September 11, 2025 • 36 mins
In this episode of Yahweh’s Money, I sit down with Steven Waddy, President of the Anne Arundel County NAACP, for a powerful conversation about boycotts, buying power, and how turning purchases into purpose can transform communities.
We dive deep into how consumer choices become spiritual advocacy, why disinvestment after George Floyd’s murder sparked today’s wave of boycotts, and how God calls us to align our wallets with justice, stewardship, and compassion. Steven shares his journey from civic engagement in Atlanta to leading community impact in Maryland, offering wisdom on what it really means to spend with intention.
Together, we unpack the hard truths about Target, Walmart, Amazon, Starbucks, Nike, and beyond while grounding it all in biblical principles that remind us: our money is never just currency, it’s a tool for Kingdom change.
This episode is part testimony, part social commentary, and all conviction.
Here’s what you’ll walk away with:
- How commodification, capitalism, and identity collide in our spending habits.
- The concept of economic violence—and why calling it out matters.
- Why financial resistance requires both conviction and compassion.
- How legacy organizations like the NAACP provide vital discernment and direction.
- Why every purchase is a spiritual decision with ripple effects on justice and community.
Featured Scripture:
Proverbs 31:8–9 — “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.”
Featured in Podcast:
Action Step:
This week, prayerfully review where your money is going. Identify one company or cause you can support more intentionally—and one you may need to reconsider based on your values. Because small changes, multiplied by millions of believers, can make a Kingdom-sized impact.
Connect with Steven Waddy here:
Anne Arundel County NAACP Website
Anne Arundel County NAACP Instagram
Anne Arundel County NAACP LinkedIn
💸⛪🕍📿💵
Our podcast is proudly sponsored by Crusaders for Change, LLC (C4C) and hosted by our CEO and Founder, Mrs. Shay Cook. At C4C, we provide customized corporate financial wellness programs for businesses, government agencies, and nonprofit organizations. Our services are tailored to create happier, healthier, and more productive work environments. We also empower individuals and couples to overcome debt, improve their credit, boost savings, and more. Ready to learn more about how C4C can impact your life? Contact us today at https://www.crusaders4change.org/!
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Music by: Lamonte Silver - Owner of essentialmusicclub.com | Previously by ROA - roa-music.com
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Steven Waddy (00:02):
Your race or your ethnicity is now attached to
what it means to be your wealthand your property.
Shay Cook (00:08):
Yeah.
Steven Waddy (00:08):
You know what I mean?
Yeah, those things are American, they're not just American.
Shay Cook (00:13):
Not just.
Yeah, they're not just.
Steven Waddy (00:15):
American, but they're capitalistic at its base
.
That's where it'sunderstandable that there's a
problem there.
Shay Cook (00:21):
Exactly, and I mean really understanding our buying
power right and how wecollectively can shift this
behavior.
Ever felt those awkward vibeswhen religion and money come up?
You're not alone.
Welcome to Yahweh's Money, thepodcast where we tackle the
crossroads of faith and finance.
I'm Shay Cook, an AccreditedFinancial Counselor, and CEO and
(00:43):
founder of Crusaders forChange, LLC.
Join us on our journey as wediscuss topics like tithing,
saving and conquering debtthrough religious perspectives.
Let's get started.
Hey everyone, welcome back toanother episode of Yahweh's
Money.
Today we're going to be talkingabout boycotts and buying power,
(01:04):
turning purchase into purpose,and I'm so excited for our guest
.
But before I introduce him, Iwant to start with just saying
you know, every dollar we spendcan be purposeful, whether we're
shaping the world around us,our family, whatever.
But recent boycotts havereminded us that our wallets can
speak just as loudly as ourwords.
(01:24):
But how do we decide when,where and what to support?
I know this has been a questiongoing on for months now and how
.
Today we're going to be divinginto the power of consumer
choice, the impact of recentboycotts and how God's word
calls us to align our spendingwith our values.
So our main scripture for todayis Proverbs 31, 8 through 9,
(01:46):
which states Speak up for thosewho cannot speak for themselves,
for the all rights of all whoare destitute.
Speak up and judge fairly anddefend the rights of the poor
and needy.
This verse reminds us that ourinfluence, whether through words
, actions or spending, can be aform of advocacy.
Boycotts and intentional buyingare ways to speak up for
(02:09):
justice and righteousness in theeveryday life.
Man, this is going to be a greatconversation.
Everybody.
Go deep y'all.
We got President Steven Waddy,Anne Arundel County NAACP branch
president.
He's amazing.
He's a father, he is everything, I'm sure, for many people.
And, brother, are you a husbandtoo?
Steven Waddy (02:27):
Not yet, not yet.
Shay Cook (02:28):
Okay.
Steven Waddy (02:29):
Long-term partner.
Shay Cook (02:31):
We were talking about that on a past episode.
How that's super important.
But welcome, president Whitey.
