Check it. Get the kids in your life excited about history by tuning in to Historical Records. Because in order to make history, you have to make some noise. Listen to Historical Records on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or every single wig removal together. So listen to Still the Place on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Daphne Caruana Galizia was a Maltese investigative journalist who on October 16th, 2017, was assassinated. Crooks Everywhere unearthed the plot to murder a one-woman WikiLeaks. She exposed the culture of crime and corruption that were turning her beloved country into a mafia state.

Listen to Crooks Everywhere on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Check me out at the annual Black Effect Podcast Festival, happening Saturday, April 27th in Atlanta. Live podcasts are on deck from some of your favorite shows, including this one, Black Tech Green Money, and also some of the best podcasts in the game, like Deeply Wellbie brown and carefully reckless atlanta is one of my favorite cities in the world i lived there for two years actually and my worldview seeing us successful in every industry and not having any limits on our potential largely was shaped by atlanta so to be there with you doing this podcast talking about how we build or leverage technology to build wealth come on man

doesn't get better i want to see you there get your tickets today at black effect.com backslash podcast festival i'm will lucas and this is black tech green money alfonso david has committed his life to actualizing a more just and equitable world his resume is pages long but for the sake of this podcast, he's president and CEO of the Global Black Economic Forum, focused on reimagining what diversity, equity, inclusion, and opportunity looks like in global workspaces and marketplaces, as well as achieving the notion of economic justice for black people all over the world.

As someone who's worked across various sectors like he has, including public service, business, nonprofit, and more, how does Alfonso believe technology can be leveraged to address systemic inequalities? I think that leveraging technology-driven solutions to address systemic inequalities really requires collaboration. It requires us to reach

across sectors that consider challenges against marginalized communities or what marginalized communities are facing. What I mean by that is we have to look in education, we have to look at wealth management, we have to look at policy advocacy, we have to look at health equity, we have to look at entrepreneurship. And in all of those different sectors, we can leverage technology-driven solutions to address systemic inequality. So as an example, if you look at education, technology can provide access to quality education and training, which is really essential to economic empowerment and other

things that we think of when we generally think of education. And the educational platforms can really break down barriers to education for marginalized communities to support resource-challenged public schools and maybe provide students with skills and knowledge that can help close the wage gap. So you take another example, wealth management. FinTech innovations such as mobile banking and digital wallets and peer-to-peer lending can expand access to financial services

for underserved populations, including those with traditional banking accounts and credit histories. So by providing alternative financial solutions, technology can help marginalized individuals build assets and improve their economic resilience. And then maybe we think of health care as another sector. Telemedicine and mobile health applications

can improve access to health care services for communities with limited physical access to medical facilities. And so if you're living in a remote setting, for example, where it's difficult to gain access to other resources that people have if they live in urban areas, telemedicine can be incredibly helpful in addressing the gaps in healthcare delivery and in fact, empowering people to take control of their own health. You said a couple of things in there I want to point out. One, you mentioned the phrase wealth management. I believe you said wealth generation also, but I'm not positive on that

one. But I was thinking about reading your background, you know, you've been involved in some really groundbreaking legislation helping push those things, pushing things forward and particularly around, you know, social and economic systems. Is there an imperative for Black people to build wealth? Do we have a responsibility to build wealth? Yes, yes, and yes. Look, as black people, we have it from colonization. They want to divorce it from slavery. They want to divorce it from systemic inequality. And we can't do that. is that we take our personal liberties and use those liberties that we have gained

from our ancestors to achieve financial freedom. You know, the most recent data from the Federal Reserve Survey, I think indicated during COVID that the wealth gap widened. So between 2019 and 2022, you know this, the medium wealth gap widened. So between 2019 and 2022, you know this, the medium wealth saw an increase. However, the wage gap or the wealth gap

increased for people who are racial minorities. And if you put an even finer point on that, when Martin Luther King gave his speech on the March on Washington in the 1960s, the wealth gap was eight to one and today that wealth gap is full for me it's gone the other way yeah yeah it's going the other way and as much as people talk about you know advancements in technology and advancements in economic empowerment and all of the other categories we're seeing this gap

