Rich In …
Dearfield Fund Annual Letter and Impact Report
I will never forget the Thanksgiving meals my Nana prepared every year. As kids, my cousins and I were often at her apartment in Brooklyn, but there was something special about her Thanksgiving spread. She prepared such an amazing meal for her family and friends and invited us to gather in her home. The food, the laughter and the stories all come back to me when I smell candied yams.
As an adult, I can look back and see that, despite our modest surroundings, we were rich in family.
That richness was shared by all of us at Nana’s dining room table. As members of my family have relocated to different parts of the country, the memories of the meals still evoke the same rich sense of togetherness.
Having led the Dearfield Fund for Black Wealth for two years, I often hear similar stories from homeowners. While they understand that their home is an asset that will increase in value, they derive so much more than financial gain.
The Dearfield Fund is unapologetically a race-specific solution to a race-specific problem. We know that to close the racial wealth gap caused by centuries of anti-Black policies, we must create new policies and financial products to empower Black wealth.
As is true for most American homeowners regardless of race, Dearfield homeowners will not realize financial wealth until they sell or refinance their homes. And yet, owning a home has enriched their lives in innumerable and invaluable ways.
Last March, three homeowners joined me for a panel discussion at Confluence Philanthropy’s Practitioners Gathering in Denver. With authenticity and vulnerability, they spoke about their life experiences before homeownership and how homeownership has chartered a path for them to overcome systemic racism. They spoke about breaking free from the false notion that hard work is all that is required to amass wealth. They spoke about using capital available to not only move themselves into homeownership and wealth, but also to find peace.
The lived experience our homeowners share — always on defense in the game of life — was lifted, to some degree because of the independence, peace of mind, ownership and community they were building with their home as the cornerstone.
From left, Branden Freiner, Aisha T. Weeks, Myria Giles, Tiffany Roan and Ama Owusu following a panel discussion during Confluence Philanthropy’s 2024 Practitioners Gathering in Denver. Branden, Myria and Owusu shared their deeply personal and powerful stories with the assembled group of impact investors.
Myria Giles
Take, for example, Myria Giles. I met Myria at a gathering last fall. She told me about how she moved from her parents’ table directly to her husband’s table and now, after divorcing at 60 and surviving cancer, she was finally at her own table.
During her marriage, Myria lived in military housing and moved every few years – never having that sense of security that comes from building a home in one place.
Today, Myria describes her home — a two-bedroom condo she purchased in July 2023 — in one word: Mine. From the kitchen cabinets to the photos of grandchildren on the wall, for the first time in her life, Myria has the autonomy to make her own choices and build her own life on her terms. She is rich in independence.
Listen to Myria
audio transcript
I felt like I had no sense of ownership. I didn’t own the kitchen. I didn’t own the cabinets. I had to abide by not only the military rules and military housing, but my husband’s rules. So after getting divorced, the opportunity to find a sense of ownership and independence — and I can put a nail where I want to — presented itself.
It makes me feel accomplished. It makes me feel … self-sufficient … I teach my children that. Being able to hold your own. Being able to make decisions that affect just you. Okay, any decision that I make as a homeowner, I can make it just for me.
I am a woman fulfilled. I’m a woman that believed that she could so that she did and she is doing it. I am my own person. I am my biggest fan. I am my biggest motivator.
She is rich in independence.
Myria Giles
She is rich in independence.
Take, for example, Myria Giles. I met Myria at a gathering last fall. She told me about how she moved from her parents’ table directly to her husband’s table and now, after divorcing at 60 and surviving cancer, she was finally at her own table.
During her marriage, Myria lived in military housing and moved every few years – never having that sense of security that comes from building a home in one place.
Today, Myria describes her home — a two-bedroom condo she purchased in July 2023 — in one word: Mine. From the kitchen cabinets to the photos of grandchildren on the wall, for the first time in her life, Myria has the autonomy to make her own choices and build her own life on her terms. She is rich in independence.
Listen to Myria
audio transcript
I felt like I had no sense of ownership. I didn’t own the kitchen. I didn’t own the cabinets. I had to abide by not only the military rules and military housing, but my husband’s rules. So after getting divorced, the opportunity to find a sense of ownership and independence — and I can put a nail where I want to — presented itself.