Steven, I've known him for afew years now and he's just been
great in every circle that I'vebeen in, whether it's chamber,
economic empowerment and now ourpresident.
Steven Waddy (02:46):
Yeah, yeah.
Thank you for inviting me.
I appreciate it.
I love the podcast.
Shay Cook (02:50):
Thank you, thank you, I appreciate it.
So tell us more about you.
I know you're also an attorney,a lawyer right?
You're not attorney?
Steven Waddy (02:58):
Not an attorney.
No, I'm a teacher.
Right now I'm teaching middleschool, seventh, eighth grade
social studies in Baltimore Cityand I'm from Columbia, maryland
, originally.
Parents are from Baltimore, myfamily's from Baltimore for the
most part.
Like I said, I grew up inColumbia, graduated from
Atherton High School, went toWinston-Salem State University
(03:19):
where I majored in history, andsecondary education was my minor
.
So I went to school to teachsocial studies.
I moved to Atlanta after Igraduated, went to Ghana my
junior year.
Then I came back and I did mystudent teaching.
Then, after I finished mystudent teaching, I moved to
Atlanta and I started workingdown there doing a lot of civic
(03:41):
work, whether it's voterregistration, a lot of civic
engagement, starting with theAUC, the Atlanta University
Center with Spelman, morehouse,clark and Morris Brown right
before Morris Brown closed down,and then and the
Interdenominational TheologicalCenter.
(04:01):
And I also worked with RainbowPush.
I was working with the AmericanForeign Service Committee and
another group called ConcernedBlack Clergy.
Oh wow.
So it was like four main civilrights organizations in Atlanta
that I worked with, and thenthat was 03.
Katrina happened 05, I gotdisgusted by the situation that
(04:23):
I saw across the South, with allof the greed and craziness that
went on following this massivetragedy, and then I decided I
want to go to law school.
So I came back up here and cameto University of Baltimore
School of Law and I finishedthere in 2011.
I started working with theAmerican Civil Liberties Union,
the ACLU, and I worked with theAmerican Civil Liberties Union,
(04:45):
the ACLU, and I worked with theMaryland ACLU.
Then I worked with the federallobbyists at the ACLU as well
and they're with the LGBTQlobbyists and the religious
liberty lobbyists, and I cameand selling real estate with my
dad and I joined the NAACP herein Anne Arundel County about
(05:08):
2016.
I was a youth advisor.
Then I became the politicalaction chair in 2018.
Then the first vice presidentin 2022 or one, and then became
president last year.
Shay Cook (05:24):
Oh wow, that's a lot.
So you've been giving backsince forever.
It seems like.
Steven Waddy (05:29):
Yeah, it's in my DNA it's in your DNA.
Shay Cook (05:33):
I love that.
Same here.
I come from servant.
You know whether my dad's inthe military both parents are
ordained reverends, you know soit's always been.
You got to give back to people,god's people, and help them in
any way you can.
Steven Waddy (05:44):
So much is given.
Shay Cook (05:46):
Yes, much is required , so thank you for your service.
Steven Waddy (05:49):
Thank you your continued service yeah.
Shay Cook (05:51):
Cause you do an amazing job being our president
and leader of our branch, so weappreciate all you do.
All right, now let's get intoour rapid fire questions.
Steven Waddy (06:02):
Are you ready?
Shay Cook (06:02):
Yeah, when was the first time you realized your
(06:30):
money had power beyond justbuying something?
Steven Waddy (06:34):
When I came back from Ghana.
I had seen so much poverty whenI was over there and I
experienced a change in myworldview around how I should
spend money and the level ofexploitation that was going on
in that country, say on thecontinent.
And I came back and I didn'twant to buy any oil, I didn't
want to pay for any gasoline, Ididn't want to drive anywhere
(06:58):
because of the level ofexploitation that these oil
companies had engaged in, andthat was just one form of
protest that I wanted to take on.
I was so disgusted by mycountry's multinational
corporations taking advantage ofthe most poor and destitute
people in the world and forcingthem to pay service on debt that
(07:24):
they had been forced to take onduring dictatorships.
So it was just a series ofthings that I came to understand
in full relief when I was inGhana that I knew before I went
I didn't have a full perspectiveon how what was going on here
affected people globally.
Shay Cook (07:45):
Yeah.
Steven Waddy (07:46):
Until I went there .
Then I came back, and that'swhen my money made a difference.
Shay Cook (07:50):
Yeah, I could see that we lived in Turkey and saw
some of that similar thingsthere too.
Oh wow, all right.
What's one example of a boycottor values-based purchase that
stuck with you?
Steven Waddy (08:02):
A boycott that stuck with me so far has been
this Chick-fil-A boycott.
Shay Cook (08:06):
Oh, okay.
Steven Waddy (08:08):
Like whenever I think about all these other
boycotts going on in this moderntime, like the Chick-fil-A
boycott around their LGBTQpolicies and of the owners.
