Trust is low. Division is high. And belief in the American Dream is at historic lows.

But if you’ve lived long enough, or looked back far enough, you know this isn’t the first time our nation has faced darkness. And it won’t be the last. What matters most is whether we remember what always comes next: morning.

In my latest piece for TIME, I write about what it means to hold on to hope when things feel broken, not as blind optimism, but as a conscious choice grounded in history, family, and fact.

Here’s a quick look at what I mean:

My second great-grandparents were enslaved.
My grandfather was a sharecropper.
My family lived through segregation.
And yet, I’m still here. And I still believe.

Why? Because I’ve seen what happens when people don’t give up. I’ve seen what happens when we build, when we plant, when we rise.

America isn’t perfect, but it was built to reinvent itself. We’re a nation that bends but doesn’t break. And when we remember who we are, we move forward together.

Read the full op-ed in TIME
Support our work at Operation HOPE

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Digital tools are crucial for financial inclusion.

In today’s digital era, it makes sense that financial institutions have leaned into supporting their clients in a variety of new ways.  With mobile banking, peer-to-peer payment apps like Venmo, “buy now pay later” services (BNPL) like Klarna, and point-of-sale (POS) systems like Block, the way we make financial transactions has become easier than ever. Robinhood pioneered the elimination of trading commissions and account minimums and is an innovator in financial education, creating a complementary partnership to Operation HOPE’s financial literacy services.  Both have evolved their digital offerings – providing better and more pervasive inclusion to previously excluded individuals.

Technology is a critical tool for scalable education.

According to Pew Research Center¹: “Technology assets are strongly tied to the likelihood that people engage in personal learning.” Further, 82% of the US adult population with access to a smartphone and a home broadband connection have done some personal learning activity in the past year. This tells us that adult education is happening online, and technology can be a powerful force for increased financial education, especially for out-of-school learners.

What’s more, technology can allow for real-time learning and education; a crucial complement to increased access. The National Financial Educators Council² estimates that “lack of financial literacy cost Americans a total of more than $388 billion in 2023.” It is necessary that we embrace the unique value – and economies of scale – that digital delivery of financial education provides.

The Schwab 2022 Black Investor Report³ found that when it comes to growing and protecting their assets, Black Americans are less trusting of people (32% vs. 45%) and more trusting of technology (31% vs. 21%), than white Americans. This suggests that technology not only makes education more accessible but also serves as an inclusive tool for financial empowerment. Building on this, advancements in fintech such as robo-advisors and AI-driven predictive analytics are democratizing access to personalized financial planning. These tools not only facilitate scalable financial education but also empower individuals by offering tailored solutions that were once limited to those with significant financial means.

Historically, there have been economic, emotional, and educational barriers to financial inclusion.

The historical practice of redlining, in which banks and other financial institutions discriminated against Black and minority neighborhoods by labeling them as “high-risk,” excluding them from accessing financial services like credit and insurance, has created pervasive distrust toward financial institutions. Likewise, immigrants face language and credit history barriers that add to a lack of literacy into our country’s capital and banking systems. With the introduction of credit scores as a gatekeeper to financial access, these exclusionary practices have become self-fulfilling prophecies that, although long abandoned, have produced millions of Americans with sub-prime credit scores, essentially locking them out of the free enterprise system.

2024 research shows⁴ “the stock market, even with all of its ups and downs, remains the most reliable and most effective way to increase wealth over time.” However, for generations, there have been barriers to participation; namely the requirement of minimum account balances or trade amounts to participate in capital markets.  The report goes on to conclude “even a modest investment in a basic index fund can create a tremendous amount of wealth – if left to grow on its own…you can reap rewards that are truly life-changing.”

Largely thanks to technology, investing and financial services at large have become more affordable and inclusive in recent years.  But the perceived lack of accessibility can still serve as a barrier to participation.

Furthermore, the 2024 TIAA Institute-GFLEC Personal Finance Index⁵ reveals that less than half of Americans (48%) are financially literate. While personal finance education is gaining traction—now required in 35 states, up from 23 just two years ago—only 15 mandate a semester-long course. This highlights an urgent need for supplemental programs to bridge the gaps in financial literacy and inclusion. But, it doesn’t address the education gap amongst adult learners and is what drives Operation HOPE and Robinhood to identify solutions.

