Uncovering the Financial Trauma Faced by High-Income Black Americans
How They Fall Through the Cracks in a Systemic Struggle and Navigate Alone
Contents:
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Last week I published my first article for Forbes titled: “Financial Trauma Is Real: Why Black People Should Consider Financial Therapy” and received immediate feedback in the form of reposts, shares, exclamations around how needed this conversation was, and many thanks for touching on a topic that hasn’t really entered the mainstream.
I also stood in front of a corporate client this week to discuss the impact of financial empathy and financial trauma on their audience and received feedback from high-level executives and stakeholders about how THEY experienced financial set back in their own lives, and how many people wouldn’t believe it if they told them but that they STILL struggle with the financial anxiety that comes from previous financial trauma.
That got me to reiterate a point that I’m going to share with you now.
High-income earning people still experience financial trauma. In fact, it’s not just that they experience the trauma, but that they can subconsciously self-medicate that trauma response by continually chasing higher income. Last week I made reference to the money scripts by Dr. Brad Klontz and this behavior would fall into the category of “money worship”.
Why The Focus On Black Americans?
Last week I received an email from a colleague who mentioned that trauma and mental health as obstacles to financial security are not unique to the “minority” community. That some of the language I use, including frequent references to race can be audience-limiting.
While I’m aware that my audience is comprised of a wide array of individuals from different ethnic and racial backgrounds whose experiences may or may not mirror my own, I recognize an opportunity to specifically hone in on the uniqueness of those experiences for Black people as mainstream, as opposed to an alternative lifestyle. Individuals talking about financial trauma through the lens of their experiences aren’t taking into account the specific experiences of Black people but are still teaching, talking, and discussing. That’s what makes my content unique and impactful.
Within the Forbes article, I write the following:
“Examining these beliefs through the lens of a greater generational trauma allows Black people to inspect how systemic exclusion, abuse, and financial trauma likely impact financial decision-making, even if viewed initially as a positive. For example, a high-income earning Black professional who experienced poverty might aggressively save as a response to financial trauma manifesting as scarcity. Traditional views on financial literacy might see this as a positive behavior. However, viewed through a trauma-informed lens, this individual may be hoarding money despite having a high income and sufficient savings.”
After reading that paragraph one member of my audience reached out to me to share that they never thought of it that way. How someone could be scared to live the life they worked so hard for because of the life they once lived as a result of financial trauma is wild.
We often forget, and even develop a disdain for those who “make it out” and present as successful financially without taking into account the great burden that comes with that success. Not only is there the internal battle present to maintain it, but the expectation that exists to share it—monetarily or otherwise—with others in their communities who don’t have it.
“The Black Tax”
“The Black tax refers to the financial burden borne by Black people who have achieved a level of success and who provide support to less financially secure family members. These monetary transfers are generally made between middle-class and well-to-do Black people and relatives who are struggling to make ends meet.
The term encompasses not only the financial transactions but also the toll that it takes on the well-off family member, who may be unable to build wealth in the same way as their White peers who don’t share the same financial obligation.” 1
In discussing the Black tax tied into an experience coming out of financial trauma, it can create an almost unbearable burden that may not only eat into the financial progress of that individual but also exacerbate the challenges the individual navigates mentally and emotionally around their own finances and the view they have of themselves financially.
What Does Wealth Look Like To You?
We have to have empathy for the high-income earning Black person, and if that person is you, you have to learn to have empathy for yourself. Understanding that your run on that hamster wheel if not intentional will soon come to an end. How then do you define true wealth for yourself?
Is it time freedom? So you can spend more time with the people you love.
Is it location freedom? So you can travel when and where you want to?
Is it status? So that you can go into different spaces and be recognized for what you have and your reputation?
Abandoning the traditional ideals of what “wealth building” looks like—or has been told to you should look like— is an important step in determining what true wealth actually looks like for you. In this short Youtube clip, I ask the question, “What does wealth-building look like for you?” Because for many high-income Black people, wealth building only looks like escaping the chastisement that comes with their own Blackness…but that’s another topic for another day. Check it out here.
Last week, paid subscribers got an expert interview with Dr. Constance Craig Mason, MRFC® discussing the financial trauma of entrepreneurship. Check out this free preview and upgrade your free membership to paid to access!
Journal of Economic and Financial Sciences. “Black Tax: An International Exploratory Study in the South African Context.” Download PDF, Page 2.
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ICYMI: See Expert Interview w/ Dr. Constance Craig Mason MRFC® below.