It's not even like theChick-fil-A's per se, but it's
the owners of Chick-fil-A whohave such disdain towards the
LGBTQ community.
I think that that is somethingthat has kind of stuck with me
(08:29):
for the past 10 years, 10, 15years.
Shay Cook (08:31):
Wow Okay.
Steven Waddy (08:33):
People have been engaging in that.
Shay Cook (08:35):
And what change did you see from that?
I haven't seen much change.
Steven Waddy (08:40):
The change.
I did see like relationally waslike who is really about that
you?
Shay Cook (08:47):
know what I mean.
That's really what it is.
Steven Waddy (08:49):
That's what stuck with me is like some people
would say, oh, I'll boycott thisFor Black people, I'll boycott
that, but when it came to LGBTQand Chick-fil-A and their
chicken, you know what I'msaying?
Yeah, it was like am I thereyet?
Yeah, are those my people?
(09:09):
Are they in my community?
You know what I mean.
And so it just it tested thelimits of community, especially
for Black people.
Shay Cook (09:19):
Yeah, we're about to get into that soon.
So last question how do youpersonally decide whether to
support or stop supporting abrand or a company?
Steven Waddy (09:28):
Oh, definitely has to do with their relationship
with the Black community.
That's a personal decision thatI constantly engage in.
And then it's theirrelationship to my body.
You know, whether or not I'meating something or drinking
something that's trying to killme.
Yeah, that's another thing.
Like, if I'm thinking aboutmonsanto, I'm thinking about all
(09:50):
these different brands thatthey own, um, and how they
affect my health, yeah, thehealth of other people.
So those are my main metrics,like what is the company's
relationship to the blackcommunity?
And then what's the?
What's this relationship to meand my own health?
Shay Cook (10:06):
Yeah, exactly.
Yeah, that's good, that's good.
Thank you for sharing.
All right, so let's get intothe main discussion.
So, with the rise of recentboycotts and their real world
economic effects, I mean let'stalk about that.
I know the first thing thatcame to mind I know a lot of
people's mind in my circles isthis target with the DEI and all
of that.
And people have been talkingabout Amazon and a lot of those
(10:26):
things out there, Like what aresome of the real world effects
that we're seeing from just howthese people are treating us not
treating us whatever, or justthe boycotts?
What are you seeing from that?
Steven Waddy (10:39):
I think a lot of these, the rise of recent
boycotts, when we're talkingabout since 2020, since this
year, are we talking about thisyear?
You would?
Shay Cook (10:49):
say, over recent 2020 with George Floyd and all of
that, and, yeah, all of theracial tensions.
I mean it's been there forever,right?
I mean since the start.
Steven Waddy (10:58):
I think what you just said about George.
Floyd is that the George Floydbacklash was like a defense from
boycotting Target, engaged in acampaign for Black suppliers.
After George Floyd, all theseother companies.
They put up their little Blacksquares and they were engaging
(11:18):
in DEI efforts and they wereplacing funds in the hands of
Black businesses and creatorsand whatnot, and that all has
ended and I think that the riseof the recent boycotts is really
in response to that.
It's not necessarily it'sdisinvestment.
Shay Cook (11:34):
Yeah.
Steven Waddy (11:35):
That we're boycotting because you've
disinvested in us.
That response is veryheartbreaking because it feels
like we're alone and isolatedand we were only tokens for the
brief period of time that youdecided to support us, exactly
Based on our race.
You do see race clearly in thatthere are racial dynamics to
(11:56):
black poverty, to poverty in butthe wealth gap.
You're only willing tosacrifice so much of your own
greed and hoarding in order tohelp provide for people who have
built your companies and spenttheir last at your space.
(12:16):
For you, you only have so muchthat you're willing to give to
us, and so there's a lack oftrust, there's a lack of
reciprocation.
When there's a sense ofcommodification around who you
are, then for Black peopleespecially, it's very visceral.
Other people may not sense it,but Black people know when
(12:36):
they're being treated likeproperty and that property we
take that very seriously.
Shay Cook (12:42):
We do, and it's very disheartening and disappointing
period.
You know, I'm just at the pointwhere, you know, I consider
myself empathetic andcompassionate and my husband
might say it but sometimes I,just right now, in this moment,
I just don't care about theother, like I'm sorry, like
people that are on the otherside don't understand what, how
(13:03):
this is affecting the blackcommunity, is affecting the
Black community.
Even in the beginning of theyear I'm all for Black and Brown
, but at one, then some.
I mean I was just done withthat.
I'm like no Black, like you,brown, y'all, a lot of y'all
voted for, you know, and all ofthat you're going to get all
into that.
It was just very dishearteningand I was just like I have no
empathy when I see people andlike crying about certain things
because of who they voted forand now they ain't doing what
(13:25):
they want to or because thingsare changing.
It's like we were trying totell you we were the token, that
they were this, that it wasn'tgoing to last, and look at
what's happened.
It's hard and I know God didn'twant us to be like that.