It makes me feel accomplished. It makes me feel … self-sufficient … I teach my children that. Being able to hold your own. Being able to make decisions that affect just you. Okay, any decision that I make as a homeowner, I can make it just for me.
I am a woman fulfilled. I’m a woman that believed that she could so that she did and she is doing it. I am my own person. I am my biggest fan. I am my biggest motivator.
Neecie & Nahjee Maybin
The freedom that Myria is experiencing is echoed by Dearfield homeowners Nahjee and Neecie Maybin. For the Maybins, who have three kids younger than 9 years old, their home provides the foundation they need to build wealth and the leverage they need to take risks that will create a lasting legacy. They are rich in opportunity.
Listen to Nahjee
audio transcript
It allows us to think about what’s next. Instead of being in a place of insecurity. And when you can think about what’s next, you always kind of think of endless possibilities, endless opportunity. You know, we can move forward. We can try something and we can take financial risks that might lead to growth.
I run a business, and I’m allowed to be even a little bit more bold in the way we run our business because we have a house already. So it’s things like that, that allow us to continue to think of what’s next.
Using their home to create stability, build wealth and make life easier for their children is top of mind for Neecie and Nahjee, who moved every few years while his dad was in the military. As parents, they know that they stand on the shoulders of giants who worked hard to remove barriers and create opportunities for each of them. And, the opportunities they create today will grow even larger over time.
Listen to Neecie
audio transcript
I know my grandmother worked hard so that my mom would have it a little bit easier. My mom worked hard so that I would have it a little bit easier. And now I’m working so my kids have it a little bit easier. And eventually, everything will be theirs. So that’s what I’m hoping to leave them. So their children are set up for success, and their children’s children and so on and so forth. It really starts with us right now.
They are rich in opportunity.
Neecie & Nahjee Maybin
They are rich in opportunity.
The freedom that Myria is experiencing is echoed by Dearfield homeowners Nahjee and Neecie Maybin. For the Maybins, who have three kids younger than 9 years old, their home provides the foundation they need to build wealth and the leverage they need to take risks that will create a lasting legacy. They are rich in opportunity.
Listen to Nahjee
audio transcript
It allows us to think about what’s next. Instead of being in a place of insecurity. And when you can think about what’s next, you always kind of think of endless possibilities, endless opportunity. You know, we can move forward. We can try something and we can take financial risks that might lead to growth.
I run a business, and I’m allowed to be even a little bit more bold in the way we run our business because we have a house already. So it’s things like that, that allow us to continue to think of what’s next.
Using their home to create stability, build wealth and make life easier for their children is top of mind for Neecie and Nahjee, who moved every few years while his dad was in the military. As parents, they know that they stand on the shoulders of giants who worked hard to remove barriers and create opportunities for each of them. And, the opportunities they create today will grow even larger over time.
Listen to Neecie
audio transcript
I know my grandmother worked hard so that my mom would have it a little bit easier. My mom worked hard so that I would have it a little bit easier. And now I’m working so my kids have it a little bit easier. And eventually, everything will be theirs. So that’s what I’m hoping to leave them. So their children are set up for success, and their children’s children and so on and so forth. It really starts with us right now.
Charlyn Moss
Last year, Charlyn Moss bought her first home at just 24 years old. Like Nahjee Maybin, Charlyn moved every two to three years because her father was in the military. Despite moving every few years, Charlyn’s parents valued relationships and, in their homes, friends confided in each other, jokes were shared just as often as tears and help was offered to anyone in need.
As she plants roots in Denver, Charlyn continues her parents’ legacy by gathering people in her home to eat together, work together and pray together. She is rich in fellowship.
Listen to Charlyn
audio transcript
And so, in some ways, me wanting to host is just replicating what I experienced as a child — being able to bring people together. There’s something about people, for me. I’m very pro social … very pro help people. And I think being able to do that in my home and being able to host was a big part of why I ended up buying a home. But, it also became an opportunity to host and facilitate Bible studies, because that is a new development in my life and it’s been really key to many other things happening in my life. We have business meetings here. I have friends over here to just talk and catch up. For me, meeting outside in the world can be so distracting. Being able to bring people here … I always want to invite people over here first, because I think we’ll have the opportunity to connect and who knows where the conversation will go.
She is rich in fellowship.
