Dear Bishops, Reverends, & Pastors –
My name is Ben Green. I’m the author of Building BLK Wealth™, a Certified Financial Fiduciary®, and co-founder of Ready2Retire, LLC. I hold a BA in Finance from Morehouse College and an International MBA from the University of South Carolina. And today… I’m more concerned than ever about the future of Black America.
As you know, in the last year of his life, Dr. Martin Luther King switched his focus from working on civil rights to working on economic rights.
His Poor People’s Campaign specifically aimed to raise the incomes of not only Black Americans, but also Latino Americans, Native Americans, and poor White Americans as well. Dr. King realized that fair economic opportunities were as critical to civil rights for all Americans as the right to vote.
In light of pending artificial intelligence-related job losses, the reduced educational achievement of Black children post-Covid, the potential reduction of Medicaid & social safety net programs, the elimination of affirmative action & diversity economic programs like the federal government’s minority subcontractor provisions, and Target’s reneged 2 billion dollar commitment to Black businesses… The Road to Zero net worth by 2053 (see Project 2053) for the average Black American family may now be a foregone conclusion unless drastic action is taken.
In fact, I suspect the Road to Zero is much closer than 2053, which was the year initially forecasted by the Institute of Policy Studies & Prosperity Now in 2017.
In light of all of these challenges to building and preserving Black family wealth, and in conjunction with the Target boycott that started March 5, 2025, this open letter is being sent to the top 200 churches in America as a rally cry and urgent call to action.
It’s time for Black Americans to turn inward and unite to see what can be done to:
- Build generational wealth and maximize economic opportunities
- Improve financial literacy within the Black community
- Provide clear guidance and pathways to prosperity for young Black Americans
The book I wrote, Building BLK Wealth, and the platform we’ve built, buildBLKwealth.com, is here to do just that. We are calling on you and your church to answer this call and please do the following:
- Join us in declaring the month of March, “Black Wealth Month” (on BlackWealthMonth.com we will be launching a widespread digital media campaign this March);
- Sponsor a “Building BLK Wealth” book club at your church in the month of March
- Purchase a book for each church member so that they can discuss it at the book club or at home with their
spouses, children, and grandchildren (email us at office@buildblkwealth.com for a discount on bulk orders) - Contact our team to schedule a no-cost, customized one hour webinar on entrepreneurship or retirement readiness for your church members
- Consider gathering 50 to 500 of your church members together to take a customized 4-day (one hour per day) workshop on entrepreneurship or retirement readiness (see our Lunch & Learn Workshop section); our team can facilitate the workshop or we can empower, certify, and pay one of your church members to facilitate it.
Wealth consists of 3 pillars:
(1) Spiritual Wealth
(2) Physical Wealth
(3) Financial Wealth
We look forward to partnering with you to help your church and your church family grow their financial wealth as you continue to help them grow their physical and spiritual health… A wealthy church is a healthy church.
Please commit to at least 2 of the actionable items above. It is not an exaggeration to say that the health, wealth, and prosperity of not only our Black churches, but all of Black America is at stake.
In closing, on page 5 of the Road to Zero Wealth report it says, “We find that without a serious change in course, the country is heading towards a racial and economic apartheid state.” This is serious and urgent. Please join us.
Very respectfully,
Benjamin Green
Author of Building BLK Wealth
Certified Financial Fiduciary
Co-Founder of Ready2Retire, LLC &
Insurance Advantage, LLC