I'm sure if Jesus was hereright now he'd be like Shay,
come on, you got to have.
No, I just Lord.
It's hard.
It's hard to have empathy forthe other side with all of this
(13:46):
stuff going on.
Steven Waddy (13:48):
It's very hard.
I totally agree with you, and Ithink Jesus also said you know
or at least I don't know aboutJesus, but God, when they're
talking about what we'refighting against, paul was
saying this you know we're notfighting against, you know flesh
and blood yeah.
So the fact that you have noempathy for those types of
principalities is understandable.
(14:08):
You know what I mean.
The people are one thing.
Shay Cook (14:10):
Yeah.
Steven Waddy (14:11):
Because, unfortunately, we've attached
the sense of identity toproperty.
Your race or your ethnicity isnow attached to what it means to
be your wealth and yourproperty.
Shay Cook (14:25):
Yeah.
Steven Waddy (14:26):
You know what I mean.
Those things are American.
They're not just American butthey're capitalistic at its base
.
That's where it'sunderstandable that it's
problematic.
Shay Cook (14:40):
Really understanding our buying power and how we
collectively can shift thisbehavior.
I'm just going to use Targetthroughout this episode.
I know for y'all that loveTarget I used to love Target too
but you got to stand on yourground.
You got to stand where youbelieve, your beliefs are and
your values and I know that'slike a poster child right now.
Target but and there's manyother companies that were out
(15:01):
here, bulk hiding, but with thatyou know it a struggle.
Like people understanding, likeyou said, they had the black
business supplier, diversitysuppliers in there and they
started cutting doles.
There was a lot of bad thingsgoing on.
And just understanding thatcollectively we can really
change things, you know, buthaving people really believe
that sometimes, especially inthis modern day, with my husband
will always say people sofocused on themselves they don't
(15:22):
understand what we can docollectively.
Steven Waddy (15:24):
Yeah, where are you on Walmart?
Shay Cook (15:29):
I still I don't.
I haven't been to Walmart inyears.
I've never been on WalmartShepard, really.
Why not?
Because I was more of thatbougie Target girl and I'm OCD
and I hated going into Walmartand it was like stuff all over
the place and it wasn't just so.
I'm like that person.
Like instead of going to Ross,I'd rather go to a boutique
store.
That's just me with my OCD.
Honestly, I just like qualityand cleanliness and stuff.
(15:52):
But I mean, what do you, whatdo you guys say about Walmart?
Steven Waddy (15:55):
People have boycotted Walmart for a very
long time.
Yeah, yes, and I think what youjust said about your first
statement I'm a boozy black girland then I don't shop at Target
.
I mean, I shop at Walmart.
I think that the people ofWalmart they had that meme that
used to go around called thepeople of Walmart and it would
invariably be like someoverweight person who looked
(16:17):
like they were wearing theclothes that didn't fit and they
were country.
It was just.
That was the meme that wasgoing around.
It just defined how people sawthe shoppers.
That's what I mean in terms ofidentity being associated with
your purchasing.
Same with Starbucks.
(16:37):
People have boycotted Starbucksfor various reasons, most
lately because of their supportof Israelis.
Israelis yep, but before thatpeople were boycotting Target
because of their practices withfarmers.
They weren't paying farmers.
I have this book about a womanwho was boycotting Starbucks and
she kind of describes how herthought process around why she
(17:03):
boycotted Starbucks.
Starbucks One they kind of tookthis Italian, the idea of an
Italian bistro or Italian coffeeshop, and then commercialized
it.
So now they've commercializedan entire, but you've lost all
of the cultural aspects of itand you're only keeping the
(17:24):
aesthetics yeah for commercial,yeah, that people will enjoy.
And then that's just one layerof Starbucks commodification of
culture and cool.
And then at the same time,they're also commodifying and
exploiting these farmers who areproviding some of the best
(17:44):
coffee in the world.
And you know, you've madebillionaires, but these coffee
farmers are struggling to beable to provide for themselves.
So there's a direct.
People can see that.
I mean Nike.
People are boycotting Nike.
Shay Cook (17:56):
Yeah, I know my daughter keeps me up on all of
these boycotts, so yeah, shekeeps every week there's a new
one.
Steven Waddy (18:03):
That's what I'm saying, and so, as a consumer
society, that's what we are.
It defines who we are, and thatdefinition of what we buy as a
part of who we are is verydifficult for us to break
through, as we especially gainmore wealth and attach more of
(18:24):
ourselves to where we are inlife yeah, exactly to what we're
where we are in life and whatwe have.
Shay Cook (18:29):
Exactly.
That's a good point because,even going into the next point
here, biblical principles forconsumer choices, really that's
I mean, if we focused on that,the stewardship, the justice,
the alignment with God's values,that would help us make
decisions and, honestly, all thethings you're saying I'm like I
don't want to shop nowhere, butjust small and black.
That's it, Small and black,Even though I have an addiction
(18:51):
to Amazon.
