Phyllis C. Starks, 53, believes that saving money, investing it and tithing to her church are the keys to building wealth.
It’s a lesson the Cobb County resident shares with nieces, nephews and younger African Americans she encounters, hoping they won’t make frivolous money decisions she made in her early 20s when Starks spent more money on shoes than she saved.
>> AJC BLACK HISTORY MONTH: ATLANTA AND BLACK WEALTH: Success for many, but not for all
African Americans in metro Atlanta have a higher homeownership rate, median incomes and own more businesses than nearly any region in the nation. But there’s still many African Americans — 30% in the city of Atlanta — who live below the federal poverty rate of $26,000 a year for a family of four.
Starks works two jobs and owns two homes. She inherited one home, located in Atlanta’s Edgewood neighborhood, when her father died about a decade ago. Starks rents the home, which has helped her finances. She’s determined not to sell it although others in the area have done so.
“It’s my legacy,” Starks, who was born in Atlanta’s Grady Memorial Hospital and is a proud “Grady baby, said of the home.
Read more about how Atlanta has become a destination for many African Americans seeking financial prosperity and the efforts by large national companies, mid-size nonprofits and black-owned businesses and everyday Atlantans like Starks to help others create wealth.
Read all of the AJC's Black History Month coverage here.
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