by Dr. Charles Alonzo Peters
On Thursday night I sat down like many of you to view Almighty Debt, CNN’s latest installment of its Black in America series. I’ll admit I was a little apprehensive. How was a mainstream media outlet going to handle an institution as complex as the Black Church and a subject as delicate as debt without resorting to standard stereotypes.
Watching CNN’s Almighty Debt is like watching a Tyler Perry movie. You know there’s talent involved (Soledad O’Brien is an intrepid reporter). You’re excited to see Black folk playing the leading roles, and there are definitely high points. But you have the gnawing suspicion that the plot line will eventually leave you a little disappointed.
Almighty Debt follows the the financial tribulations of three families, all members of First Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens. The Jeffrieses – a luxury car salesman and his realtor wife who’ve fallen on hard times and are in danger of losing their McMansion to foreclosure. The Fields – whose husband Carl has been searching for over a year after being let go as an insurance executive. And Fred Philps – a high school senior desperately in search of scholarship funds to attend college.
The true hero of the story – Reverend DeForest Soaries, a no nonsense pragmatist, preaches the need for financial education and fiscal responsibility. Tirelessly he works to help his congregation by arranging meetings with the banks to try to prevent the Jeffries foreclosure, interceding with a college on behalf of young Fred Philps, and connecting Carl Fields with a network of potential employers.
It’s refreshing watching a pastor who preaches financial responsibility while shunning the prosperity gospel. The stories were compelling to a point. My compassion quickly disappeared for the Jeffries. Seemingly in a state of denial, they insisting on living a lifestyle they truly couldn’t afford, all while tolerating a daughter incurring $400 monthly credit card bills.
But here’s my real problem.
Almighty Debt was preaching what we already know. We’ve seen these stories, even lived the very same ones ourselves. From CNN I was not expecting just a restatement of the problem, but an in depth investigation of the solutions.
In particular, I was craving more analysis of “why”. Why did the families do what they did to get themselves in their financial situations. Once you understand the “why” you have the seed for a solution.
Why does a family insist on purchasing a mini-mansion with 2 BMWS and a lifestyle they hasn’t allowed them to accumulate enough savings to survive the recession – and what’s the psychology that prevents this same family from downsizing in response?
Perhaps a closer examination of the effect that racism has on our need to accumulate material possession would have been in order. How we seek to validate ourselves with huge homes and expensive cars because we don’t receive that validation from a society that constantly disparages us. Or, maybe an analysis of a media that constantly promotes consumerism would have shed further light on the situation.
Despite biblical admonishments to prepare for the harsh times that we might encounter in the future, why do so many Christians fail to prepare, fail to save? Why hasn’t a seasoned industry veteran like Carl put away enough money to survive the storm? Perhaps a psychological examination of our inability to prepare for future hazards would have added incite to a problem that plagues us all.
The missing ingredient from Almighty Debt was the true success story – a look at a Church family living below their means. One that opted for the Honda Civic rather than BMW 5 Series. The family that chose the modest home instead of the McMansion and because of this was able to deal with the blows of the recession.
Now that would have been something refreshing to see.
BMWK. What’s your opinion of CNN’s Almighty Debt – Black in America Series? Did it hit the mark or leave you lacking?
Every Monday you can find great insight and tips on managing your greenbacks by Dr. Charles Alonzo Peters of MochaMoney.com here on BlackandMarriedWithKids.com.
Dr. Peters,
I agree with your analysis that the special did not really probe the reasons for this great debt within the black community. While the pastor was helpful in facilitating change in the lives of his members, no one was really digging deeply into the errors they were making. For instance, the Jeffries family could have downsized their lifestyle to reduce their financial burden, and Mr. Fields could have accepted a job in sales in order to contribute to his household income, despite the fact that he was overqualified for such a position. Most importantly, I wish someone would have advised the young Mr. Philips about his choice of major (drama) and the likelihood that he would remain in debt for a long time because of the limited number of career opportunities. He could pursue acting as a hobby while majoring in something more financially lucrative that would justify the level of debt he was taking on, or he could have attended community college and transferred to a four-year college near home to reduce his amount of debt. It’s not enough to tell our youth to go to college; they need to be advised about career choices and the potential for financial freedom in each choice.
Materialism is the American way, but it’s drowning so many people. While I thought Almighty Debt was a decent glimpse into the problem, it offered few practical solutions for those who are drowning and don’t understand that they are the ones controlling the water that is drowning them.
I really loved how you used Tyler Perry movies as an example, that was perfevct. I truly understand what you meant by wanting to see the why of it all. Great post!
I haven’t liked any of the Black in America specials.
I found that the special about Black debt left a little to be desired. It seems that there is more interest by all news outlets on some “personal connection” than addressing the real issues.
Here is an excerpt from an article related to a study by the Smiley Group and Nationwide Insurance that identifies the contradictions in the attitudes of African Americans regarding their finances and the economy.
Quote:
While African Americans say they think their financial situation will improve in the next year, most of those surveyed indicated they are not taking deliberate actions to better their financial circumstances:
• Less than half say they are proactive about their financial future
• 3 in 4 say they do not have a written financial plan
• 1 in 3 say they dont know where to start when it comes to personal financial planning
African Americans are more confident than their general population peers in their ability to make savings and investment decisions (52 percent vs. 43 percent), but are also more likely to indicate they are struggling with credit card debt (38 percent vs. 32 percent).