Not too bad, I can let stuffsit.
But even when I'm on Amazon I'mlooking for small business, you
know, because I want to endwith women owned or whatever,
because I want to support those.
But we really got to make sureour consumer choices are aligned
with those things.
That's what's important to us,that it's not all about
(19:12):
capitalism and Kamadovkish, allthat.
Steven Waddy (19:13):
It's about what really matters, who we're really
supporting and keeping theBlack dollar in the Black
neighborhoods.
I mean seriously.
The other side of it is thatour government has been co-opted
by these multinationalcorporations and by just this
idea that, no matter who you are, you can be bought and sold.
When you're talking aboutAmazon, when Amazon's trying to
find a shop on Amazon, is whatyou just mentioned.
(19:34):
And so that's been a major pieceof regulation that has been
thwarted by Amazon's lobbyinglately is that Amazon was
actually creating mirror shopsand selling the same,
undercutting the pricing of thesmall business owner by creating
(19:55):
the same product at a separateshop.
Oh God, yeah, that's the levelof duplicity that they were
engaging in.
Wow, because they have such amassive control over the online
marketplace, their ownershipwithin that market is like 60%.
60% of the online purchases gothrough Amazon marketplace,
(20:17):
almost a monopoly.
Huh, yeah, exactly, you have togo to Amazon marketplace in
order to be able to have anonline storefront for the most
part.
That's what they're saying, andthe regulation of that, like
you said, it, defeats theircompetitors.
They are allowed to be amonopoly for the most part, or
(20:40):
they are so, so powerful thatthey determine what other online
markets are marketplaces looklike that's crazy Like Etsy and
Depop, shopify, all of thoseShopify, yeah, all these other
marketplaces are defined by whatAmazon does.
Their market power and theirmarket strength is something,
(21:03):
online especially, needs to beregulated.
But Amazon has co-opted theregulators, the FTC, you know,
the Federal Trade Commission andso they control how they are
and they also own thepoliticians.
Shay Cook (21:18):
They do do that, they do own them, yes, yes.
Steven Waddy (21:22):
So where we're looking for, like you said,
these principles of justice andstewardship and alignment with
God's values, we're insteadseeing corruption, Exactly Money
, power, all that trying to takeover and yeah, yeah.
You know who talks about that.
From my perspective, the bestpastor to talk about.
(21:45):
That led a boycott inMontgomery, alabama, and Dr
King's leadership in thatboycott and understanding of the
economic dynamics of Blacknessin America and the economic
dynamics of America.
He speaks in his drum, majorfor justice speech.
He talks about the sense ofbelonging that's associated with
(22:09):
your purchases and even yourattendance at church being.
You know, some churches arechurches that are for the
professionals and everybody atthis church got a Cadillac, so I
got to have a Cadillac.
And then you know everybody atthis church driving some other
car, they work in some otherplace.
(22:31):
That adds a level of prestigeto who you are.
And Dr King was saying thatoutside of all of that, you have
to have a sense of belonging,and the best way to build that
sense of belonging is throughservice.
Amen.
Dr King talks about everybodycan serve and everybody can be a
servant, and that's what hisleader in Jesus was a servant.
(22:54):
And so his commitment tobiblical principles, commitment
is maintained through hisconstant, steady focus on the
service of Jesus on behalf ofthose poor and destitute and
those who may not even know whothey are.
Trying to provide a vision forpeople to find out who they are
(23:15):
in times where they're trying tobelong through the purchase or
the consumption.
Like your belonging is throughservice and not through
consumption, not throughconsumption.
Shay Cook (23:27):
Yeah, wow, that's good you know, and having
discernment in these boycotts,too, really matters, right, when
do we honor God or when do theyhonor God or when do they might
cause unintended harm.
I know the biggest thing goingback, just going to use it as a
model for this conversation.
But, like Target, all of them,like you said, walmart, nike,
starbucks, all those big brands,like you know, they are some of
(23:48):
my franchises and when youstart hurting the black owners
of these franchises, right thatyou got to make that discern,
have that discernment and tryingto make that choice of
boycotting.
Steven Waddy (23:58):
Well, you got to have information, you know.
You got to have information inorder to be able to make the
proper choices.
And if we are separated as acommunity, where you feel like
you're an owner and you're a jobcreator and you're an
entrepreneur and you gotambition, don't nobody else have
ambition that you have, youfeel like you're separate from
(24:20):
the rest of the community, it'sgoing to be very difficult for
the rest of us to support you.
I think we kind of see thatwith the Target boycott, when we
were listening to one of thepeople who received some money
from Target and she wasdescribing how y'all could do
this boycott if you want, butI'm going to be hurt by it, and
(24:41):
at the same time, it was like weunderstood that was a
conversation, whereas there'sother people who we will never
know that they were hurt becausethey aren't having that
conversation with us.
With social media, more of ushaving direct access to
consumers and not solely havingto advertise through television,
(25:03):
there's less barrier to entry.
