The School of Law will host the West Side Missionary Baptist Church’s conference, “Breaking the Chains of Financial Slavery: African-American Economic Freedom,” from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Feb. 26 in the Bryan Cave Moot Courtroom in Anheuser-Busch Hall.
The conference will explore many of the barriers to the accumulation of wealth in African-American communities and ways in which individuals, families and communities can begin to combat these forces and overcome the racial disparities in wealth that divide our nation.
John Bryant, a leading national consultant on economic empowerment tools and services for the underserved and chief executive officer of Operation HOPE Inc., will serve as the conference’s keynote speaker.
Operation HOPE is America’s first nonprofit social investment banking organization.
After the keynote address, participants will attend workshops on investing, economic legislation and policies, transitioning back to the community after incarceration, credit repair, financial planning, starting a small business, buying a home and getting rid of debt.
To close the conference, Steven J. Gunn, J.D., associate professor of law, will moderate an open forum on “Overcoming Racial Inequality in Wealth Accumulation: Historic Obstacles and a Blueprint for Change.”
Presenters will include experts from St. Louis with an interest in the economic stability and development of the African-American community.
The conference is free and open to the public and is co-sponsored by the law school’s Clinical Education Program, the Great Things Incorporated Foundation, Gateway Bank and the Regional Commerce and Growth Association.
Advance registration is preferred but not required.
For more information or to register, go online to law.wustl.edu or contact the Rev. Dinah Tatman at West Side Missionary Baptist Church (535-9002, ex. 206; dltatman@westsidembc.org).