I trust that you are staying sane amidst crazy markets and economic uncertainty. 

Often, discussions on wealth center around what you must do personally to achieve wealth. However, such approaches are insufficient in addressing dynamics that are outside of your control. 

We cannot talk about personal wealth attainment without talking about the systemic issues and historical context that might create wealth for some, and prevent wealth for others. 

So, let’s talk about it. 

This spring, I had the esteemed pleasure of co-leading an 8-week book discussion with my pastor on Decolonizing Wealth: Indigenous Wisdom to Heal Divides and Restore Balance by Edgar Villanueva. Edgar is an Indigenous author with a professional background in the world of philanthropy. He has firsthand experience with “how anachronistic the field of philanthropy is, how formal, how distanced from ordinary people’s lives and experiences .” Edgar purports that “like all investors, foundations have their logic models, their strategic plans, and their theories of change, all of which are too often not applicable in the real world.” He provides thought-provoking evidence that makes the reader challenge the role of philanthropists and financial institutions in our society. 

You may be asking yourself - “What does this have to do with me?” My answer - “everything!”

The book captures how the dynamics of race and power intersect when money is involved, and this affects us all. He compiles stories from leaders from foundations, community organizations, and corporations, including financial institutions. 

Edgar wants us to strive for decolonization, which is the process of undoing colonization. And as Edgar defines it, “in colonization, you stick around, occupy the land, and force the existing Indigenous people to become you. It’s like a zombie invasion; colonizers insist on taking over the bodies, minds, and souls of the colonized.”  

These ivory tower institutions have created many inequitable outcomes, of which a few from the book are listed below: 

• No more than 10% of foundation funding goes specifically to people of color 

• 90% of foundation CEOs are white 

• The average Black owned firm obtains just $35,205 in total startup capital during its first year, compared with the $106,720 for the average white-owned firm 

Robin DiAngelo, the author of White Fragility, states that “the relationship between economic injustice and systemic racism must be understood if we are to move an antiracist agenda forward. Edgar boldly and accessibly illuminates the connections while offering a way forward.” As a result, many of the wealth disparities in our country are a result of injustice and racism that have nothing to do with one’s personal ability to achieve wealth. Yes, I said it!  

He then offers seven steps to decolonize the institutions and processes around money - grieve, apologize, listen, relate, represent, invest, and repair. You can get the gist of many of these in the names of these steps, but investing and repairing require seismic shifts in how money is allocated or provided back to the colonized through reparations. And one of my favorite lines is “Just because you apologize for bad behavior doesn’t mean you are entitled to forgiveness or reconciliation.”

Instead of approaching our economic systems in a manner that divides, controls, and exploits - or living into core tenets of colonization - we can embrace a new paradigm of connecting, relating, and belonging through decolonization. 

You might be asking - “But, how?” Good question!

I’ll leave you with this simple approach. Edgar argues that “Money should be a tool of love, to facilitate relationships, to help us thrive, rather than to hurt and divide us. If it’s used for sacred, life-giving, restorative purposes, it can be medicine. Money, used as medicine, can help us to decolonize.   

A Wealthy Girl Corner

Furthermore, you can redefine what wealth represents and use it as your guide in your own journey. Specifically, Edgar encourages us to believe this: 

I love this reframe because we can all utilize our unique privilege (such as reading and sharing this blog post) to contribute to the wealth of others. 

Go forth!