Well, most Americans can't name the COO of any major financial company. Actually, she doesn't say for sure whether they are millionaires. Our schools should be focused on learning, not on modeling. In all honesty, I might have been guilty of preaching the same trite sermons when I first began writing my personal finance column. But I've seen the light, or at least I've seen how such a message comes across as condescending.
Blacks are no more prone to materialism than anybody else.
Tommy Hilfiger isn't getting rich off just the pricey sweat shirts that blacks are buying. And last time I visited bankruptcy court, it wasn't overflowing with African Americans, just in from parking their BMWs and Mercedes-Benzes. We are a nation of spendthrifts. I understand the goal of the financial advice books aimed at African Americans. The authors of these money-management books accurately point out that blacks lag behind whites when it comes to wealth and savings.