IT'S MY MONEY

On “Meet the Faith,” talk-show host Oprah Winfrey fired back at those who criticized her decision to build a school in South Africa rather than in the United States.

“To Hell with your criticism,” she said. “I don't care about what you have to say about what I did.  It’s what I did.”

However, charitable giving by African Americans was just one of the topics on the program.  Joined by corporate attorney Donald Smart, BET correspondent Jeff Johnson and the Rev. Eugene Rivers, host Ian Smith led a candid discussion about Black spending patterns.

By some estimates, nearly $700 billion flowed through Black hands in 2004.  Could that be why so many African Americans are always broke?

Rivers said, “it’s a value problem,” that Blacks are spending their money on electronics, clothes and cars while accumulating twice the amount of debt as Whites.  The problem, say some analysts, is that Blacks are rarely taught how to save and invest money and, thus, too often live beyond their means.

Legal analyst Lauren Lake addressed the cultural obligation to buy from Black-owned businesses. “We’ve got to bring that sense of community back to our culture,”  she said.  Yet, if the quality of the product is not there, Rivers, confessed that he’ll spend where he knows he’ll get “a quality product and the best return on my dollar.”

On this show, “Meet the Faith” also focused on the lives of two young girls – one from New York and the other from Africa – both living below the poverty level and both with dreams for a better life.  When it comes to giving, it doesn¹t have to be an “either-or” situation, said Smart.  “We (Blacks) can do both,” he said.

Click here for the blog entry on this topic.