Tuesday - September 20, 2005By: Jay Casteel
On Saturday (September 17), the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network (HSAN) held their Los Angeles Hip-Hop Summit, where they urged young adults to "Get Your Money Right," via a discussion with a celebrity panel -- the main topic being financial empowerment.Hosted by Dr. Benjamin Chavis, President/CEO of HSAN, the Los Angeles Hip-Hop Summit was free to the public and included the likes of Xzibit, the D.O.C., Jalissa of BET's "106 and Park" and Sheehan from "Def Poetry Jam" to help do away with poverty by educating young adults about managing their finances and the importance of maintaining their assets."We're not only trying to inspire some people today, but hopefully motivate some of our young brothers and sisters on the right financial path," Dr. Benjamin Chavis said to reporters at Saturday's Summit. "If we want to talk about ending poverty, to end poverty, you have to get your finances right, get your money right and get your mind right."A big supporter and title sponsor of the Hip-Hop Summit over the past month has been Chrysler Financial. For the first time, one of the world's leading financial institutions has partnered with the HSAN to help young people build a solid financial future. Russell Simmons, Chairman of HSAN and William F. Jones, Jr., Vice President of Chrysler Financial have pledged to work together to coordinate this national campaign under the theme "Get Your Money Right.""We're Chrysler Financial and when you talk about the theme of Financial Empowerment that's what we're all about," Chrysler Financial Vice President's William F. Jones, Jr. told BallerStatus.net."We want to help people realize their dreams. And it’s so important for young people to understand the importance of starting out right, keeping their money right and taking care of business. That's what's gonna help them realize their dreams down the road."The Los Angeles Hip-Hop Summit was the seventh and final Summit of the tour, and is part of an unprecedented national campaign to raise awareness among millions of young adults 18-35 about the importance of financial literacy.Before any of the celebrity panel could talk about the topic at hand, up-and-coming R&B group, One, performed acapella before an LA crowd, after which, Dr. Chavis took stage to begin the program's agenda: financial literacy, basic banking, repairing and understanding credit scores, asset and wealth management, auto financing, home ownership and entrepreneurship."Money is easy to get, but it's harder to keep," Xzibit said before those in attendance at Los Angeles' Wiltern Theater. "It's important to get your economics right because we live in a society that thrives on the money that we make and the taxes that we pay. So, if you can't take care of yourself financially, you can't take care of nobody around you. That's how important it is for your very life to have your money right. Everything that we do revolves around dollars and cents. So, if you don't have that correct, you won't be able to survive in this society."Others such as the D.O.C. and Dro (Russell Simmons' first artist under his Russell Simmons Music Group label) spoke about their own life experiences and how it related to being in control of your financial status.
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3 comments:
Wow. This actually makes sense. The hard fact of the matter is that the only cure for poverty is free access to the mechanisms of a free enterprise system.
At last...some semblance of progress.
-Joke, capitalist tool
Agreed 100%. Especially in this country where there are umpteen resources, albeit unevenly distributed. The problem is, so many of us have been trained to think that the government owes us certain things, but no one can seem to figure out what exactly those things are and what we're supposed to get for ourselves. It is hard for me to say since I am coming from a relative place of privilege (although it doesn't always feel that way). I agree absolutely that the only way for us to get ahead as a country is to stop looking at what we don't have and using what we do. Once we attain our success, the important thing is to start looking for those who haven't, and sharing our knowledge and experience with them so they can see that it's not impossible. I am going to continue this idea in my next post...stay tuned.
-Tremenda Trigueña, bleeding pocket capitalist
From where I sit, a huge part of the problem is that a lot of people assume--quite incorrectly, in my view--the means to economic self-betterment are forbidden themand therefore get discouraged and stop trying or never try.
The only way to get ahead as a group (i.e. a country) is to empower individuals and remove obstacles from their path, not to provide them hay and a barn as f they were human cattle.
-Joke, que sabe de eso
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