increase between white and black people. We take another category, housing equity. We're seeing that black households showed some improvement, but we're also seeing a gap with respect to home equity, whether black people actually have the ability to purchase homes and hold onto those homes. We're seeing existing and exacerbating disparities. So what I would say to your question is, we have to think about the centuries

of systemic discrimination in public policy, in financial practices, in societal norms that have hindered our ability to acquire Black wealth. And it's all of our individual and collective responsibilities to address that, not only through structural reforms, but also our individual actions. So I'm going to ask this a different way. You're saying it's not okay then to be comfortable with your little salary taking care of you and your little house. Is that safe to say? That is safe to say. You know, that is safe to say, because, you know, I, I have to often think about the work that

I do, and why I continue to do with what motivates me to do this work. And I often think back to our ancestors, and the folks that were killed, that were murdered, in order for us to be in the position that we're in. So just putting that lens on and thinking about the responsibility that we have to further advance the interests of marginalized communities and specifically black people. Not only do we owe it to ourselves, but the systems that we operate in were intentionally created to oppress us. So you're either going to be subjugating yourself to a process and a system that exists to oppress you, or you're going to work to overcome those systems collectively as a community and also individually.

I like that. I like that. I like that. So when you think about Black entrepreneurship, in those even using technology or building technology, Black entrepreneurship, what, in your opinion, are some of the most pressing issues and concerns facing us? Well, I think what you will hear most often from folks that operate in these spaces is access to capital, access to capital, access to capital, access to capital. We have black entrepreneurs all over the world, all over this country, often facing challenges in accessing access to startup capital, including venture capital funding.

You may know this, black women, women of color, business founders, received only 0.038% of venture capital dollars. So to put that in context, $288 billion is allocated each year through the venture capital infrastructure. And of the $288 billion, only 0.38% goes to women of color. That is something that should be alarming to all of us. So if you want to start your own business and you're looking for investors, you're looking for people to actually support you and grow that business, it's going to be difficult for you to find that in the current infrastructure. So access to capital is incredibly important and one of the main obstacles that we face. A second, I would say say is market access and contracts. Black owned technology companies often encounter challenges

in securing contracts and assessing markets dominated by larger, more established firms. So they have to overcome those barriers every single day. And we have to think about how we foster supply diversity initiatives. What I mean by that, for those who may not know, you know, if I run a company, I usually I'm in the business also of buying products and services. If I'm buying products and services and I'm only buying products and services from non-Black people or non-people of color, that's going to

exacerbate the problem. So this idea of market access and contracts is incredibly important. And I would say another challenge is global digital divide. You know, digital inclusion efforts like ensuring access to soft and hard infrastructure can really help bridge the digital divide for marginalized communities, but that's often quite difficult to do because we don't have access to it. And then I would say, finally, we're talking about building collaborative infrastructures and systems. And we don't have that ability in many cases because we're excluded from the process. So bringing together stakeholders from government,

from industry, from the not-for-profit sector to help create a supportive ecosystem for Black entrepreneurs in tech is also, I think, a significant barrier. I'm so glad you mentioned contracting because I was going to ask you about that. And because you teed that up, you know, outside of what I do here, I have a small business also. And we've been asked several times, you know, should participate in bidding processes and typically i would avoid that because the barrier to just complete the applications particularly when you're talking about governments and whether it's local municipal government or federal forget federal that's a whole other beast but you know i'm just like you know it'll take me a month just to respond and then you gotta try to win it you know so so you'll you'll spend 40 80 you know 120 hours just trying to respond to an rfp and then may not even get it

so how do small businesses particularly black owned small businesses position themselves and i guess i'm phrasing that in a way of is it designed that way to keep us out because they know we can't spend the time to do this yeah you know i had the privilege of serving in government for 12 years um and i had the privilege of serving as counsel to the governor of new york the first black man to have that role and you think of the state of new york being a progressive place i happen to have the privilege of serving as the first black person black man I could say to serve as counsel for the governor there were black women that served in that role but unfortunately I remained the only black

man to serve in that role and when I served in that role I had again the privilege of drafting and working on legislation that included the minority and women-owned business program. So this is a program that exists in New York and other parts of the country. The goal is to increase opportunities for minority contractors and women contractors to get business with the state of New York. And that exists in many other parts of the country. Now, to your point, the systems, I believe, were created in such a burdensome way that it makes it difficult for people just to go through the application process. And when I was there, one of the key goals that I had was, how do we demystify this process?