Shay Cook (25:05):
Yeah, it is.
Steven Waddy (25:06):
And so a lot of these social media companies are
selling us to the-.
Shay Cook (25:13):
The brands of the companies.
Steven Waddy (25:14):
yeah, yeah they're selling us to the owner, so to
the brand, like you said, and sothe brands have to communicate
back to us what their situationsare.
One of the issues with us thisis a mass, politicized, economic
the nonviolent action that'staking place, and it's
politicized.
(25:34):
It's political and it's massand it's economic.
You have to have organizationassociated with that.
When you're not a part of theBlack organizations, then it's
harder for you to understand whois going to be impacted.
You and I are having thisconversation because we've been
in the same room many times.
You know what I mean.
(25:55):
We're part of the sameorganization, and so if you're
not a part of theseorganizations, like the NAACP,
the Urban League, even theNational Newspaper Association
all of these legacy Blackorganizations were created
during the time of segregation.
If we have these spaces,businesses and entrepreneurs
(26:16):
need to be a part of them, andso do consumers who want to be
able to make informed decisions.
That's going to allow us tohave better discernment, yeah.
Shay Cook (26:24):
I agree with that.
Knowledge is power.
It always has been to havebetter discernment.
Yeah, I agree with that.
Steven Waddy (26:28):
Knowledge is power .
Shay Cook (26:28):
It always has been, yeah.
And then there's a balancebetween conviction and
compassion, as I was talkingabout earlier, with the empathy
and the compassion when makingspending decisions.
You know, I want to, not onlyif I'm on Amazon looking for
small and Black-owned, I'mlooking.
I'm actually going to thewebsites of the book owner or
the author or to the brand thatis Black-owned, because it's
just better, even though I justread an article recently about
(26:51):
how people don't want to gothere because you get the free
shipping and all of that.
On the other side, like I said,they're capitalizing and
monopolizing Amazon or all ofthat.
But I was like man, I'll justgo ahead and pay the $5 shipping
, whatever.
I mean that is going towardsthe business owner.
I mean they got to take theirtime to pack that box to send it
to me.
I ain't mad at that.
Or I'll go to their shop inBaltimore or around this area to
(27:12):
go buy something, and that'show we need to support them.
But how do we balance thatconviction and compassion?
Steven Waddy (27:19):
when we're talking about these boycotts.
It's difficult because, like Ithink about the Montgomery bus
boycott, like they boycotted for360 some days but people were
going to jail and the stakeswere so high because it was
violence on the other side ofthat, and I think that breeds a
(27:42):
stronger sense of conviction.
Like you said, when you havethat empathy and when you can
understand the heightened levelof violence associated with your
compassion and your conviction,then it can increase your
willingness to participate, yeah, and make those decisions.
So part of what I've tried todo lately is, especially with
(28:07):
this big bad bill, the budgetbill that they passed is
describe it as being violent,that they are engaging in
economic violence, they'reencouraging starvation, they are
encouraging a disinvestment,and disinvestment leads to
homelessness, disinvestmentleads to all types of backlash.
Shay Cook (28:29):
Which crime and all of that goes up with all of that
.
Steven Waddy (28:35):
Your health care.
This is, they're taking awaypeople's health care, so they
want people to die and, outsideof all of that, I would describe
that as a form of policyviolence.
That as a form of policyviolence.
I think we need to startspeaking about what's happening
and what these corporations aredoing, with the same level of
heightened vocabulary.
Shay Cook (28:52):
Yeah, and not only heightened, but plain language,
where people put it where theysay put it where the goats get
it.
But people understand and, likeyou said, a little more
dramatic and heightened so theycan be like what, what?
When you said that to me I waslike what Economic violence man,
I'm going to be using that fornow?
Steven Waddy (29:10):
But that's what.
Shay Cook (29:11):
Target is engaging in .
Yeah, that's good.
Steven Waddy (29:13):
Target is engaging in psychological manipulation.
They are terrorizing us becausethey are trying to say it's our
fault.
Because they are trying to sayit's our fault.
You know that they are choosingto not support black businesses
because we aren't supportingthe Republican Party.
Shay Cook (29:32):
Yeah, because they want to align with the
administration.
Steven Waddy (29:37):
Yeah, exactly Exactly, and they're trying to
say it's our fault.
The same thing that DonaldTrump is doing right now in DC
is that they just fired 50,000people that live in the Maryland
DC VA area.
Maryland has had its highestunemployment rate since the
pandemic that just came out.
People are having to decidebetween paying their mortgage or
buying food.
(29:58):
People are existing inworkspaces if they still have
their jobs that are hostile.
We got a hostile workplace.
The manipulation that they'reengaging in is totalitarian.
It's like you agree with us asthe party, or you don't deserve
a right to exist, or existenceis under threat, and that's the
(30:21):
level of violence, like I said,that they're engaging in against
us in this very moment, and soI think people have to start to
see that in order to be able tohave the conviction to say if I
have any type of economicprivilege, then I'm going to
take advantage of that tomaintain resistance.
