Business

By 2050 the communities with the highest entrepreneurial ambition will be the majority of this country. Former JBI President Mitria Wilson-Spotser talks with Shannan Herbert, CEO & President of the Washington Area Community Investment Fund, Inc. (WACIF) about what will it take to meet this moment head-on. Find this episode on your podcast platform.

Join esteemed civil rights leader, Wade Henderson, as he hosts Pamela Horrowitz, civil rights attorney, Southern Poverty Law Center Board Member, and the widow of Julian Bond as they discuss how Julian's legacy can be applied to the challenges of today.

Like generations that came before them, Gen Z and Millennials want to own homes, start businesses, retire comfortably, and leave something for their loved ones. However, not everyone has an equal chance of achieving these ambitions. Julian Bond Institute’s 2050 Survey, a nationally representative survey of Americans’ financial experiences and aspirations, found that whether Gen Z and Millennials are on track to achieve their financial aspirations is in part determined by the financial resources of their households of origin. Whereas people with intergenerational wealth are more likely to be on track to achieve their own wealth-building goals, those who have faced financial hardships in childhood are more likely to feel off track and more likely to experience further wealth stripping from high-cost credit products. Drawing on data from the 2050 Survey, we illustrate the uneven playing field of intergenerational wealth in six charts. Policymakers and financial institutions must act now to close access gaps and rein in predatory credit products, so that young Americans can achieve their financial ambitions regardless of the financial resources of their family of upbringing.

The Viewpoint is the official podcast of the Julian Bond institute for Financial Equity Research at the Center for Responsible Lending. Join us as we discuss economic empowerment, responsible innovation, and a fairer financial landscape, while offering practical takeaways and forward-looking ideas that can shape policy, financial markets, and your everyday financial decisions.

This tool provides an interactive way to explore the data of JBI's 2050 Survey. Click a topic on the left to jump to that section, or a survey question on the right to view its related data. Once you are within a section, click on the 'Home' icon to return to the main menu. The dashboard is optimized for a desktop experience and is not available on a mobile device.

While homeownership is a near universal aspiration, the same does not hold true for business creation. Instead, our research found that the desire for entrepreneurship evidences its own striking racial pattern. Overall, 36% of respondents aspired to own a business when they first became financially independent. Among Blacks, however, that figure reaches 56%. Interestingly, we find that the greatest appetite for entrepreneurship is among Black Gen Z (67%) and Black Millennials (66%) — roughly doubling the rates of White Gen Z (34%) and White Millennials (31%) that share the same ambition.