Black in Money Recovery

 Black In Money Recovery

Faith it 

Until you Make it. 

Darleana M. 

I am extremely proud of the work that I have done in Antiracism in Black in Money Recovery.

Money Recovery  is like a train with unlimited seats. There is room on this train for everyone. I talk about Black people because I am Black but I don’t want to leave anyone behind. 

 

When I started this year during work in Anti-racism. I envisioned activities that celebrated all ethnic groups and to encourage people of all races to bring their experience strength and hope to the program. I envisioned giving every ethnic group a voice where they would share with the fellowship their unique story of how debt impacted their community. The people for who the shoe pinches deserve to describe their pain and if this way reach out to others like them to join the fold. I can’t tell someone else’s story. I can only share my story as a Black woman. People will resonate with that story at different levels. Everyone deserves to have their stories heard. It is the heart of our program. 

 

I visualized celebrating Asian American heritage month by having a call where Asian Americans shared their experience strength and hope and what brought them into program. I imagined a Cesar Chavez Day where Hispanic Americans share their culture and history of debting. I could see this playing out with every ethnic group, Native Americans, Pacific Islanders. We are all here for one purpose to stop incurring unsecured debt but the pathway would look different for each group and we would learn through giving marginalized people a platform and hearing their voices in  a space to teach us something and make us stronger and more inclusive.  We would be stronger after hearing these voices. 

 

Someone decided that listening to different stories and the experience strength and hope of others that differed  was creating disunity. This concept of inclusion was shut down. Someone decided that people of different ethnic groups talking about their experiences would destroy the fellowship. Someone decided  that we all needed to pretend like we were having the same experience. Nothing is further from the truth. It is by sharing our differences that we learn that we have more in common than differences but you wouldn’t know that because we never got to hear these voices. They were silenced. 

 

Debtors Anonymous and Underearners Anonymous  are like  trains with unlimited seats. There is enough room for everybody. We don’t have to assign seats to anyone because there is more than enough. Your seating is decided by how you work your program. You work a diligent program and you earn a seat in first class. You work less diligently you sit in coach. You barely work your program and you hold on for your life on top of the train. Most of us have been in all of those places. Debt  and Money recovery is a do it yourself process, you don’t need to try to silence anyone else’s recovery or censure their story. You can give someone a first class ticket. You earn your seat on this train.  So focus on your own recovery. 

 

The meetings pamphlet states use of unsecured debt destroyer our self esteem, hurt our families and created an assortment of other problems. As newcomers we began to recognize and absorb feelings of hope by identifying with others in the meeting. Hearing these stories gave us hope that the same program would work for us. No where in that opening paragraph does it say that my experiences have to be same as yours or that I have to exclude experiences how race and culture impact my debtor. 

As Black women, we are expected to be acquiescing and sycophantic at all times. You can't be passionate or you are labeled the angry black woman or a bully. You are expected to be everybody's Mammy and caretaker or perceived to be aggressive. You are not expected to be fully human and expressive. Your apologies are not accepted because you have not stayed in your box. The truth is that people from different cultures have different communication styles and perceiving Black people as a threat plays into White Supremacy and stereotypes, no matter who you are. 

 

Black people's experiences in this country and around the world are unique. There was a time in world history when our bodies were currency to be traded among Europeans. It was a dark time in our history. We did not receive land grants like the European immigrants. We were excluded from educational institutions and denied access to health care. All of this terrorism has impacted our relationship with money. We have to heal from this generational trauma around money,12 step rooms are the places to share our experience, strength and hope and heal. We are only as sick as our secrets. By admitting that we are powerless we can begin the process to wholeness.