How to Make a BIG Impact
Since my last post, I’ve thought a few times about whether I should invest my money in a black-owned bank. Then I thought, “one person moving their money is not going to make a difference.” I don’t mean to be defeatist, but corporations invested $2.2 billion (with a B) in these financial institutions. And as Aaron told us in Part 1 of the podcast, if Fortune 500 companies invested just 2% of their assets, it would create about $30 billion of capital (again… with a B). So, I don’t think moving my money is going to make much difference.
That gets me to the question of what should I do?
I asked Aaron, “now that you’ve made this incredible impact in the financial space, what will you do next?” He’s not currently in a situation where he can influence such large financial decisions. But changemakers don’t tend to retire.
Aaron’s response actually surprised me. He is watching and waiting for his next big opportunity. Don’t get me wrong. Aaron is still contributing to a better world. He is on the board of UNICEF USA and involved in a variety of other organizations, which is awesome! But he is not burning himself out trying to chase down the next big thing. It’s enough to do what is in front of him right now. And when the next big opportunity comes along (if it comes along) he will be ready to apply his unique gifts to make it happen.
When I first heard Aaron speak, I thought the point of his talk was to spread the word about what Netflix did and the importance of investing capital in black owned banks and Community Development Financial Institutions. Yes, he is spreading the word about that. But he is also sharing this story to encourage others to be aware of their own gifts—and be ready for their next opportunity to make a big impact.
Operation Breadbasket
I told you the beginning of Aaron’s story in the last post. He understood the disproportionate impact that the pandemic was having on Black and Brown communities. He became aware that black-owned banks did not have sufficient funds to meet banking demand (which also meant that pandemic relief funds were less accessible to black owned businesses). But how does this become the “biggest bank heist in history”?
Someone recommends a book to Aaron called, The Color of Money by Mehrsa Baradaran. Within this book, Aaron reads about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “Operation Breadbasket” project whose goal was to prevent companies from funneling capital out of black communities (aka extraction). Dr. King was assassinated the day after giving his “On the Mountaintop” speech (aka “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop”) which emphasized the economic autonomy the project was meant to support.
All these years later, Aaron reads about it and decides to implement it—in a slightly different way—to return extracted capital to black and brown communities through banking. In the last podcast, Aaron talked about a new definition of prosperity. One that does not involve extraction and exploitation. This project is the opposite of extraction.
Aaron described his superpower as connecting people and ideas—or synthesis. He connected the idea of Operation Breadbasket with the leaders at Netflix to create an impressive impact. Individuals and organizations can consider for themselves how to define success in a way that does not involve extraction and exploitation; in a way that does not harm others, brings us joy, and meets our needs. That is the kind of economy that will bring the economic justice MLK wanted to accomplish with Operation Breadbasket.
In the Meantime
We may not be able to make a big impact in this moment, but if we are ready for it then we will not miss these opportunities for big changes. And in the meantime, we can continue taking the actions that are available to us.
The beginning of Donald Trump’s second term as President has been overwhelming. He has targeted almost every aspect of our government, often in ways that are outside the law. I’ve talked to many people who feel like they can’t stop this barrage of assaults on our values.
It's true. We can’t tackle everything at once. But each of us can think about what is most important to us right now, join with others working on that issue, and take the actions that are available to us. When the opportunity comes to make a big impact, hopefully each of us will be ready to use our superpowers for good.
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