Black Wealth Matters Farnoosh Torabi

Welcome to Black Wealth Matters hosted by Farnoosh Torabi, the creator of SO MONEY, the Webby-nominated and New York Times-praised podcast.
These episodes originally aired on So Money with Farnoosh Torabi in June 2020 when Farnoosh dedicated the entire month to exploring the issues and challenges at the intersection of race, racism and money.
If you enjoy this album, please check out So Money, where three times per week Farnoosh brings a fresh episode about how to take your finances to the next level. www.somoneypodcast.com

Queen Latifah made her first big splash onto the music scene at age 19, with the release of her hit rap single “Ladies, First.” For the next three decades, the Newark, New Jersey native would go on to build a multi-faceted and dynamic career as a musician, actress, producer and philanthropist, blazing a trail for other Black female artists. 
I recently sat down with Queen during her press tour for The Queen Collective, her latest endeavor which provides opportunities for women of color in film to tell stories from their viewpoint. The mentoring and development program, in collaboration with Tribeca Studios and Procter and Gamble, selected two winners this year and their projects premiered on BET Networks. 
In our conversation, she shared some of the financial lessons experienced while growing up and building her business, as well as her ideas on how we can promote more equality in the workplace and close the racial wealth gap.  

As a friend and accomplished journalist focusing on the topic of black identity, politics and patterns of power in America, Farnoosh catches up with Donovan Ramsey to discuss his upcoming book, When Crack Was King, which chronicles the 1980’s and 1990’s epidemic, its misperceptions and the way policing changed during those years, as well as Donovan’s own experiences with racial discrimination in graduate school and beyond. Also, they discuss the truth about what publishing pays. Donovan and Farnoosh disclose their book advances.
More about Donovan: He is called “an indispensable voice on issues of racial identity, politics, and patterns of power in America,” by American culture critic Rich Benjamin. Donovan’s commentary on racial politics during the Obama era has been featured in The New York Times and his reporting and commentary on the criminal justice system have appeared in outlets including WSJ Magazine, The Atlantic, GQ, Gawker, BuzzFeed, Vice, and Ebony, among others.
Donovan served most recently as the commentary editor at The Marshall Project, a Pulitzer Prize-winning news organization dedicated to the U.S. criminal legal system. Before The Marshall Project, he worked as an editor and writer at a number of outlets including Complex, NewsOne, and NBC’s theGrio.com.
Donovan holds a master’s degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Morehouse College. He lives in Atlanta, Georgia, and is currently completing his first book, a history of the crack cocaine epidemic for One World—an imprint of Random House, a division of Penguin Random House, the world’s largest trade book publisher.
You can learn about Donovan on his website www.donovanxramsey.com and follow him on Twitter @iDXR.

Dr. Nicole Garner Scott is the Atlanta-based founder of Amount Financial Services. She is dedicated to creating financial breathing room for households of underrepresented communities. She has created wide-scale programs to empower others to change their financial trajectories, focused on legacy building and generational wealth.
Dr. Scott is a sought-after speaker and received an honorary doctorate for her work in business from the Obama Association.
Together we explore some of the historical barriers to wealth that have continued to be roadblocks for people in the Black community, as well as how the financial expert community can be more sensitive and mindful when offering advice.
To learn more about Dr. Scott, please visit www.amountfinancial.com.

Stephanie Vaught, J.D. is a Gen X Financial Coach and Founder of Social Money Finance, LLC. Her company specializes in teaching effective money management and helping people build a life they love.
Stephanie was born and raised in Detroit, MI. She attended Detroit Public Schools and received a B.A. from Michigan State University in 2000. In 2007, Stephanie graduated with a Juris Doctor and concentration in Litigation from Thomas M. Cooley Law School. She has spent most of her professional career in law and community advocacy.
In 2009, Stephanie developed a profound interest in personal finance – mostly based on the need to manage her own household and entrepreneurial endeavors. In 2015, Stephanie made a career shift and became a certified financial counselor. She began working with a financial nonprofit counseling and educating thousands of people across the country about financial literacy and helping them to reach their personal financial goals.
In 2018, Stephanie decided to take her financial knowledge coupled with her legal skills and experience back to a community of her peers and founded Social Money Finance, LLC. Her mission is to empower people to increase their financial literacy, challenge unproductive money habits, and improve their financial place for themselves and their family.

Tiffany Dufu is founder and CEO of The Cru. Their algorithm matches circles of women who collaborate to meet their personal and professional goals. She’s also the author of the bestselling book ​Drop the Ball: Achieving More by Doing Less​. According to foreword contributor Gloria Steinem, Drop the Ball is “important, path-breaking, intimate and brave.”
Tiffany and I discuss how she was able to raise $1 million for her startup when only .0006% of Black women receive tech venture funding. She also shares pivotal money memories from childhood….and also, what to make of the Girlboss movement and its recent criticisms for not being inclusive enough?
Named to Entrepreneur’s 100 Powerful Women and Fast Company’s League of Extraordinary Women, Tiffany has raised nearly $20 million toward the cause of women and girls. She was a launch team member to Lean In and was Chief Leadership Officer to Levo, one of the fastest growing millennial professional networks. Prior to that, Tiffany served as President of The White House Project, as a Major Gifts Officer at Simmons University, and as Associate Director of Development at Seattle Girls’ School.