And how do we make it simpler? Now you were here on the other side, people say, well, we need to keep this process as is because we're concerned about fraud. That's the argument why these programs, the application process is so difficult is they argue that we need to make sure that we eliminate or reduce or address fraud. And I would say that obviously is a legitimate concern. That's what they say about voter IDs too. Exactly. That may be a legitimate concern, but what you can't answer for me is why, of the billions of dollars we have allocated out in contracting, only X percent are going to black and brown

people why is that yeah and no one was able to answer that question which is why I worked with a large and very talented team in advancing that legislation but also breaking down the barriers to entry for people right making sure that it was easier for people to get those contracts. And also, importantly, holding the agencies accountable, right? Because in many of these cases, the agencies could grant what's called waivers. If they couldn't find a minority contractor or a woman contractor, they would grant a waiver to a white-owned business to do the work. And what we did when I was in government is eliminate that waiver process so that it went through an additional review process that agencies didn't have the

right just to grant those waivers. And I think that's what we need in many parts of the country is additional accountability efforts to make sure that market access and contracts are actually available to Black entrepreneurs who are seeking to do business with government agencies around the country. I love that. Whether you're starting or scaling your company's security program, demonstrating top-notch security practices and establishing trust is more important than ever. Vanta automates compliance for ISO 27001, SOC 2, GDPR, and more, saving you time and money while helping you build customer trust. Plus, you can streamline security reviews by automating questionnaires and demonstrating your security posture with a customer-facing trust center all powered by Vanta AI. Over 8,000 global companies like Atlassian, FlowHealth, and Quora use Vanta to manage risk and prove security in real time.

Our audience gets a special offer of $1,000 off Vanta at vanta.com slash special. That's V-A-N-T-A dot com slash special for $1,000 off. Is your country falling apart? Feeling tired? Depressed? A little bit revolutionary? Consider this. Start your own country.

I planted the flag. I just kind of looked out of like, this is mine. I own this. It's surprisingly easy. There are 55 gallons of water for 500 pounds of concrete. Everybody's doing it. I am King Ernest Emmanuel. I am the Queen of Ladonia.

I'm Jackson I, King of Capraburg. I am the Supreme Leader of the Grand Republic of Mentonia. Be part of a great colonial tradition. The Waikana tribe owned country. My forefathers did that themselves. What could go wrong? No country willingly gives up their territory. I was making a rocket with a black powder, you know, with explosive warhead.

Oh my God. What is that? Bullets. Bullets. We need help! We still have the off-road portion to go. Listen to Escape from Zakistan. And we're losing daylight fast.

That's Escape from Z-A-Q-istan on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. As a kid, I really do remember having these dreams and visions, but you just don't know what is going to come for you. Alicia Keys opens up about conquering doubt, learning to trust herself, and leaning into her dreams. I think a lot of times we are built to doubt the possibilities for ourselves. For self-preservation and protection, it was literally that step by step.

And so I discovered that that is how we get where we're going. This increment of small, determined moments. Alicia shares her wisdom on growth, gratitude, and the power of love. I forgive myself. It's okay. Like grace. Have grace with yourself. You're trying your best.

And you're going to figure out the rhythm of this thing. Alicia Keys, like you've never heard her before. Listen to On Purpose with Jay Shetty on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. all people to hopefully create better allies. Think of it as a black show for non-black people. We discuss everything from prejudice to politics to police violence, and we try to give you the tools to create positive change in your home, workplace, and social circle. Exactly.