How Robinhood and Operation HOPE have adapted to more inclusive digital models.

Robinhood’s embrace of self-directed investing strategies reflects a broader trend toward affordability and accessibility in the financial sector. Similarly, Operation HOPE’s focus on personalized guidance aligns with the growing emphasis on goal-based investing, ensuring clients can navigate their financial journeys effectively.

As a safety-first company⁶, Robinhood has a broad array of educational tools for customers and non-customers alike.  Robinhood Learn, Robinhood’s online educational resource library, is built to provide foundational financial knowledge with articles covering everything from basic investing to options essentials. It has also built interactive learning modules, integrating education into their app with lessons that help customers build a knowledge base in real time. For example, their IRA Learn & Earn module is an educational program that teaches customers the basics about Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) and rewards them for completing different lessons.    

Operation HOPE uses a Theory of Change framework to “educate, coach, and connect.” It acknowledges that learning in and of itself has limitations; experiential opportunities, step-by-step guidance, networking, and mentoring are all ways to amplify the learning process.

With the introduction of the “HOPE in Hand” app, the organization increased its ability to scale, using digital tools to impact more people. Without losing its unique brand of personalized coaching, the app allows the program to attain a higher percentage of clients while reaching people where they are, on their level. For example, the organization is creating new digital material with diverse characters that reflect its client base, situational learning that accounts for the majority’s paycheck-to-paycheck financial situation, and desired motivations such as tangible measurements including increases in improved FICO scores and increased savings.  It also taps into preferred learning formats, including on-demand modules to accommodate busy schedules; options to track progress and receive reminders to encourage consistent learning; and content that includes practical exercises, success stories, and personalized feedback.

“We believe that coupling education with access is core to economic empowerment. Further, with innovations in technology a third factor – affordability – comes into play. Technological advancements have helped level the playing field for first-time investors and investors of limited means to engage in the markets in the same way the wealthy few have enjoyed for decades.”

—John Hope Bryant, Founder and CEO of Operation HOPE, written for the World Economic Forum

Without technology to enable accessibility and affordability, a critical tool for driving economic growth will once again be out of reach for many. We need to embrace the value of digital tools to enable the financial future that so many deserve.

A call to action: an empowered future for all.

Integrating long-term, sustainable practices into financial education initiatives can further enhance inclusivity. These practices align with the mission of the AI Ethics Council⁷, created by Operation HOPE Founder and CEO John Hope Bryant and Open AI’s Co-founder and CEO Sam Altman, of ensuring equitable access while promoting long-term impacts that benefit underserved communities. The Council is focused on the intersection of technology and humanity for positive, ethical, and transformative impact generally in the areas of economic opportunity for all, finance, education, policy, employment, accessibility, health and healthcare, and sustainability.

Operation HOPE invites partnership through its 1865 Project⁸, launched to facilitate growth, scale, and innovation so that it can effect greater systemic change through financial literacy in America. It believes in “turning check-cashing customers into banking customers, renters into homeowners, small business dreamers into small business owners, and uncertain disaster victims into financially empowered disaster survivors.” As more and more Americans are living paycheck to paycheck, the need for financial literacy services continues to grow – and digital tools unlock this future for all. Partnerships like Operation HOPE’s with Robinhood are essential in helping us get there.

Sources

1. https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2016/03/22/lifelong-learning-and-technology/
2. https://www.financialeducatorscouncil.org/financial-illiteracy-costs/
3. https://content.schwab.com/web/retail/public/about-schwab/Ariel-Schwab_Black_Investor_Survey_2022_findings.pdf
4. https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/stock-market-greatest-wealth-generator-ever-devised-heres-proof
5. https://gflec.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/TIAA_GFLEC_Report_PFin_April2024_07.pdf
6. https://robinhood.com/us/en/about-us/
7. https://operationhope.org/initiatives/ai-ethics-council/
8. https://operationhope.org/the-1865-project/

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Dr. King famously said, “Evil and fear have within them the seeds of their own destruction,”…

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Homeownership has long symbolized the American Dream, embodying stability, wealth creation, and community investment.

Yet, for millions of Americans, especially younger generations and first-time homebuyers, that dream is slipping away. Rising home prices, stagnant wages, and restrictive mortgage terms have made it increasingly difficult to take that crucial first step onto the property ladder.

