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A common phenomenon that some refer to as the “black tax”–money they give to family members each month.
“I feel like it was the elephant in the room, and nobody talked about it for some reason. Look, we all are in the struggle of the journey, but the reality of it is we don’t have this same advantage and opportunity of quickly building generational wealth,” Allen said. She grew up with a rule that is common in many black homes: to keep your family’s struggles private. If there was no food to eat or if the lights were cut off, no one else would know about it outside of your household. This cultural rule prevents many black founders and tech professionals from sharing their experiences with money.
Founder Thomas K. R. Stovall agrees that no one talks about the effect of what he calls the “reverse friends-and-family funnel.” “I believe that the numbers of folks in my network who are dealing with this privately are much higher than we realize. Many who are, are not willing to discuss it publicly, for fear of embarrassing their [family],” he says. Of course, because it’s an issue that’s so often kept secret, there are no numbers on how many black professionals give a portion of their income on a regular basis to family members. But considering that the median net worth of white families in the U.S. remains nearly 10 times the size of African Americans, and that nearly 4 in 5 black families have zero or negative net worth, the number is likely significant.
Founders of color often experience challenges finding capital for their businesses when funding cannot be funneled down from family and friends. They usually have to work other jobs and have a fixed income while building their company.
Barnes believes those impacted by “black tax” need to have uncomfortable conversations about their family members’ financial situation and help them manage their money instead of simply writing checks.
Godwin agrees that when young professionals understand how to deal with “black tax” that they can help with breaking the cycle within their families.
Even niggers know that other niggers are parasites. It's no wonder niggers chimp out when they are called niggers. 