September 26, 2025 • 9 mins
John Hope Bryant, Founder Operation HOPE discusses Black entrepreneurship and economic growth.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
At the Congressional Black HAWKUS Annual Legislative Conference with John
Hope Bryant.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Talk to me about why you thought it important.
Speaker 3 (00:08):
To be here, because we're sitting in a moment in history,
because this is the third reconstruction, because history does not
feel often historically are sitting in it.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
It just just like another day.
Speaker 3 (00:23):
But I think most everybody can recognize now that, yeah,
whether you like it or not, this is a moment.
Question now is what do you do about it? A
friend of mine, Charlemagne, told me that the most powerful
man in the world is now managing the biggest reality
TV show in the world, and all of us are extras.
(00:46):
How do you become a principal player in your own production?
Speaker 2 (00:51):
That's what this is.
Speaker 3 (00:52):
This is about going from renting with a sixty five
hundred dollars net worth owning a home with a quarter
million dollar network that's the average worth of a homeowner.
Forty four percent of Black people will own a home
forty four compared to seventy five percent of our our
mainstream counterparts. The the number of the way you build
wealth in America is home ownership. The average credit score
over Black America is six twenty If you can get
(01:16):
that credit score up to seven hundred, that's seven hundred
and fifty billion dollars of wealth creation for Black America
in ten years. And then you buy a home that's
eight hundred billion. That's one point five trillion. And the
government hasn't done a thing. So these are things within
our controls. What I'm saying, well, we've got to move
on these things. Become business owners, become homeowners, invest in stock,
(01:40):
have a will, have a plan for our lives. We've
been riffing too long. So I think, in my heart,
really has made this signature. Black people will have master
and creativity, culture and cool. Now we've mastered capitalism and money.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
That's why I'm here.
Speaker 1 (02:03):
Talk to me more about the work that you're doing.
What about what about those who say right now it's
not really my problem, or maybe those who may not
have the knowledge base to do what it is that
you're saying to do.
Speaker 3 (02:20):
Well, let's say with the first question. First, people say
that it's not their problem, that's stupid. Let's just call
it what it is. That's just ridiculous. Maybe you could
say that ten years ago, maybe five years ago. But
anybody who does not see this train coming and you
think it's somebody else's problem. First of all, you can't
do what do Nobody watches rental cars, So if you're
(02:42):
not an owner, you're not even in the conversation. All
customer service jobs, let's deal with an artificial intelligence. Forget
the politics. All customer service jobs gone. Anything is processed gone, right.
And so if you're your job's not going to be
placed by AI, but your job is gonna be replaced
by somebody who.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
Understands how to use AI.
Speaker 3 (03:05):
So if you're not about getting that to reskilled and upskill,
then you not being concerned means that no one's gonna
be concerned about you, including the economy. You're gonna be
done within five years by twenty thirty. So we're teaching
AI literacy, We're teaching financial literacy. I have fifteen hundred
offices in forty two states. My job has to become
(03:25):
the economic plumber for the entire community, and to become
the Starbucks of financial literacy. I think this is a
civil rights issue of this generation. Financial literacy, AI literacy.
Getting your credit card is seven hundred. These things set
you free. So I don't think there's even a debate
about whether somebody thinks this is important. It's almost like
(03:47):
somebody asking, well, I don't believe it, or saying I
don't believe in God. It doesn't matter whether you believe
in God. God not needs you your permission. God exists,
He is. The only question is whether we're going to
get with the program because what we have been doing
has not worked. It's not like we've got this great
(04:09):
master plan and it's been working beautifully.
Speaker 2 (04:12):
No, we've been barely hanging off. We had.
Speaker 3 (04:15):
You know, basically, sports, entertainment, church, politics. Entertainment's being disrupted.
Sports is already just a few thousand jobs. Church is
unfortunately on the decline. We need to get that back
up again. Politics. We know what's going on there. So
(04:37):
with the rules of publishing the plane from this level.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
We kill it.
Speaker 3 (04:40):
We've got to learn the rules of capitalism and free enterprise,
economics and ownership and opportunity so that we can fund
the elected officials who are in the congressional Black caucust
poor people don't have a lobbyist. I mean, I can
go on. I mean, is so relevant to connect these
conversations so that we're not just saying black lives matter,
(05:01):
but Black Capitalist Matter.
