Abstract Lifestyle is a motivational platform that uses presentations, rap/ spoken word performances, and role-modeling to impact students on what Black and Brown financial and career empowerment look like. Our students range from middle-school to college as we engage them on how to think about higher education and entrepreneurship. In order to create an appeal for the subject, we infuse rap and spoken word poetry so students can further relate.

Our goal is to tackle the issue of generational wealth by increasing the value of Black and Brown businesses before a business is even conceived. By motivating students to pursue higher education and to think about the truths of financial empowerment, statistics show that entrepreneurs who own degrees have a higher likelihood of their venture being a million-dollar business. Obtaining a formal education provides a significant advantage in developing understanding, networks and self-confidence when starting a venture and provides a clearer grasp of financial freedom in general.

Even if entrepreneurship is not the end result, our students still learn about investments, stocks, real estate and how it can be passed down generationally, all while still using their degrees to become leaders and executives for companies and organizations. Most importantly, we encourage students to remain their authentic, cultured selves. Their presence is most significant when they hold to their identity.

While college enrollment and entrepreneurship has increased within Communities of Color, the numbers are still disparaging and stark. In 2013, 34% of Black and Hispanic students ages 18-24 were enrolled in college compared to 42% of White students. Enrollment in the 468 best-funded and most selective four-year institutions is 77% White, yet college debt is still higher for Black students at 72% of the population being expected to pay back their students loans compared to 56% for White students.

The same holds true for Black and Brown entrepreneurship, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that while the total number of businesses in the U.S. declined from 2007 to 2012, the number of LatinX-owned businesses grew by 46%. Regardless of this fact, LatinX-owned businesses are granted lower amounts of capital support than White businesses, which make up most million dollar companies. $700 Billion has entered the U.S. economy by LatinX-owned businesses alone.

As a former employee of the New York City Department of Corrections and current Professor of Criminal Justice, Jonathan has seen what the school-to-prison pipeline does in theory and in real life. Jonathan grew up in neighborhoods where he was exposed to drugs and gang activity early in life. He, and so many of his peers, have gone through the institutionalization that comes from being in the public school system and lack of growth. Communities of Color are prepped from elementary to get accustomed to entering schools that have metal detectors, guards, and low expectations. Books that are outdated and teachers who are disconnected, all adding to the higher incarceration rates which are dramatically higher for Black and Hispanic populations. We are countering with the opposite.

Youth need to see a reflection of themselves in the speaker in order to want to model similar behavior and drive and we have that. Join us in reinforcing a new pipeline. Join us, in living the Abstract Lifestyle.