READ ARTICLE

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In his meetings, Chairman Bryant shared the recent outcomes and achievements of HOPE’s programs to uplift American citizens with financial dignity and empowerment, as well as discussing matters of policy that make the American dream possible for all Americans. Topics included:

• Financial literacy Initiatives 
• Financial Literacy for All
• 1 Million Black Businesses Initiative
• Affordable Housing
• Minority-Owned Businesses
• Women-Owned Businesses
• Access to Capital
• Improving Down Payment Assistance Initiatives
• The Delta Emergency Savings Program Report

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Tuesday December 12^th 2023

HOPE Global Forums Day 3

The 3^rd and final day of the HOPE Global Forums on December 12^th 2023 was packed with conversations from CEOs of some of the most influential companies in the realm of online business, sports and travel. Chairman John Hope Bryant shared the stage with Alex Rodríguez of the A-Rod Corporation, baseball hall of famer “Mr. October” Reggie Jackson; NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell; entertainer and businessman, T.I. “Tip” Harris; co-founder and CEO of Airbnb, Brian Chesky; founder and CEO of Shopify, Tobi Lütke, and more. 

Today’s meeting took a more humanistic approach. Its theme, “perseverance.” 

“I know where my blessings come from” shares TI “Tip” Harris. Can’t nobody take what God gave me. Whatever happens, God has already given us the tools we need to get through it.”

Baseball Hall of Famer, Reggie Jackson took the stage and reflects on the challenges he’s overcome while being a Black athlete in the 70s and 80s; even surviving a near fatal car theft attempt. Despite these unfavorable moments, Jackson compares his success to the game that created the winning streak in a season of his life that gave him the signature name “Mr. October.” “I know it’s a home run from the time I hear the click of the ball touching the bat” he states. Regarding overcoming, Jackson left the audience with an important piece of spiritual advice “you have to do the right thing by your community, it’s what God wants us to do.”

The day continued with more HOPE filled nuggets as the CEO of Pfizer Albert Bourla shares story of how his mother survived the Holocaust as a teenager. “Typically survivors don’t discuss the horrors they’ve lived through, he stated. “It’s something they’d never forget, but my mother talked” he shared. ‘She is a survivor and was saved to have our family,’ it was my family who saved me.”

The need to continue to build community became a second topic of discussion as baseball legend Alex Rodriguez talks about the responsibility people of color have in predominately white spaces. “I’m the only man of color in the room” he expresses. It’s something that I take very seriously.” Rodriguez also has a moment of transparency with the audience as he recalls seeing food stamps for the first time as a child. “My mother’s rent was $550 a month and we had a hard time paying that. I prayed that God would use me to one day be able to help my mother [financially]” he notes.

“What people are missing is community” adds Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky. “We need more than social media activism, we need people to be active in person. The biggest issue is loneliness and I want to go much bigger than just monetizing your home through our platform. I want to innovate an actual sense of community.”

The day ended with Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky showcasing his sense of community by staying after the interview to shake hands and take selfies with the audience. This act of kindness revealed the personhood behind the brand. It also breathes life into Ambassador Andrew Young note where he states “Life is a struggle of good and evil. Good always prevails, eventually.”

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Monday December 11^th 2023

The HOPE Global Forums completes its 2^nd day of discussions. These open forums that Chairman Bryant cleverly calls “meetings,” invite corporate partners, financial specialists, small business leaders, and community advocates to the table to talk about the problems that plague our neighborhoods and brainstorm some concepts to consider that might create equitable solutions.

The key word for the day was “access.” 

“We cannot have a solution if we don’t address the underlining issues themselves” shares Dr. Helene Gayle President of Spelman College

Some of the session panels for the December 11^th meeting included “The Case for Optimism,” “Decoding Work,” “Community Investments,” “Strategies for Social Mobility,” “Defining Wellbeing,” and “Small Business Beyond Borders.” Panelists in these meetings shared insight, on how to implement programming for these solutions, and do the work that is required to make it all come together. 

Deborah Lam, a work force development specialist and Pin Georgia highlights a key element necessary to providing access to resources for job opportunities by way of paid internships for college students and graduates. “It’s hard to get job without experience, and it’s hard to have experience without a job,” mentions Lam. “We should also teach graduates how to get out of debt within the first year of graduation.”

