Forged at the intersection of community, culture, and commerce, For The Culture And The Coins™ exists to educate and empower Black people globally. The focus is on building wealth of all kinds – financial, physical, social, spiritual, emotional and temporal – and exploring pathways do so via a collectivist, community-based approach.
Created by Lisa Hurley, Founder of The Great Exhale™.
Full site launching soon! In the meantime, get your C&C gear!
About For The Culture And The Coins™
As an activist, I am always looking for ways to amplify issues that affect my community. As a Black activist, one of those issues is the racial wealth gap.
According to Rand.org, “The median wealth gap in America—the difference between the middle Black household and the middle White household—is around $164,000. The average wealth gap? Around $840,000. Using that as the measure, the researchers found it would take $7.5 trillion to halve the wealth gap, and $15 trillion to eliminate it.”
Eliminating the wealth gap is a noble goal, and one that we should pursue, but it cannot be attained if Black people are expected – and forced – to work for free.
“Exposure” does not pay the bills.
Over the past few years I have been asked and expected to provide free labor more times than I care to remember; I noticed that this was also happening to other leaders in the activism space. There is a disturbing trend of Black activists, educators, and content creators being expected to “do it for the culture,” and let others “get the coins” and profit from our intellectual capital.
I say no.
It is not “selling out” if you monetize your offerings. It doesn’t mean that you’re not down for the culture.
The goal should always be to do it “For The Culture AND The Coins.”
We have to build our own legacies and insist on being appropriately compensated.
We deserve to be paid.
We deserve to live well.
We deserve to be wealthy in every sense of the word
Although I have been preaching the #FreeIsCancelled gospel for years, the For The Culture And The Coins concept is its fullest expression. When I first got the idea in February of 2022, I was inspired to create a movement to help:
- normalize paying Black people (and paying us well)
- remove internalized shame around expecting and demanding to be paid
- educate Black people about building generational wealth of all kinds
Laboring for free is an insult to our ancestors.
They did not suffer all those injuries, injustices, and indignities only to have us minimize our worth and continue to work uncompensated.
So: when you rock your #CultureAndCoins gear, you are part of a purpose-led movement designed to remind you to know your worth, charge your worth, and then add tax; reminding you to do it For The Culture And The Coins.
Asé.
Lisa
Founder, For The Culture And The Coins™