Whether you're black, Asian, white, Latinx, indigenous, LGBTQIA+, you name it. If you stand with us, then we stand with you. Let's discuss the stories and conduct the interviews that will help us create a more empathetic, accountable, and equitable America. You are all our brothers and sisters, and we're inviting you to join us for Civic Cipher each and every Saturday with myself, Ramses Jha, Q Ward, and some of the greatest minds in America. Listen to Civic Cipher every Saturday on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey there, I'm Dr. Maya Shunker, a cognitive scientist who studies human behavior. On my podcast, A Slight Change of Plans, I marry science and storytelling to better understand how to navigate the big changes in our lives. It was like a slow nightmare, you know, because every day you think, oh, surely tomorrow

I'll be better. And I would dream of being better. At night, I would dream that my face was quote unquote normal or back to the way it was. And I'd wake up and there'd be no change. I also speak with scientists about how we can be more resilient in the face of change. You can think of the adolescent brain as like the social R&D engine of our culture, that they're something that looks like risky and idiotic to us. It's maybe their way of creatively trying to solve the problem of having social success and fewer of the things that bring you social failure. Listen to A Slight Change of Plans on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts. One of the things that we don't talk about, I think, enough on this podcast

is addiction. And we talk about mental health. We talk about things like that. But we don't talk about addiction, particularly in technology, often. And you've been instrumental in creating treatment centers for addiction and etc and even advancing economic empowerment through policy and i wonder like what are the the wraparounds or or the the wraparounds that should be there or the the broken bridges between mental health addiction and financial stability so like because we don't we don't correlate those two often enough in our community. There is a direct relationship between financial instability and mental health and addiction. We have a huge mental health crisis in this country that often gets ignored and you see it exacerbated in large cities.

Right. If you live in a large city like New York City or Los Angeles, you may see evidence of mental health on the streets. And in some cases, not all, but in some cases, reflected to people who are homeless. And we're not addressing that issue sufficiently in states and cities around the country. Underserved communities, including low-income neighborhoods and communities of color, disproportionately experience what we call social determinants of health. Yeah, yeah. And that really contributes to mental health challenges and addiction and financial instability.

And if we're not really going to address the social determinants of health, it makes it a lot more difficult for people to get to that place where they can be financially stable. And our communities face systemic barriers in addressing health care or accessing, I should say, health care, accessing education, accessing employment opportunities, affordable housing. So, you know, folks often like to talk about mental health in a vacuum but it has to be directly tied to health care education employment and housing if I can't afford an apartment I'm more than likely won't be able to sustain a job and if I have a mental health challenge and it's not

treated that's going to affect my ability to get a job or to hold on to a home. And that perpetuates into a vicious cycle of poverty. So I had the privilege of helping to create an addiction treatment center in Los Angeles that was and remains quite successful. And I think we need more of that work and we need more focus on those areas because we tend to disaggregate them and think of poverty, mental health in one bucket, and then financial stability in another. Yeah. You've had an incredible story. I want to talk about Alfonso for a second, just the man, you know, the human. Talk about mentorship that you've received and, you know, what are some of the most important lessons you've learned?

I've had the privilege of working with and for some incredible people who took the time to invest in me. And before I even talk about my professional life, I'll just talk about my family. Yeah. My parents, my uncles, my aunts, my cousins that have taken the time and continue to take the time to pour energy and love and attention into me and for me. And that serves as a foundation and a building block for creating the person that I am today. You know, when folks say, how did you get to this place?

I often say, not by myself. Yeah, yeah. I didn't get them dictators, if there were not such dictators in making sure that they pushed us to read and to write and to engage in different cultures and different languages, I wouldn't have the scope and the perspective that I have today. And it wouldn't have led me to practice law. It wouldn't have led me to do the work that I've done. But when I got into those professional spaces, I also found people that invested in me, from Joanne Epps, who was the former dean of the Temple Law School, where I went to law school, or to Clipper Scott Green, who was the judge that I clerked for, one of the first black judges on the federal bench. And I clerked for him. And one of the things that he said to me that will always stick with me,

