Common Wealth Charlotte Explored Themes of Economic Disparity at April’s Financial Literacy Month Event, “How Did We Get Here?”

Written By Caroline Miller

In celebration of Financial Literacy Month, Common Wealth Charlotte (CWC) teamed up with Charlotte Historian Tom Hanchett and the Brooklyn Collective to explore Charlotte’s history of economic segregation, leaving guests with a better understanding of how Charlotte - America’s prosperous, second-largest financial center - is also one of our country’s least economically mobile communities, where hundreds of thousands of people struggle with financial instability. 

Through history, art, and interactive experiences How Did We Get Here? attendees learned about the continued effects of urban renewal on generational wealth, and other significant factors contributing to Charlotte's ongoing financial disparity, while also gaining a deeper understanding of the enduring financial consequences of economic and racial segregation at a location with great historical significance, The Brooklyn Collective. 

Tom Hanchett kicked off the event by recounting the history of economic segregation in Charlotte, including how urban renewal and the razing of Brooklyn Village in the 1960’s has had lasting effects on current disparities and inequalities in Charlotte today. 

Following Tom, local spoken word artist and slam master Bluz performed a piece focused on the important role that those who support financial literacy programming in Charlotte, and the dreams they help make a reality for the thousands of individuals CWC works with each year.  Watch his powerful performance below!

Guests were then invited to explore seven interactive stations spread out throughout the venue, as hands-on way of learning about those CWC serves – low-income wage earners  in Mecklenburg County. 

“We were really excited this year to bring this new event format to life. It can be challenging helping our supporters and donors truly understand some of the barriers our clients face, so we were able to set the stage with the help of Tom Hanchatt and then deliver an experience lead by volunteers and staff that we hope helped our guests better empathize with what it might be like to be economically vulnerable.” shared Amy Jacobs, CWC’s Chief Opportunity Officer.  

The themes explored and activities included:  

  • Economic History: Joe Mynatt, CWC’s Program Manager, invited guests to gather around a neighborhood display, asking them to imagine what a thriving community looks like to them. What businesses, places of worship, daycares, restaurants, etc. do they want to see? As guests are contributing to this display by adding small structures resembling nature, housing, and commercial buildings, Joe then asks them to imagine what it would be like if this community they had just built was going to be bulldozed and destroyed as part of urban renewal. With these comparisons of what happened to the thriving Black community in Brooklyn Village, guests were able to empathize how traumatizing it is to suddenly lose all the investment given to local relationships, businesses, and even homeownership. 

  • Economic Privilege: Tonia Frazier, CWC’s Director of Financial Education, educated guests about the importance of credit and how it is a privilege, not a right. Using a game similar to Plinko, guests were randomly assign credit scores and learned about some of the ways CWC clients end up with poor credit scores, including lack of financial education, lack of access, and life circumstances – debunking the myth that poor credit scores only come from someone being financially irresponsible.  

  • Economic Vulnerability: Courtnie Coble, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of The Academy of Goal Achievers, led guests through an experience of what it is like for CWC clients who fall prey to predatory lenders. Guests were presented by various life scenarios that demonstrated how expensive it can be to be poor, from medical emergencies to car repairs, and if a client has poor credit or a lack of savings, going to a payday lender or title loan company can get them cash fast, but with a cost of up to 400% interest or putting their car up for collateral. 

  • Economic Legacy: Alisha Jeter, CWC’s Director of Client Engagement, brought to light the many barriers faced in homeownership by those who are economically vulnerable, including purchasing and keeping a home. CWC brought this to life by displaying a large doll house, where each room held objects that represented these barriers in some visual way: multi-racial dolls to represent race, stacks of play money to represent saving for a downpayment, a tree branch to represent unexpected expenses, books to represent a lack of knowledge about credit and the extensive homebuying process, and more. 

  • Economic Accessibility: Maureen Ortiz, Patient Financial Services Manager at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, showed guests what it feels like for CWC’s non-English speaking clients and the confusion they experience when navigating essential services (like completing a W4, buying a car, or enrolling a child in school) and not culturally competent. Maureen spoke only in Spanish and CWC’s mostly English-speaking guests had to try to navigate several activities without understanding the language being spoken – much like CWC’s Latinx clients experience navigating essential services every day.    

  • Economic Mobilization: Tonia McDougald, CWC’s Manager of Loan Services, got CWC guests thinking about the importance of how others have influenced their own financial literacy. Many CWC clients share they had no one (parent, teacher, mentor, family member, etc.) to rely on or learn from - no one to mobilize them economically. Guests would put a colored ball into a corresponding bowl that showed the many influences they had in their life when it came to learning about money or credit. Then, they were asked to step around the corner and view themselves in a mirror as “the next great mobilizer.” 

  • Economic Displacement: Local artist, Abel Jackson, created a canvas painting inspired by feelings associated with gentrification and how it can transform the character of a neighborhood, making it unrecognizable and inaccessible to current and past residents. 

Thank you again to the following event partners who helped make the event such a fantastic success! 

  • With special seating provided by the Pianodrome installation! 

  • The history of Brooklyn Village and Economic Segregation presented by Charlotte Historian, Tom Hanchett 

  • A huge thank you to all the skyline buildings for lighting the Uptown skyline green for the third year in a row! 

 

This was such an incredibly impactful evening for everyone in attendance, and CWC is excited to bring this event back in 2025 – thank you to everyone who joined us and played a part!  

And an especially big thank you to our presenting event sponsor and long-time credit union partner, Skyla! 

Caroline Miller
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