On saving for college, nearly half of all survey participants with children under 21 said they are very or extremely worried about being able to afford a college education for their children, while only about one in 20 of all survey participants say they actually have a college savings plan. Only 3 percent say saving for education is the most important goal.
“Its one thing to be positive, but its another to be practical, proactive and prepared to weather this difficult economic climate,†said Tavis Smiley. “This survey reveals the critical need for an honest assessment of our financial status so that we can be sure that we are taking the steps necessary to safeguard the future for ourselves, our families and the next generation.â€
It would have been good to explore some of these attitudes and ask the hard questions about how to better prepare financially for the future. The preacher indicated that his “D3 Classes” about eliminating debt were not filled. Dr. Julliane Malveaux talked about “income wealth” versus “asset wealth.”
It would be good if there were a stronger effort to raise financial literacy for our children and families. Then perhaps we won’t be so devastated by the next financial crisis.
And how much money was the Jeffries daughter racking up on “her” credit monthly??? $400-$500!?! Are you serious!?!?
A book called “Brainwashed” by Tom Burrell will give you some of the psychology behind why African-Americans are materialistic and insist on living above their means.
I question if racism is really the reason some of our people over extend themselves financially. One trend I notice in my own family is the older generations were more fiscally prudent than the ones that came after them. And I am sure those older generations dealt with much more intense racism than we do today. I think Americans in general have become more financially “loose†over time.
What I saw with the Jeffries was an attitude of entitlement. It was evident in the fact their daughter didnt even want to know the complete story of her parents financial mess. As long as she could continue to spend she wasnt worried about it. She was dead set on choosing from some of the most expensive colleges in America with no concern for the cost. She came off as completely clueless. But that is her parents fault for allowing her to get that way. Another thing that really made me scratch my head was how the Jefferies could take on so much of a financial burden when they both worked commission based jobs.
Honestly, programs like this cant address the issue in its entirety. Two hours is not enough time to take a detailed look at the financial state of black America, its causes, and possible solutions. So by design shows like this come up short. Keeping this in mind it was about what I expected. For a more in depth look at the problem and possible solutions we probably need to watch hours of programming and read hundreds of pages. Two hours with one reporter covering three different situations will only scratch the surface of the problem.
I must admit I look forward to the Black in America series. Soledad is just doing a job and futhermore, not sugar coating what needs to be brought to the forefront. My 13 year old & I watched this together, my husband refused to entertain it at all. My girlfriend & I were discussing this during our walk to work this morning! We were bothered by the way the Jeffries just carried on with everyday life, didn’t pay a mortgage for 26 months!!!!!!! How could Carl attend a church and noone knew he was unemployed let alone he didn’t find out that the resources he needed was sitting in his church with him very Sunday. AND Fred, I know we all have dreams but becoming an actor should have been his minor in college….
This generation has been taught to equate success with the ability to purchase material possessions. You must be somebody if you can buy a luxury vehicle and live in a 3000 plus sq. home. We forget the people who let us borrow those things still want to be paid for them. An we are just borrowing them until the final payment coupon is gone. I was not taught about finances growing up but after a little trial and some error I got myself on track. But my mother didn’t have a mcmansion her problem was just keeping a roof over our heads. I’m trying to show my children they don’t have to have everything they want and that things don’t make them. It’s hard when you have videos and songs glorifying “Beamer, Benz, or Bentley”. Were all scratching our heads right now but how many of us have financial talks with our friends, family or children. It starts with talking and understanding and sharing. Maybe then we can grow.
I was disappointed by the program. Sure, there are a lot of families overextending themselves and falling back from an illusion of wealth, like the family in danger of losing their home. But how many more Black Americans haven’t even reached that level? I feel like you can’t talk about debt in Black America without addressing the predatory lending of payday loan and check cashing spots, rent-a-centers, corner stores with jacked-up prices, etc. Those are more pervasive issues than the keeping-up-with-the-joneses foolishness that family was going through.
MTM you make a good point, however we can try to “regulate” everything and everybody but it still will never be enough. At some point we have to take responsibility and not blame our issues on everybody else.
Well show did not really address anything that I already didn’t know. I just want to know why people get into these expensive mortgages $4k a month (the Jefferies) I’m thinking are you crazy. I don’t care what kind of job you have. There ain’t no way. And they need to sit down and have a talk with their daughter she is financially lost/delusional. Daughter will go down this same train wreck path in the future as she has learned nothing from her parents situation. Then she wants to go to a expensive college and expects her parents to pay for it. News flash honey your parents are B-R-O-K-E.
Only college you will be affording is community college with a side job. LOL
As for Fred Philps, I think he should have went to a cheaper college to avoid taking out all these massive loans or as one lady on the show mentioned that he start at community college then transfer over to a 4yr school. Alot of student loan debt is not a good thing especially if you plan to major in Drama. He needs a backup career plan for sure a career in which you have livable wages on in real life, I hope that mentor discuss with him.
I am one of those families you would have liked to see, bought a home we could afford on one salary, didnt buy a new car until the one I had got stolen! My husband has been outof work for over a year, if we did not have this lifestyle we would not have been able to survive. But it is so hard to see my friends with luxury cars or name brand bags, you feel I work harder than them, I have more degrees than them, I deserve that stuff too. Defering gratification is hard in a credit card world
Absolutely GREAT post; especially the part about a successful family living below their means.