Charlyn Moss
She is rich in fellowship.
Last year, Charlyn Moss bought her first home at just 24 years old. Like Nahjee Maybin, Charlyn moved every two to three years because her father was in the military. Despite moving every few years, Charlyn’s parents valued relationships and, in their homes, friends confided in each other, jokes were shared just as often as tears and help was offered to anyone in need.
As she plants roots in Denver, Charlyn continues her parents’ legacy by gathering people in her home to eat together, work together and pray together. She is rich in fellowship.
Listen to Charlyn
audio transcript
And so, in some ways, me wanting to host is just replicating what I experienced as a child — being able to bring people together. There’s something about people, for me. I’m very pro social … very pro help people. And I think being able to do that in my home and being able to host was a big part of why I ended up buying a home. But, it also became an opportunity to host and facilitate Bible studies, because that is a new development in my life and it’s been really key to many other things happening in my life. We have business meetings here. I have friends over here to just talk and catch up. For me, meeting outside in the world can be so distracting. Being able to bring people here … I always want to invite people over here first, because I think we’ll have the opportunity to connect and who knows where the conversation will go.
Ajenai Clemmons & Peter Adeyeye
Having met and then married during the pandemic, when we all developed a new appreciation for the safety and security of home, Ajenai Clemmons and Peter Adeyeye think of their home as a place to focus on and restore one another. They are rich in peace.
Listen to Ajenai
audio transcript
We met during the pandemic, when everything was on lockdown. When it was so clear what you needed to be well and to have a sense of wellness — and the importance of prioritizing that. For both of us to be able to create our own space was a huge priority and something that we looked forward to … something that we discussed often before we were married and after we were married. What we wanted our shared space to look like. It’s been a joy to build that. I think it’s been a wonderful part of the foundation of our marriage.
Listen to Peter
audio transcript
Thinking of a home far away from home, as an immigrant, it feels really good to be home with this person you love the most in the world. In a home that is yours, you know what I’m saying? It’s just been a joy. It’s been a delight to feel finally settled and to have daily routines and to plan a week and to have friends come over.
It’s a delight.
They are rich in peace.
Ajenai Clemmons & Peter Adeyeye
They are rich in peace.
Having met and then married during the pandemic, when we all developed a new appreciation for the safety and security of home, Ajenai Clemmons and Peter Adeyeye think of their home as a place to focus on and restore one another. They are rich in peace.
Listen to Ajenai
audio transcript
We met during the pandemic, when everything was on lockdown. When it was so clear what you needed to be well and to have a sense of wellness — and the importance of prioritizing that. For both of us to be able to create our own space was a huge priority and something that we looked forward to … something that we discussed often before we were married and after we were married. What we wanted our shared space to look like. It’s been a joy to build that. I think it’s been a wonderful part of the foundation of our marriage.
And, as they create their home together and design a restorative retreat for themselves, they also take immense pride in welcoming their Nigerian family and friends of friends, and establishing new friendships with their neighbors.
Listen to Peter
audio transcript
Thinking of a home far away from home, as an immigrant, it feels really good to be home with this person you love the most in the world. In a home that is yours, you know what I’m saying? It’s just been a joy. It’s been a delight to feel finally settled and to have daily routines and to plan a week and to have friends come over.
It’s a delight.
In meeting Dearfield homeowners, I have expanded what it means to have an asset that accrues in value.
In our work and in our outreach, we center the lack of generational wealth and the impact of centuries of discriminatory policies because that is what the Fund is directly addressing. And, yet, the Black and African American community is filled with assets that have always grown over time.
The model of strength that Myria is for her grandchildren will help them find their own strength.
The love Nahjee and Neecie have for their children will one day be shared with their grandchildren.
The impact Charlyn creates in her business will ripple through the Black community.
The restorative relationship Peter and Ajenai have with each other will be shared with family and friends, near and far.
Coupled with the financial gains each family is amassing, these too are riches — assets — that continue to grow over time.
I will be forever grateful and humbled by investors and partners who, in the face of push back on racial equity and DEI initiatives, continue to support our mission to close the wealth gap and to help families grow the richness of all their assets. As a partner, you are a part of the legacy we are cultivating for Black and African American families built on the richness of independence, opportunity, fellowship and peace.