Shay Cook (30:41):
You know what I mean.
Steven Waddy (30:42):
I'm going to live in a space and I'm going to help
other people resist theirviolence against them.
Shay Cook (30:48):
Wow, that's amazing.
It's amazing crazy, oh my gosh.
It's amazing, y'all, that I'mhaving this realization during
this span, just the economicviolence of it all, and how we
need to step up and support eachother, and we need to.
It needs to be a collectiveaction, as I was saying earlier,
and we need to come together.
Y'all need to attend theseNAACP meetings, Anne, arundel
(31:11):
County or wherever y'all at, orany other organization you know,
like Steven is saying.
Steven Waddy (31:17):
We have our Green Book director.
Shay Cook (31:19):
Yes, we have our Green Book of Black and Brown
Businesses, anne Arundel County.
So definitely it's on ourwebsite and you need to check
that out.
Just Google it Anne ArundelGreen Book.
It's on our NAACP.
They want us to say itdifferent, because every A
matters.
Somebody said recently, which Iagree, but I mean you know, you
know what it is, so.
But I would add you know, 66%of consumers say they're willing
(31:41):
to pay more for products fromcompanies whose values align
with their own.
And you know, some people justare so stuck in their ways and
so trying to follow influencesor whatever, they don't care
about that, they're just goingto buy whatever.
But we really need to beintentional in our buying
because our power we have powerin that.
Steven Waddy (31:59):
And Costco was sure to.
Shay Cook (32:00):
Oh yes, costco has been a supporter.
Yeah, oh yes, costco has been asupporter.
Steven Waddy (32:04):
Yeah, the NAACP also did release a list of
companies that have not endedtheir DEI and continued their
support for diversity.
At least I don't know ifthey're all engaging in equity
and inclusion, but you know,equity and inclusion is a much
deeper conversation.
It is you know a lot of themjust getting caught up on the
(32:26):
diversity part of it.
You know we're going tomaintain our support for Black
people or white women andLatinos.
When we're talking aboutemployment, it's something that
are you hiring more employees orindependent contractors?
Are the contracts that you'reproviding to these different
(32:47):
businesses, small businesses?
Are they exploitative, or arethey actually aligned with the
needs of the organization?
That equity is a wholedifferent situation, a whole
different question.
For a lot of organizations, likeeven if you're talking about
Starbucks or Whole Foods,starbucks or Whole Foods,
starbucks or Whole Foods areseen as the harbingers of
gentrification.
(33:08):
If you see them coming intoyour neighborhood and you're in
a poor black city, you know thatthe white folk are coming and
it's going to be money that'sgoing to be coming to take your
property and you will be likely,you know, priced out shortly.
And how do we navigate thosetypes of conversations when you
(33:30):
see that, okay, they might bealigning with one group of like
entrepreneurs, butcommunity-wise, they are
destroying, you know, blackneighborhoods and enclaves with
their wealth and their littletokenized decisions?
Shay Cook (33:48):
Wow, steven.
See, this is why y'all need tojoin our branch and get all this
knowledge from this brother man.
He's full of great information.
Oh my God, there's so muchgoing on with, so much that each
of us can do in our own littlecircles, in our world.
And just remembering you knowyour money is not just currency.
It's a tool God has entrustedto you.
Every purchase is anopportunity to advance justice,
(34:10):
show compassion and reflect onhis kingdom values.
So, before I get into the callto action of the week, any final
thoughts?
President Waddy and Stephen,that was amazing.
Thank you for your time.
Any final thoughts?
Steven Waddy (34:23):
Thank you, shea, for bringing me on, and you know
, I know, that the Crusaders forChange is going to be a major
part of any change that happens,any boycott, any economic
decision making that's going tobe made by people who want to
have disposable income, who wantto be able to identify ways to
use their income in godly waysand Christian ways.
(34:45):
They're going to need you to beable to guide them on that
route, because you have apurpose.
That purpose is something thatis impactful and is necessary in
this movement.
I definitely appreciate youbringing me on and letting me
talk my ish for a little while.
Shay Cook (35:04):
I appreciate it.
I love hearing you talk yourish.
You got a lot of ish that weneed to all be talking about.
So thank you for your time andall you do, and thank God for
you and your family.
And may y'all stay safe.
So, guys, this week prayfullyreview where your money is going
.
Identify one company or causeyou can support more
intentionally and one you mayneed to reconsider supporting
(35:26):
based on your values.
And remember small changesmultiplied by millions of
believers can make akingdom-sized impact.
Thank you for joining us.
We'll see you soon.
A big thank you for listeningto this episode.
We hope you found today's chatabout the intersection of
religion and money insightful.
(35:47):
We would love to hear yourfeedback.
Hit that subscribe button orfollow the podcast, and please
feel free to leave us a review.
