Photo courtesy of Berkshire Bank
Last month the world lost a legend with the passing of Harry Belafonte. Early in my career, Belafonte was my mentor for close to a decade and shaped so much of how I relate to power, wealth, celebrity and movement. At different parts of his life, Belafonte had all of these things and carefully prioritized them. As he did, he consciously put movement at the top and held himself most accountable for what he could achieve as an activist.
I’ve already eulogized Belafonte before so I won’t do it here again. Instead, I want to use his example to challenge all of us – even if we never have a chance to prioritize movement over such things as celebrity, power and wealth. It’s still worth contemplating the question: Would you? If fame and fortune were yours in abundance, would you still prioritize making a difference in the world?
For each of us, the answer lies in what we are doing today. How do we relate to power, celebrity and wealth? Is it a healthy relationship that is kept in balance? Or is it codependent?
In this column, I want to lift up examples of others who are leveraging their power and influence to center movement and social goals such as closing the wealth gap. My hope is that their vision and accomplishments – across politics, business, real estate development and investment – will challenge us to find opportunities in our own lives to center equity in our endeavors.
In other words, what does it mean to mean it?
Ayanna Pressley: ‘Closest to Pain, Closest to Power’
One of the first people who comes to mind is Rep. Ayanna Pressley. An activist, legislator, and survivor, she is the first woman of color to be elected to Congress from the commonwealth of Massachusetts.
She is a champion for justice and healing in many forms: reproductive justice, justice for immigrants, consumer justice, justice for seniors, justice for workers, justice for survivors of sexual violence, justice for the formerly and currently incarcerated individuals and healing for those who have experienced trauma.
A case in point is the reintroduction of the Anti-Racism in Public Health Act of 2023 by Pressley, Sen. Elizabeth Warren and California Rep. Barbara Lee. This proposed legislation that would declare racism a public health crisis and require a response at the federal level.
Pressley’s philosophy of being a public servant can be summed up in a powerful statement she uses: “Bringing the people closest to the pain, closest to the power.”
Ralph Parent: Creating Opportunities for Others
I have written previously in this space about developer Ralph Parent, showcasing his commitment to providing more opportunities for others. He is carrying out this mission in his latest project: The Townhomes at The Richardson Estate in Brookline – a 50,000-square-foot multifamily residential development. Construction is expected to begin in July 2023.
Parent’s role in the project includes ownership and project management, which allows him to include minorities who are too often excluded from large-scale real estate development. For example, Parent has started his first real estate syndication with the intention of providing access to “middle-income minorities who have been historically denied private equity investment opportunities.” He also recommended certified MBE Janey Construction as the general contractor for construction of Richardson Estate.
These are tangible examples of what Parent told me at the end of 2022: “Now that I have a seat at the table, the question I ask myself is, ‘How do I provide opportunity for others?’”
Nathalie Molina Niño: Capitalizing What Matters
As co-founder and chief strategy officer of Known Holdings, Niño is an investor, author and educator, as well as a retired global tech entrepreneur. Known Holdings manages assets, while deploying, structuring and shifting capital to places that matter.
Known Holdings works with founders, families and asset owners who “value powerful, long-term impact and see the opportunity in the economy powered by the New Majority.” Niño has a track record of finding and funding opportunities at the “bottom of the economic ladder” – including those that provide more capital to women.
Across the business and political landscape today, we are fortunate to find role models who put commitment to equity and social justice behind their words and actions. They are powerful examples of what we can all aspire to in our daily work, regardless of our role. It’s a higher calling that makes it not just about us, but also about the world we say we want to live in.
Malia Lazu is a lecturer in the Technological Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Strategic Management Group at the MIT Sloan School of Management, CEO of The Lazu Group and former Eastern Massachusetts regional president and chief experience and culture officer at Berkshire Bank.
