(light piano music) - Generational wealth is very important.

It's important from the aspect of being able to provide for your family.

- [Damon] The Bible puts generational wealth this way.

"A wise man leaves an inheritance to his children's children."

- I definitely wanted to pass wealth on to my children.

I wanted to start them off with something that I didn't get started off with.

(soft contemporary music) My name is Brooke Curry.

I live in Penn Hills, and I have two boys, ages seven and 12.

I'm single, I'm not married, and I work at the Fine Wine and Good Spirits as a cashier.

I was raised by my mother.

I have two older sisters, and we moved to Garfield when I was about six years old, till I was about 21.

And then I moved out on my own.

So I found a place in Lincoln-Lemington.

It was an apartment.

I had qualified for Section 8, and was able to move there.

I was on welfare.

I decided I wanted to buy a house.

I went through a couple of different programs to buy a house.

I ended up at the Urban League, and they helped me get my credit in order.

- My name is Victoria Goins.

I am the vice president of Programs and Services here at the Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh.

Generational wealth can be defined as assets that pass from generation to generation to generation.

(light upbeat music) We are, as people of color, unaccustomed to generational wealth.

- My parents, as an example, they accumulated some assets over time.

Once they died, they left assets, money, housing, to me.

That's generational wealth.

My name is Damon Carr.

I'm a money coach and a personal finance columnist.

I help everyday people beat debt and make sound money decisions.

- The Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh has a strong emphasis on creating wealth and moving people to self-sufficiency.

(light somber music) Through the horrific spotlight that has been put on George Floyd and other cases, disparities have become more and more apparent, disparities in health, disparities in job search.

It was perceived that we as African Americans didn't work hard.

- What is wealth?

Let's talk about that a little bit.

Wealth is defined as assets minus liability.

So what you own minus what you owe equals net worth.

Net worth is another name for wealth.

The average net worth of your typical White family is right around $170,000.

The Black household, 10% of that.

The average net worth is about 17,000.

The reason why there is a major gap from Black wealth to White wealth is, White people had a head start, 400 years to be exact.

- There were limitations on African Americans.

We weren't able to own property, and systemically, there were laws such as redlining, and those types of things that occurred in the '60s, which we're now trying to combat.

- If you look at every financial statistical category, African Americans are at the bottom, period.

So the income disparity with the Black family is the lowest of all ethnic groups.

Just speaking of disparity, 71% of White Americans own their home.

41% of African Americans own their home.

That also adds to the reason why on the net worth scale, we're on the low end totem pole.

- Studies have shown that there are no more African Americans owning homes now than there were 50 years ago.

(light piano music) One of the greatest aspects of creating generational wealth is owning a home.

So the Urban League is intent on putting an emphasis on home ownership, so that more and more people of color can attain that as the creation of wealth.

- For my sons, my hope for generational wealth is that it continues to grow for their kids, and their kids, and their kids.

It was a three-year process of me saving my money and getting my credit together, and just working so I can save money.

I had to get my credit score up.

When I first started, my credit score was under 500.

So it was a long process of me getting stuff removed from my credit report, paying off old debt, and just being like, "You know what?

I'm going to get this together.

I'm going to try to get my credit together," which I actually did.

And I have no credit issues now.

- We encourage our clientele here at the Urban League, start with the first step.

Understand the importance of building credit.

Understand the importance of owning a bank account, of saving, and of the traps that prevent you.

That is tremendous.

And that also stops someone from progressing.

- When it comes to clients that I work with, what advice do I give them?

Live below your means, with a purpose.

So when you add a purpose to the reason why you're livin' below your means, it becomes easier to do.

You heard the theory, "Use credit wisely."

I say, use credit only when absolutely necessary.

Last thing would be, pay it forward.

The lessons that you learned, the success that you had, take that and share with other people.

- I saved the money in order to purchase my home.

(uplifting piano music) So I have four bedrooms, and I have two bathrooms.

I have this huge kitchen, living room.

I love the yard outside.

I love the space.

It's just way more than I ever expected to have in my life.

I'm the first one in my immediate family, between my mom and my sisters, to be a homeowner.

It's not impossible.

Look at me.

You can do it.

Like, don't give up, don't stop.

It took me 40 years to get here, but I'm here.

(light inspirational music)