Lolia Briggs

Former Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick fields questions during a meeting of the Polk County Democrats on November 18, 2019 in Des Moines, Iowa. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images) What keeps young Black Americans up at night? In this exclusive Q&A, presidential hopeful Deval Patrick sat down with students and faculty in the historic Howard University Founders Library to hear their concerns for the future.

OneUnited Bank is the largest Black owned bank in America, and the Boston-based trust company exists with a goal: to end the racial wealth gap. Teri Williams, the President and COO of OneUnited let theGrio in on their newest campaign, BankBlack X, and how it will boost Black wealth. If you can’t already tell by the name, BankBlack X draws inspiration from the teachings of Malcolm X. “We really need to focus on self determination.” Williams tells theGrio.

Criminal justice activist Topeka K. Sam was set up for success, raised in Long Island to a two parent home of business owners. “We had every single opportunity. I had the piano lessons, the dance lessons. My brothers play the violin and the cello.” Wanting to escape her largely white neighborhood, and attend college with students who looked like her, Sam enrolled in Morgan State University, an HBCU in Baltimore, MD.