Operation HOPE’s “HOPE Inside” initiatives offer programming for financial literacy and debt relief, but Brian Peckrill, executive director of William G. McGowan Charitable Fund, included a thought-provoking suggestion that begins with changing financial behaviors through outreach. “All our grant making,” he states, “won’t undo a financial collapse.” His tactile approach brings MBA students to homeless shelters in Chicago in order to give students hands on experience in hopes to increase the mindset of community-based philanthropy while teaching new skills, and lean new financial behaviors.

Community Advocate and media mogul Charlamane The God concurs with this sentiment stating “My mission is to be of service. If it’s just about me, it’s not big enough.”

The day ended on an optimistic note that pleaded the case for how and where “access to resources” would generate. The answer is within the notion of the community leaning on itself by way of the people living in it.

“Black and brown communities are innovators. But if the innovators don’t have the money there will be no mobility. Yes, there is money in our community, but it all boils down to education and access. Unfortunately, half of the people in our community aren’t even aware that they are credit investors,” states Felix Chevalier co-founder of the Urban Capital Network. “We have to stick together because we understand each other” adds Storehouse founder Tamira Chapman.

Mayor Dickens concludes on this note stating “This southern city of Atlanta operates bigger than its weight class.” This meaning that the city’s ability to thrive in any area, is dependent on the participation of community support, which holds the key to access.

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“What happened this past summer is going to effectuate real change.”

– Justin Short, an Emory assistant professor of accounting

“I’ve never seen such a systemic, significant, sizable and sustainable shift in the leadership mentality of the private sector, particularly publicly traded companies, particularly at the CEO level, in 29 years of me doing this,” said John Hope Bryant, who is Black and the founder and leader of Operation Hope, an Atlanta-based nonprofit that pushes for financial literacy and economic empowerment.

At the same time, there’s much debate about how politically active companies should be on social issues, from donating campaign dollars to taking public stands.

Home Depot, the biggest public company headquartered in Georgia, is facing a boycott for not forcefully and publicly opposing the state’s new voting law, with one boycott organizer promising more pressure in coming weeks. Critics of the legislation said it will make it harder for Georgians, particularly Black and low-income voters, to cast ballots, while proponents say the law expands access and makes elections more secure. And recently Coca-Cola endured negative ads for criticizing the same elections law changes, with one group saying, “serve your customers, not woke politicians.”

Many other major companies, including UPS, Southern Company and Aflac, have not taken a clear, public stance on whether they are in favor of or against the state’s voting law changes.

Meanwhile, a string of Georgia corporation this year were confronted with shareholder proposals for diversity audits, increasing board diversity and accountings of political giving. There were also campaigns to oust board members viewed as not taking aggressive enough action on the issues.

Eli Kasargod-Staub, the executive director of Majority Action, a nonprofit that called for the proposed measures, said he’s seen clear indications that boards at many companies are taking steps toward racial equity in the last year. But, he said, when businesses don’t curb giving to politicians who undercut equity, that “fundamentally undermines everything else those companies have been saying.”

A recent AJC poll, conducted by the University of Georgia after Major League Baseball pulled its All-Star game out of metro Atlanta because of the state’s new election law, found that about 60% of registered Georgia voters opposed corporations publicly trying to shape political opinion or promote cultural change. But a poll last November by GoBeyondProfit, a Georgia alliance of current and former business leaders, found that about 75% of employed Georgians want their employers to address racial and social issues.

ExploreFrom March: Georgia corporate giants tiptoe into raging voting rights debate

Delta Air Lines and Coke say they’ve been working on a laundry lists of goals — from dramatically diversifying leadership and other ranks to mirror the general population, to doubling spending with Black suppliers — with hard targets, timetables, funding and internal and external actions. To broaden its workforce, Delta sharply increased the number of positions where it would accept job candidates with work experience rather than require a college degree.

“There is a long journey ahead to impact and sustain change,” Keyra Lynn Johnson, Delta’s chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer, said in an email.

Coke CEO James Quincey wrote last summer, “Simply put, America hasn’t made enough progress, corporate America hasn’t made enough progress and nor has The Coca-Cola Company.”