he says, people often arrive at conclusions with too little evidence. Wow. And he said that to me in the early 2000s when I clerked for him. And I think about that often, especially today, in an environment where people reach conclusions based on a tweet without actually understanding the facts and drawing conclusions about marginalized communities that are in many cases false. And that mentorship and that sponsorship over the decades that I've been doing this work has really helped

not only refined my approach and my thinking on a lot of the work that I do, but also my humanity. You know, as we become more successful, it's very easy to forget where you come from. It's very easy to forget about the person who has less opportunities than you because you're constantly moving forward, constantly reaching higher. And another mentor told me very early on, be careful who you are kind to on your way up. You may meet them on your way down. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I often think about that ladder because we, yes, we have highs and lows in our lives. And we always have to think about the humanity

that we exhibit in how we communicate with people, how we treat people and how we live our lives. I love that. And, you know, one of the things that, your work makes me think about the humanity in DEI work and it's under attack today. And specifically, I want to talk about having access to these opportunities like, you know, I'm on a college board. I'm chair of the board at the at a university and we're faced with, you know, we can't even ask questions about, you know, what's your background? You know, when you talk about scholarshiping or donors who specifically designated their dollars for black students, we can't do that today.

And that's across the country and in so many other places. Venture capital firms who were set up for black people are having challenges in doing this. What do we do? What do we do to ensure we still have, you know, distribution channels for opportunity? So I think there are a few things that we should do. First, I think we need to understand the landscape that is D&I. What I mean by that is affirmative action in D&I exists for white people. It is called nepotism and it is called legacy. Yeah, yeah.

When I was in law school, Janet Reno, who was the former attorney general, came and spoke about affirmative action. And she said, I am a product of affirmative action. Why? Because either her father or an uncle or someone knew someone at the university that she was ultimately accepted into. And we don't call it affirmative action, but that's what it is. It is sanctioned nepotism and sanctioned promotional opportunities for those who are white or who are not black. So let's understand the landscape. We need to understand that as nepotism and legacy. And that has existed for decades and continue to perpetuate this system of inequality. So that's first. Second, I think ensuring access to opportunities for historically underserved and marginalized groups requires advocacy. It requires policy reform. It requires community engagement. And it requires an ongoing commitment to the principles that we call D&I. Right? So we have to make sure that we're willing to advocate for the idea of diversity, equity,

and inclusion. Because what is the alternative? The alternative is that we are accepting institutions being non-diverse and non-inclusive. We are accepting workplaces being non-diverse and non-inclusive. We are accepting that we are less than. Ultimately, by refusing to commit to D&I and the principles undergirding D&I, what we're saying is that we're less than, and we know we're not, right? We know we're not. There is no reason why many of these boardrooms are not diverse. You can't tell me you cannot find a qualified black or brown person

to serve on a board. You can't find a qualified black or brown person to serve as a CEO. You can't find a qualified black or brown person to work in your law firm. So the advocacy, the policy reform, the community engagement, the ongoing commitment to D&I principles are incredibly important, and understanding the landscape that nepotism is really another word for affirmative action. Legacy is another word for affirmative action. And we need to understand how all of those principles coincide with the pushback that we're getting now. We're seeing that there's been a lot of progress, or some progress

in education, in business, in finance, and now it's being dismantled. And we have to fight against that dismantling of affirmative action against D&I, against inclusive policies, because they will directly affect all of us. Is your country falling apart? Feeling tired, depressed, a little bit revolutionary? Consider this. Start your own country. I planted the flag. I just kind of looked out of like, this is mine. I own this. It's surprisingly easy. There's 55 gallons of water for 500 pounds of concrete. Everybody's doing it.

I am King Ernest Emmanuel. I am the Queen of Laudonia. I'm Jackson I, King of Capraburg. I am the Supreme Leader of the Grand Republic of Mentonia. Be part of a great colonial tradition. The Waikana tried my country. My forefathers did that themselves. What could go wrong?

No country willingly gives up their territory. I was making a rocket with a black powder, you know, with explosive warhead. Oh my God. What is that? Bullets. Bullets. We need help! We need help!