Speaker 1 (05:03):
Have you been to any other sessions and so have
you what have you taken away from them?
Speaker 3 (05:07):
I mean, I've spoken in a two sessions, and because
they're moving me from session to session, when I'm speaking,
I'm seeing a thirst The audience is thirsty. No one's distracted,
no one's on their phone, no one's looking off of
the ceiling. People are focused. They realize the fierce urgency
of now. That's very gratifying. It makes me feel like
(05:30):
my time here was well invested. Not doing my time
to come here. I pay to come here, really, but
it's an investment, not a cost. I didn't know where
I got here where it was just a cost, like
it's going to cost me to do this, But I
now walk away feel like it's an investment that I
made and it's going to pay dividends.
Speaker 1 (05:51):
Many people are saying that, you know, speaking out during
this current political time comes at a cost.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
What do you make of that you speak out on wisely?
Speaker 3 (06:02):
If you're just going to react emotionally and start throwing rocks,
then the juice may not be worth the squeeze. I mean,
they do control at the moment everything, but nothing I said,
I mean I've honored. I've served three US presidents for
both parties. I've been honored by recognized by five US presidents.
(06:23):
I've known nine. But nothing I did so said to
you was political, none of them, in fact, just the opposite.
I'm going in the opposite direction. So I thing, you
can be quite radical right now and just leave the
government out of the conversation. I mean, a lot of
what they're doing has nothing to do with us, but
we are obsessing with what they're doing with half of
(06:45):
our day, wasting our time. So I say to them,
I hope they're successful because their success is my success.
I hope they don't fail because if they fail, we fail.
But I'm not gonna sit around and wait around for
a plan that I may not agree with. I don't
(07:06):
think that the current strategies are going to work, but
I wish them well, and I'm not gonna get into
useless debates. Look, either it's gonna work out or it's not.
We're gonna know in a very short period of time. Meanwhile,
I need to start a business. Not me and me,
but we need to go buy a house, Go raise
(07:27):
your children, take your kid to the park, go volunteer,
in your school board. Most GDP gross domestic product comes
from cities, by the way, mostly blue cities. Go volunteer
your city council person, Go volunteer your school, your local schoolhouse. Like,
we can find a way to keep ourselves productively engaged
(07:50):
without ever having this ground of people who don't have
any interest in you to begin with.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
Get our lives together. As my answer.
Speaker 1 (08:00):
Before I let you go.
Speaker 3 (08:04):
Is so, by the way, the final part of the
answer to your question about it, arguing in this environment
there are people for whom this is their business. Or
the governor of California who wants to be president him
arguing that's that literally is his business, Governor Wes Moore.
(08:25):
Why I know, in respect it may or may not
be in his because he doesn't want to be president,
he says, but at least not right now. But the
point is, because he's receiving so much money from the
federal government, he may not think it's in his best
interest to get into a full fledged fight with the administration.
Don't win the battle and lose the war. But if
you're an elected official, at least that's your business to
(08:47):
go ahead to dad.
Speaker 2 (08:48):
With another elected official. I'm a businessman. I'm a capitalist.
Speaker 3 (08:53):
Most people are not elected officials, so why are they
wasting all their precious time. I mean, go vote them.
You don't like I'm voting out office. But meanwhile, going
about your business, I hope that.
Speaker 2 (09:06):
Was a better, more completing no, for sure.
Speaker 1 (09:08):
And actually I was going to ask you if there
was anything that I didn't ask that you wanted to
touch on, But it seems like you are covering all
the bases here.
Speaker 3 (09:15):
I think that's pretty much. I mean, I do want
to say that we're in the third reconstruction. The first
reconstruction was about freedom, the second one was about access,
and the third is about opportunity, economic opportunity, to the streets,
to the suites, silver rights, from civil rights to silver rights.
It's about is everything we've been talking about. So that's
(09:38):
what I'm focused on, and that's what, in my opinion,
that's what's gonna set us free.
Speaker 2 (09:43):
Thank you John for Prime. Well appreciate your commentary. Thank
you
At the Congressional Black HAWKUS Annual Legislative Conference with John
Hope Bryant.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Talk to me about why you thought it important.
Speaker 3 (00:08):
To be here, because we're sitting in a moment in history,
because this is the third reconstruction, because history does not
feel often historically are sitting in it.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
It just just like another day.
