Knowledge Is Power — And So Is Money: April Is Financial Literacy Month

April is Financial Literacy Month, and if there was ever a time for our community to lean in, study up, and take action — beloved, this is it.

Let’s be honest about where we stand. The numbers tell a story we can’t afford to ignore. Nationally, according to the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances, white Americans hold 83.5% of this nation’s wealth, while Black Americans — who make up nearly 14% of the population — hold just 3.4%. Let that sink in. The median Black household has a net worth of roughly $44,100. The median white household? $282,310. And rather than closing, that gap is growing. Between 2019 and 2022 alone, the mean wealth gap between Black and white households grew from $841,900 to $1.15 million — a staggering 38% increase that far outpaced inflation.

The income picture is no less troubling. In 2024, the median Black household earned $56,020, compared to $92,530 for white households. Black adults are also significantly more likely to be denied credit — 51% of Black adults who applied for credit were turned down or received less than requested, compared to 26% of white adults. And while 60% of white adults had at least three months of emergency savings in 2024, only 41% of Black adults could say the same.

Here in Wisconsin, the story cuts even deeper. Our state has one of the largest Black-white income and wealth gaps in the entire country. The average household income for a Black family in Wisconsin is barely over half of what a white family earns — and only Minnesota and Louisiana have worse disparities. When it comes to homeownership — one of the most reliable pathways to building generational wealth — Wisconsin’s statewide Black-white gap stands at a devastating 47 percentage points. Decades of redlining, racially restrictive covenants, and urban renewal policies didn’t just shape our neighborhoods; they stole futures that are still being reclaimed today.

But knowledge is the first step toward change. And this Financial Literacy Month, there are real, tangible resources available right here for our families.

Operation HOPE, founded by the visionary John Hope Bryant, is one of the most impactful financial empowerment organizations in the nation. Operation HOPE provides free financial literacy education, credit, and money coaching, and — critically — puts families on a concrete path toward homeownership. They work to turn what Bryant calls “invisible class” Americans into stakeholders in the economy. If you or someone you love is dreaming of owning a home, Operation HOPE is a resource you need to know.

CLIMB USA and their innovative Stock Market Experience program is another game-changer, particularly for families who want to build wealth across generations. The program teaches investment skills in an engaging, hands-on way that the whole family — including our children — can participate in. Learning how the market works, understanding stocks and dividends, and developing an investor’s mindset are skills that have too long been the exclusive domain of the wealthy. CLIMB USA is working to change that, and we should take them up on it.

And then there is an institution that has been doing the work for over a century, right here in Milwaukee. Columbia Savings & Loan Association — founded in 1924 by the remarkable Ardie and Wilbur Halyard — is the oldest and only remaining Black-owned banking institution in the state of Wisconsin. One hundred years of standing tall. One hundred years of financing homes and houses of worship in our community when no one else would. Columbia Savings & Loan didn’t just survive — it persevered through segregation, economic downturns, and the systematic exclusion of Black families from mainstream financial institutions, and it is still here.

This Financial Literacy Month, open a savings account at Columbia Savings & Loan. Deposit your dollars where they will be seen, valued, and reinvested into our community. Banking Black is not just a hashtag — it is an economic strategy. Every dollar we deposit in a Black-owned institution is a dollar that can be loaned out to a Black family seeking to buy their first home, a Black entrepreneur launching a business, or a Black church expanding its ministry.

The racial wealth gap did not happen by accident. It was built — policy by policy, denial by denial, generation by generation. And while we cannot undo history overnight, we can make deliberate, strategic choices today that build toward a different tomorrow.

As we close the month of April, commit to learning something new about money. Attend a workshop. Open that account. Sit down with your children and talk about wealth. The most powerful thing we can do is refuse to let another generation begin from zero.

Knowledge is power. And so is money. Let’s get both.