We still have the off-road portion to go. Listen to Escape from Zakistan. And we're losing daylight fast. That's Escape from Z-A-Q-istan on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. As a kid, I really do remember having these dreams and visions, but you just don't know what is going to come for you. Alicia Keys opens up about conquering doubt, learning to trust herself, and leaning into her dreams. I think a lot of times we are built to doubt the possibilities for ourselves.

For self-preservation and protection. It was literally that step by step. And so I discovered that that is how we get where we're going. This increment of small, determined moments. Alicia shares her wisdom on growth, gratitude, and the power of love. I forgive myself. It's okay. Like grace. Have grace with yourself. You're trying your best. And you're going to figure out the rhythm of this thing. Alicia Keys, like you've never heard each week for our show Civic Cipher. That's right. We're going to discuss social issues, especially those that affect black and brown people, but in a way that informs and empowers all people to hopefully create better allies.

Think of it as a black show for non-black people. We discuss everything from prejudice to politics to police violence, and we try to give you the tools to create positive change in your home, workplace, and social circle. Exactly. and we try to give you the tools to create positive change in your home, workplace, and social circle. Exactly. Whether you're Black, Asian, White, Latinx, Indigenous, LGBTQIA+, you name it. If you stand with us, then we stand with you. Let's discuss the stories and conduct the interviews that will help us create a more empathetic, accountable, and equitable America. You are all our brothers and sisters, and we're inviting you to join us for Civic Cipher each and every Saturday with myself, Ramses Jha, Q Ward, and some of the greatest minds in America.

Listen to Civic Cipher every Saturday on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey there, I'm Dr. Maya Shunker, a cognitive scientist who studies human behavior. On my podcast, A Slight Change of Plans, I marry science and storytelling to better understand how to navigate the big changes in our lives. It was like a slow nightmare, you know, because every day you think, oh, surely tomorrow I'll be better. And I would dream of being better. At night, I would dream that my face was,-unquote normal or back to the way it was and I'd wake up and there'd be no change. I also speak with scientists about how we can be more resilient in the face of change. You can think of the adolescent brain as

like this social R&D engine of our culture. That they're something that looks like a risky and idiotic to us is maybe their way of creatively trying to solve the problem of having social success and fewer of the things that bring you social failure. Listen to A Slight Change of Plans on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts. So y'all, this is Questlove, and I'm here to tell you about a new podcast I've been working on with the Story Pirates and John Glickman called Historical Records. It's a family-friendly podcast. Yeah, you heard that right.

A podcast for all ages. One you can listen to and enjoy with your kids starting on September 27th. I'm going to toss it over to the host of Historical Records, Nimany, to tell you all about it. Make sure you check it out. Hey, y'all. Nimminy here. I'm the host of a brand-new history podcast for kids and families called Historical Records. Historical Records brings history to life through hip-hop. Flash, slam, another one gone

Bash, bam, another one gone The crack of the bat and another one gone The tip of the cap, there's another one gone Each episode is about a different, inspiring figure from history. Like this one about Claudette Colvin, a 15-year-old girl in Alabama who refused to give up her seat on the city bus nine whole months before Rosa Parks did the same thing. Check it. And it began with me. Did you know, did you know? I wouldn't give up my seat. Nine months before Rosa, it was called a moment. Get the kids in your life excited about history by tuning in to Historical Records. Because in order to make history, you have to make some noise.

Listen to Historical Records on the iHeartRadio app apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts so help me make sense of this because if you look at qualified studies you know if you have diverse people you do better in business that those are facts like you make more money you that which is what we are in the belief of. Like, that's what they want. They want to make more money. They want more power, more influence. And so if I show you businessman, businesswoman statistics that say you make more money when you have diverse boardrooms, you make more money when you have diverse rosters of staff. And then you still is. I don't want to I don't want to use the word hate but do you really not like us that much that you are willing to make less to not put us at the table well i mean you

pose the the elephant in the room right that's the question um there's data that has been issued for decades we have reports after report after report showing the business case for diversity. Showing that if you have a diverse team, you're more successful. If you have a diverse team, you're more innovative. If you have a diverse team, you will have a more sustainable bottom line over the long term.