Speaker 3 (00:23):
But I think most everybody can recognize now that, yeah,
whether you like it or not, this is a moment.
Question now is what do you do about it? A
friend of mine, Charlemagne, told me that the most powerful
man in the world is now managing the biggest reality
TV show in the world, and all of us are extras.
(00:46):
How do you become a principal player in your own production?
Speaker 2 (00:51):
That's what this is.
Speaker 3 (00:52):
This is about going from renting with a sixty five
hundred dollars net worth owning a home with a quarter
million dollar network that's the average worth of a homeowner.
Forty four percent of Black people will own a home
forty four compared to seventy five percent of our our
mainstream counterparts. The the number of the way you build
wealth in America is home ownership. The average credit score
over Black America is six twenty If you can get
(01:16):
that credit score up to seven hundred, that's seven hundred
and fifty billion dollars of wealth creation for Black America
in ten years. And then you buy a home that's
eight hundred billion. That's one point five trillion. And the
government hasn't done a thing. So these are things within
our controls. What I'm saying, well, we've got to move
on these things. Become business owners, become homeowners, invest in stock,
(01:40):
have a will, have a plan for our lives. We've
been riffing too long. So I think, in my heart,
really has made this signature. Black people will have master
and creativity, culture and cool. Now we've mastered capitalism and money.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
That's why I'm here.
Speaker 1 (02:03):
Talk to me more about the work that you're doing.
What about what about those who say right now it's
not really my problem, or maybe those who may not
have the knowledge base to do what it is that
you're saying to do.
Speaker 3 (02:20):
Well, let's say with the first question. First, people say
that it's not their problem, that's stupid. Let's just call
it what it is. That's just ridiculous. Maybe you could
say that ten years ago, maybe five years ago. But
anybody who does not see this train coming and you
think it's somebody else's problem. First of all, you can't
do what do Nobody watches rental cars, So if you're
(02:42):
not an owner, you're not even in the conversation. All
customer service jobs, let's deal with an artificial intelligence. Forget
the politics. All customer service jobs gone. Anything is processed gone, right.
And so if you're your job's not going to be
placed by AI, but your job is gonna be replaced
by somebody who.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
Understands how to use AI.
Speaker 3 (03:05):
So if you're not about getting that to reskilled and upskill,
then you not being concerned means that no one's gonna
be concerned about you, including the economy. You're gonna be
done within five years by twenty thirty. So we're teaching
AI literacy, We're teaching financial literacy. I have fifteen hundred
offices in forty two states. My job has to become
(03:25):
the economic plumber for the entire community, and to become
the Starbucks of financial literacy. I think this is a
civil rights issue of this generation. Financial literacy, AI literacy.
Getting your credit card is seven hundred. These things set
you free. So I don't think there's even a debate
about whether somebody thinks this is important. It's almost like
(03:47):
somebody asking, well, I don't believe it, or saying I
don't believe in God. It doesn't matter whether you believe
in God. God not needs you your permission. God exists,
He is. The only question is whether we're going to
get with the program because what we have been doing
has not worked. It's not like we've got this great
(04:09):
master plan and it's been working beautifully.
Speaker 2 (04:12):
No, we've been barely hanging off. We had.
Speaker 3 (04:15):
You know, basically, sports, entertainment, church, politics. Entertainment's being disrupted.
Sports is already just a few thousand jobs. Church is
unfortunately on the decline. We need to get that back
up again. Politics. We know what's going on there. So
(04:37):
with the rules of publishing the plane from this level.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
We kill it.
Speaker 3 (04:40):
We've got to learn the rules of capitalism and free enterprise,
economics and ownership and opportunity so that we can fund
the elected officials who are in the congressional Black caucust
poor people don't have a lobbyist. I mean, I can
go on. I mean, is so relevant to connect these
conversations so that we're not just saying black lives matter,
(05:01):
but Black Capitalist Matter.
Speaker 1 (05:03):
Have you been to any other sessions and so have
you what have you taken away from them?