Home Depot, which generated $132 billion in revenue last year, offered a shorter public to-do list.

Initially, it said it would hold internal town hall meetings and give an extra $1 million to a civil rights nonprofit. It hasn’t set numeric goals for diversity in its employee or management ranks. A spokeswoman said the company expanded its unconscious bias training program to all employees. And the company’s foundation recently announced plans for job skills training programs for Black youths in Atlanta, Philadelphia and San Francisco.

Aflac, the Columbus-based insurer known for its quacking duck, didn’t layout specific plans or directly answer some specific questions posed by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. But a spokesman emailed that “Aflac’s commitment to diversity and inclusion speaks for itself” and stated the company is “among the most diverse large companies in Georgia,” with leadership that is 23% minority and a board that is 36% minority.

ExploreFrom April: Most Georgia companies try to skirt voting law controversy

Last year, UPS, like some other companies, said it would urge passage of a new federal anti-lynching law. Since expanding its training on unconscious bias, more than 99% of its managers have gone through the process, UPS said. The delivery giant also promised to give $4.2 million to organizations devoted to racial equity, education, business and advocacy. And the company pledged that its employees will spend a million volunteer hours mentoring and educating in some Black communities.

“We will be champions for justice and equality, not just in our words but in our actions here in the U.S. and everywhere we operate around the world,” CEO Carol Tomé said last summer.

Southern Company, the parent of Georgia Power, said it is committed to a workforce that mirrors the diverse communities it serves. It highlighted $200 million in giving it plans over five years to advance racial equity and social justice, and the company said it advocated to remove Confederate imagery from the Mississippi state flag. Southern also said it will leverage its political influence to advocate for policies that address systemic racism and will end support “for any official or organization that does not act in a manner consistent with” certain values, including honesty, fairness and diversity.

The moves are enhancements of efforts Southern has had underway for years, said Chris Womack, who this month became CEO of Georgia Power. He’s the first Black person to hold the position in the company’s more than 100-year history.

He characterized Southern’s previous diversity efforts as “good” but said they needed to be “much better.”

The company will continue to take steps, he said. “It could go faster, but I think the focus is making sure we are focused for the long haul.”

More broadly in metro Atlanta, he said, while minorities hold a number of senior level positions, “there is clearly more work to be done” in the highest ranks of Fortune 500 companies.

Corporate diversity programs and donations to social justice groups have been a part of the business landscape for decades. But change has come slowly for women and people of color trying to reach the very top jobs. Nationally, there are only a handful of Black CEOs at the 500 largest public U.S. companies.

Among the boards of S&P 1500 companies, Emory’s Short found evidence that Black directors accounted for 5% of the total national pool in 2019, up from 3% in 2008. Georgia had slightly higher percentages.

Still, he said, the percentages are much lower than the makeup in the overall population.

He hasn’t had access yet to full data indicating how much diversity on corporate boards may have changed in the last year. Companies generally aren’t required to disclose data on the race of board members. But some other measurements could become more accessible: This year, the biggest Georgia companies have committed to publicly disclosing breakdowns of racial and gender diversity in their employee ranks, including within leadership.

ExploreFrom March: House passes measure to eliminate a jet fuel tax break

Bryant, the head of nonprofit Operation Hope, said CEOs are now coming to him for suggestions on how to make a difference on diversity and curbing racism. He said he recommends developing a decade-long commitment and embedding it deep in their business plan. CEOs aren’t flinching, he said.

In the past year, companies have committed many billions of dollars for social justice efforts, Bryant said. And he called out specific executives for praise, including Delta CEO Ed Bastian.

But more than dollars are needed, said Bishop Reginald Jackson. He said he is disappointed that many large Georgia companies, from Home Depot to Southern Company, didn’t publicly condemn recent voting law changes in the state.

Credit: Alyssa Pointer / Alyssa.Pointer@ajc.com

Jackson, who heads the Sixth Episcopal District of the African Methodist Episcopal Church and helped lead a call to boycott Home Depot, said he thinks companies feared backlash from state legislators, such as those who tried to eliminate a tax break enjoyed by Delta.

He described being hopeful last summer when big businesses announced steps they would take to embrace diversity and battle racism.

“I am still optimistic,” he said. “But I still want to see more action.”

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