So if I'm a business leader, I'm assigning value, financial value to diversity. And if I'm assigning value, financial value to diversity. And if I'm not, then I either believe that black and brown people are less than or I'm willing to negate or or not. I'm willing to ignore the financial loss. Yeah. I'm willing to ignore the financial loss. Yeah, yeah. I'm willing to ignore the financial loss

that my company is going to experience as a result of not embracing diversity. Wow. I mean, that's how we should think about it. Because no one is denying the studies. No one is saying the studies are wrong. And we're talking about Harvard Business School to McKinsey. They've all issued studies showing the value of diversity

to companies across the globe, and this is not just a U.S.-based issue. So if I'm a CEO and I ignore that, I either believe that black and brown people are less than, or I'm willing to suffer financial loss. Those are the two options. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And so I've had this conversation, this podcast a lot,

and I'm really interested in your take on this. So there's two conversations to be had. One is you can go to the Apples, the Googles, the Teslas, the whatevers of the world and say, Googles, the Teslas, the whatever's of the world and say, you should hire more black people, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. Make that case. I personally am not in, I want to build my own table. I'm not asking for a seat at nobody's table. I'm going to go build my own table. And I recognize that there's value in both perspectives and both efforts. And I just wonder what your thoughts are on those two things.

Right. I think we need both. And I think you're exactly right. Not every single person is an entrepreneur. Not every single person has what it takes to be an entrepreneur, to be your own boss, to worry about making payments, to pay corporate taxes four times a year

not everyone has that i know you know what i'm talking about yeah yeah right um but we should all have the opportunity to explore the our interest in being an entrepreneur so that's one. The flip side is that if we want to work for others, if we want to work in an environment that we don't own, we should also have the ability to do that. I mean, we arguably live in an economy, a capitalist structure that's free enterprise, which is really fascinating to me. Those who are against diversity and inclusion ostensibly support free enterprise.

So if you support free enterprise in a capitalist structure, why are you against D&I? Why are you pushing CEOs to move away from diversity, but at the same time, say that you embrace free enterprise? You can't do both. Right? You either embrace free enterprise and allow companies to create the structures that they deem most appropriate to achieve to advance economic opportunity and the bottom line or you don't.

And so that's why I find this entire movement against D&I intellectually dishonest. It's not really about D&I. You know, this is about a fear of a minority majority district in a few years. This is about a fear of entrepreneurs getting to the point where they have so much in resources and access that you can't control them yeah and that's the larger narrative that we're fighting against all right in the three minutes i got left i got two more for you so i'm one i want to do this real quick what is the imperative we have to find roads to success for the formerly incarcerated uh that is one of the most important things we need to do look um we we all know uh the rockefeller drug laws the criminal justice laws that have been passed not only in the state of

new york but in other parts of the country disproportionately impacted people of color. We know, and many people know how the sentencing structures were different if you had cocaine versus crack cocaine. And we know the impact that it had on communities of color. With respect to those who are justice impacted, who are largely black and brown, when they are released, we have a responsibility to make sure that we open up opportunities for them. Otherwise, we're simply perpetuating a cycle of mass incarceration and disproportionately impacting

our communities. When I was in the governor's office. I worked on critical pieces of criminal justice reforms, from solitary confinement reforms to legislation to curtail, allowing minors to be treated as adults in prison. We called it raise the age. And I just feel very strongly that, you know, the criminal justice system being what it is, we either believe in rehabilitation or we don't. We either believe that people can go in, serve their time and be released and then serve as contributing members of society or we don't. And if we do, then we have to make sure we create an infrastructure to support them. And the them are largely black and brown all right

and uh the last one is you know obviously we're having a humongous conversation about ai and i wonder what concerns alfonso about ai and what roads we have to solve whatever concerns it is that you have so a little bit of a two-parter there for you i'm really concerned about ai because i think we often think of the challenges that ai presents but we fail to think about the opportunities and we need to think about the opportunities now now when you think about the challenges that ai presents we certainly know that in some industries, AI will result in eliminating those industries. So you think of language access as an example, right? You had companies that were providing language access services.