Speaker 3 (05:07):
I mean, I've spoken in a two sessions, and because
they're moving me from session to session, when I'm speaking,
I'm seeing a thirst The audience is thirsty. No one's distracted,
no one's on their phone, no one's looking off of
the ceiling. People are focused. They realize the fierce urgency
of now. That's very gratifying. It makes me feel like
(05:30):
my time here was well invested. Not doing my time
to come here. I pay to come here, really, but
it's an investment, not a cost. I didn't know where
I got here where it was just a cost, like
it's going to cost me to do this, But I
now walk away feel like it's an investment that I
made and it's going to pay dividends.
Speaker 1 (05:51):
Many people are saying that, you know, speaking out during
this current political time comes at a cost.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
What do you make of that you speak out on wisely?
Speaker 3 (06:02):
If you're just going to react emotionally and start throwing rocks,
then the juice may not be worth the squeeze. I mean,
they do control at the moment everything, but nothing I said,
I mean I've honored. I've served three US presidents for
both parties. I've been honored by recognized by five US presidents.
(06:23):
I've known nine. But nothing I did so said to
you was political, none of them, in fact, just the opposite.
I'm going in the opposite direction. So I thing, you
can be quite radical right now and just leave the
government out of the conversation. I mean, a lot of
what they're doing has nothing to do with us, but
we are obsessing with what they're doing with half of
(06:45):
our day, wasting our time. So I say to them,
I hope they're successful because their success is my success.
I hope they don't fail because if they fail, we fail.
But I'm not gonna sit around and wait around for
a plan that I may not agree with. I don't
(07:06):
think that the current strategies are going to work, but
I wish them well, and I'm not gonna get into
useless debates. Look, either it's gonna work out or it's not.
We're gonna know in a very short period of time. Meanwhile,
I need to start a business. Not me and me,
but we need to go buy a house, Go raise
(07:27):
your children, take your kid to the park, go volunteer,
in your school board. Most GDP gross domestic product comes
from cities, by the way, mostly blue cities. Go volunteer
your city council person, Go volunteer your school, your local schoolhouse. Like,
we can find a way to keep ourselves productively engaged
(07:50):
without ever having this ground of people who don't have
any interest in you to begin with.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
Get our lives together. As my answer.
Speaker 1 (08:00):
Before I let you go.
Speaker 3 (08:04):
Is so, by the way, the final part of the
answer to your question about it, arguing in this environment
there are people for whom this is their business. Or
the governor of California who wants to be president him
arguing that's that literally is his business, Governor Wes Moore.
(08:25):
Why I know, in respect it may or may not
be in his because he doesn't want to be president,
he says, but at least not right now. But the
point is, because he's receiving so much money from the
federal government, he may not think it's in his best
interest to get into a full fledged fight with the administration.
Don't win the battle and lose the war. But if
you're an elected official, at least that's your business to
(08:47):
go ahead to dad.
Speaker 2 (08:48):
With another elected official. I'm a businessman. I'm a capitalist.
Speaker 3 (08:53):
Most people are not elected officials, so why are they
wasting all their precious time. I mean, go vote them.
You don't like I'm voting out office. But meanwhile, going
about your business, I hope that.
Speaker 2 (09:06):
Was a better, more completing no, for sure.
Speaker 1 (09:08):
And actually I was going to ask you if there
was anything that I didn't ask that you wanted to
touch on, But it seems like you are covering all
the bases here.
Speaker 3 (09:15):
I think that's pretty much. I mean, I do want
to say that we're in the third reconstruction. The first
reconstruction was about freedom, the second one was about access,
and the third is about opportunity, economic opportunity, to the streets,
to the suites, silver rights, from civil rights to silver rights.
It's about is everything we've been talking about. So that's
(09:38):
what I'm focused on, and that's what, in my opinion,
that's what's gonna set us free.
Speaker 2 (09:43):
Thank you John for Prime. Well appreciate your commentary. Thank
you
Popular Podcasts
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by Audiochuck Media Company.
The Brothers Ortiz
The Brothers Ortiz is the story of two brothers–both successful, but in very different ways. Gabe Ortiz becomes a third-highest ranking officer in all of Texas while his younger brother Larry climbs the ranks in Puro Tango Blast, a notorious Texas Prison gang. Gabe doesn’t know all the details of his brother’s nefarious dealings, and he’s made a point not to ask, to protect their relationship. But when Larry is murdered during a home invasion in a rented beach house, Gabe has no choice but to look into what happened that night. To solve Larry’s murder, Gabe, and the whole Ortiz family, must ask each other tough questions.