“One thing that we’ve really tried to stress in the four years we’ve been doing this is that this event is about self-agency and personal empowerment … the things that we can do as individuals,” says Afra Smith, founder of The Melanin Project, and host of the upcoming 4th annual Wealth Literacy Conference. “I think, yes, there are systems that we are working on … that collective empowerment work. We’re challenging the system on what needs to shift. But in this environment at the conference, I’m steering away from that conversation, because I think that’s already happening. So what do you need to do? How do you need to do it? And who are your resources to help you navigate out?”
The fourth annual Wealth Literacy Conference will be a source for a wealth of financial resources and connections on Saturday, April 18, 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. at TruStage Lighthouse. It’s a signature event of The Melanin Project, whose mission is to “eradicate wealth disparities for women of the Black and African diaspora with programs that support building generational wealth through advocacy, personal empowerment, and financial wellness coaching.”
The conference’s theme this year is “Cracking the Code.”
“The thing about ‘Cracking the Code’ that I want everybody to understand is that these speakers and presenters at the conference weren’t born with money and success. So how did they get it?” Smith asks. “My idea was that the breakout sessions would connect people to various aspects of wealth. So you get to choose. You need personal finances? It’s there. You need retirement planning? It’s there. You need insurance or estate planning? It’s there. You need to connect with Summit Credit Union about something business-related, or how to use your HELOC to purchase an investment property? It is there.”
(Photo by Hedi Rudd)
Smith remembers fondly year number one when she first decided to host this conference and she was asking herself: Is this even going to work?
“You’re putting something out there for the first time, and that fear sets in, and you’ve made this big announcement and you have no idea whether or not people are going to show up,” Smith remembers. “And to my surprise, that first year, it actually sold out. And so moving from being over at the Goodman Center for year one, and really starting to create and cultivate a movement that was really an indication that this is something that people do want. We’re moving in the right direction.”
Every year, they are just adding a little bit to the conference and learning from mistakes in the past, she says.
“Year four is kind of like the year where I feel like I’m gonna do everything right this year, because I’ve made all the mistakes that I needed to make,” Smith says, smiling. “The wealth empowerment community is really showing up this year, and I’m very excited about that as far as our speaker lineup. This is definitely going to be the best one yet.
“My vision was always to have this conference act as a vessel to connect people into different pillars of wealth empowerment,” she continues. “I never wanted it to be typecast in just one area. So I didn’t want it to be the stock market retirement conference or solely the real estate conference. I really wanted that main stage to be a grounding of the mindset of lived experience.
“These are folks who may have come from poverty or being on a system such as Section 8 [housing], or just people going from having no money to making it to where they are today,” she adds. “A self-made millionaire is coming in, Jackie Cummings Koski. She came from poverty, right? Tiffany Malone also came from the construct of poverty and being on the Section 8 system. And now you see where she is today.”
This year’s keynote speaker will be Cummings Koski, a financial educator and consultant. Main stage speakers will include Lamont Johnson Jr., a data analyst, educator and CLIMB USA intern; Sparkle Mixson, a marketing executive and global property owner; Robert Wynn, the founder and president of CLIMB USA; and Malone, co-founder of Own It: Building Black Wealth
Eleven breakout session speakers will tackle a variety of finance-related topics throughout the day.
“Kaba Bah [CEO of KABA-BAAL, LLC], who is amazing and one of our local developers, is teaching a course about how to select the right rental unit for people who are just starting out. Dr. Sagashus Levingston [founder of Infamous Mothers] is going to be present, telling her inspirational story. So I think we’re offering something that everybody can ground themselves in … a variety of topics that will spark joy in you, even if it’s not something you may have considered.”
Smith reflects on her own financial empowerment story.
“I was very heavily focused on somebody else changing something for me, and I realized that until I began to make my money work for me, I didn’t get that shift,” she says. “So I do a lot of heavy work on mindset and mental health … that’s 80% of the work. The other 20% is the application and the education embedded there.
“I think that grounding people in focusing on self, personal empowerment and listening to those lived experience stories and connections are so helpful to help people so that they can see that someone else did it, there is a path and these are the things that they need to do, and this is the discipline they need to have to actually take those actions they need to take.”
Smith adds that the conference will be “a very welcoming and open environment, regardless of demographic, regardless of income level.”
“Again, a vessel is a connection of various things. A part of that vessel is me remembering the fact that at one point in time in my life, I had good credit and money, and I had no idea what to do with it, so I had to do a lot of research,” Smith says. “I’m trying to mitigate that through this process and trying to avoid people having to do so much digging.
“I think it’s going to be insightful for folks who think it’s just not possible. And I want to challenge us that it is. Sometimes, it’s the way that we’re living, the way that we’re consuming. And I want to really unpack that, that grounding through the ‘Cracking the Code’ theme this year.”
The Wealth Conference promises to “challenge your thinking, sharpen your skills, and inspire new possibilities for your financial future.” This conference is not just about information and resources; it’s about making those important connections in life that will help you succeed.
“You definitely need connections. Madison has a lot of them. We just don’t always know where they are. And sometimes we get our information from different people and different ecosystems can give you different things,” Smith says. “I went through several entrepreneurship programs when I was first starting out, and they provided me with so many very different connections. So I always tell people that just because you take one doesn’t mean you can’t go through another one.
“If you’re learning personal finance. It’s OK to gather information from multiple sources. If that’s the phase that you’re in, it’s okay to connect; you never know who may be a catalyst to make a major shift or get you connected to a resource that may help elevate you or the thing that you’re working on.”
Along with making those connections, mentorship is also important to succeed in the wealth-building world. Mentors that you are likely to find at the 4th annual Wealth Literacy Conference.
“I’m still holding near and dear to the mentorships that I have today, who have helped elevate this conference, and make connections with speakers for me,” Smith says. “They continue to do that every single year. I would not be able to do this event without having those connections and that mentorship around me.”
For tickets to The Melanin Project’s 4th annual Wealth Literacy Conference, click here.