Well, pretty soon you'll be able to, and you can in many instances, communicate on your phone in almost any language. So you may not need the same types of services that we currently provide or have been providing. But at the same time, there are opportunities to expand access to financial services. There are opportunities to expand community development. There are opportunities to maximize technology. And we, as black and brown people, should be looking for those opportunities not only to invest, but create our businesses right because that is the future yeah I you know AI has been with us for a long time and many people say what is this AI thing and I said look at your phone yeah Siri is AI that's right and it's been here for a

while so as we think about technology for the future I think it's important and imperative that we think of investments in this arena and we think about technology for the future, I think it's important and imperative that we think of investments in this arena and we think about how we can take our resources and create businesses that can better serve our communities. Black Tech Green Money is a production of Blavity Afrotech on the Black Effect Podcast Network and iHeart Media. It's produced by Morgan DeBond and me, Will Lucas, with additional production support by Sarah Ergen and Love Beach. Special thank you to Micah Davis and Kate McDonald.

Learn more about my guests and other tech disruptors and innovators at AfroTech.com. Enjoy your Black Tech Green money? Share this with somebody. Go get your money. Peace and love. Check me out at the annual Black Effect Podcast Festival, happening Saturday, April 27th in Atlanta. Live podcasts are on deck from some of your favorite shows,

including this one, Black Tech Green Money, and also some of the best podcasts in the game like Deeply Well with Debbie Brown and Carefully Reckless. Atlanta is one of my favorite cities in the world. I lived there for two years, actually. And my worldview, seeing us successful in every industry and not having any limits on our potential largely was shaped by Atlanta. So to be there with you doing this podcast, talking about how we build or leverage technology to build wealth. Come on, man. Doesn't get better. I want to see you there. Get your tickets today at Black Effect dot com backslash podcast festival.

Had enough of this country ever dreamt about starting your own. I planted the flag. This is mine. I own this. It's surprisingly easy. 55 gallons of water, 500 pounds of concrete. Or maybe not. No country willingly gives up their territory. Oh my god. What is that?

Bullets. Listen to Escape from Zakistan. That's Escape from Z-A-Q-a-stan on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. As a kid, I really do remember having these dreams and visions, but you just don't know what is going to come for you.

Alicia shares her wisdom on growth, gratitude, and the power of love. I forgive myself. It's okay. Have grace with yourself. You're trying your best. And you're going to figure out the rhythm of this thing. Alicia Keys, like you've never heard her before.

Listen to On Purpose with Jay Shetty on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, y'all. Nimany here. I'm the host of a brand new history podcast for kids and families called Historical Records. Executive produced by Questlove, The Story Pirates, and John Glickman, Historical Records brings history to life through hip-hop.

Flash, slam, another one gone. Bash, bam, another one gone. The cracker, the bat, inspiring figure from history. Like this one about Claudette Colvin, a 15-year-old girl in Alabama who refused to give up her seat on the city bus nine whole months before Rosa Parks did the same thing. Check it. Get the kids in your life excited about history by tuning in to Historical Records. Because in order to make history, you have to make some noise. Listen to Historical Records on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Hey, everyone. This is Courtney Thorne-Smith, Laura Layton, and Daphne Zuniga. On July 8th, 1992, apartment buildings with pools were never quite the same as Melrose Place was introduced to the world. We are going to be reliving every hookup, every scandal, and every single wig removal together. So listen to Still the Place on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Hi, I'm Marie. And I'm Sydney. And we're Mess. Well, not a mess, but on our podcast called Mess, we celebrate all things messy. But the gag is not everything is a mess. Sometimes it's just living.

Yeah, things like J-Lo on her third divorce. Living. Girl's trip to Miami. Mess. Breaking up with your girlfriend while on Instagram Live. Living. It's kind of a mess. Yeah. Well, with your girlfriend while on Instagram Live. Living. It's kind of a mess. Yeah.

Well, you get it. Got it? Live, love, mess. Listen to Mess with Sydney Washington and Marie Faustin on iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,

or wherever you get your podcasts.