For the latest Yahweh's Moneycontent, visit us at
crusaders4changeorg or find usanywhere you listen to podcasts.
Until next time, stayfinancially fit and spiritually
(36:08):
inspired and remember it'salways better Yahweh's way.
Your race or your ethnicity is now attached to
what it means to be your wealthand your property.
Shay Cook (00:08):
Yeah.
Steven Waddy (00:08):
You know what I mean?
Yeah, those things are American, they're not just American.
Shay Cook (00:13):
Not just.
Yeah, they're not just.
Steven Waddy (00:15):
American, but they're capitalistic at its base
.
That's where it'sunderstandable that there's a
problem there.
Shay Cook (00:21):
Exactly, and I mean really understanding our buying
power right and how wecollectively can shift this
behavior.
Ever felt those awkward vibeswhen religion and money come up?
You're not alone.
Welcome to Yahweh's Money, thepodcast where we tackle the
crossroads of faith and finance.
I'm Shay Cook, an AccreditedFinancial Counselor, and CEO and
(00:43):
founder of Crusaders forChange, LLC.
Join us on our journey as wediscuss topics like tithing,
saving and conquering debtthrough religious perspectives.
Let's get started.
Hey everyone, welcome back toanother episode of Yahweh's
Money.
Today we're going to be talkingabout boycotts and buying power,
(01:04):
turning purchase into purpose,and I'm so excited for our guest
.
But before I introduce him, Iwant to start with just saying
you know, every dollar we spendcan be purposeful, whether we're
shaping the world around us,our family, whatever.
But recent boycotts havereminded us that our wallets can
speak just as loudly as ourwords.
(01:24):
But how do we decide when,where and what to support?
I know this has been a questiongoing on for months now and how
.
Today we're going to be divinginto the power of consumer
choice, the impact of recentboycotts and how God's word
calls us to align our spendingwith our values.
So our main scripture for todayis Proverbs 31, 8 through 9,
(01:46):
which states Speak up for thosewho cannot speak for themselves,
for the all rights of all whoare destitute.
Speak up and judge fairly anddefend the rights of the poor
and needy.
This verse reminds us that ourinfluence, whether through words
, actions or spending, can be aform of advocacy.
Boycotts and intentional buyingare ways to speak up for
(02:09):
justice and righteousness in theeveryday life.
Man, this is going to be a greatconversation.
Everybody.
Go deep y'all.
We got President Steven Waddy,Anne Arundel County NAACP branch
president.
He's amazing.
He's a father, he is everything, I'm sure, for many people.
And, brother, are you a husbandtoo?
Steven Waddy (02:27):
Not yet, not yet.
Shay Cook (02:28):
Okay.
Steven Waddy (02:29):
Long-term partner.
Shay Cook (02:31):
We were talking about that on a past episode.
How that's super important.
But welcome, president Whitey.
Steven, I've known him for afew years now and he's just been
great in every circle that I'vebeen in, whether it's chamber,
economic empowerment and now ourpresident.
Steven Waddy (02:46):
Yeah, yeah.
Thank you for inviting me.
I appreciate it.
I love the podcast.
Shay Cook (02:50):
Thank you, thank you, I appreciate it.
So tell us more about you.
I know you're also an attorney,a lawyer right?
You're not attorney?
Steven Waddy (02:58):
Not an attorney.
No, I'm a teacher.
Right now I'm teaching middleschool, seventh, eighth grade
social studies in Baltimore Cityand I'm from Columbia, maryland
, originally.
Parents are from Baltimore, myfamily's from Baltimore for the
most part.
Like I said, I grew up inColumbia, graduated from
Atherton High School, went toWinston-Salem State University
(03:19):
where I majored in history, andsecondary education was my minor
.
So I went to school to teachsocial studies.
I moved to Atlanta after Igraduated, went to Ghana my
junior year.
Then I came back and I did mystudent teaching.
Then, after I finished mystudent teaching, I moved to
Atlanta and I started workingdown there doing a lot of civic
(03:41):
work, whether it's voterregistration, a lot of civic
engagement, starting with theAUC, the Atlanta University
Center with Spelman, morehouse,clark and Morris Brown right
before Morris Brown closed down,and then and the
Interdenominational TheologicalCenter.
(04:01):
And I also worked with RainbowPush.
I was working with the AmericanForeign Service Committee and
another group called ConcernedBlack Clergy.
Oh wow.
So it was like four main civilrights organizations in Atlanta
that I worked with, and thenthat was 03.
Katrina happened 05, I gotdisgusted by the situation that
(04:23):
I saw across the South, with allof the greed and craziness that
went on following this massivetragedy, and then I decided I
want to go to law school.
So I came back up here and cameto University of Baltimore
School of Law and I finishedthere in 2011.
I started working with theAmerican Civil Liberties Union,
the ACLU, and I worked with theAmerican Civil Liberties Union,
(04:45):
the ACLU, and I worked with theMaryland ACLU.
Then I worked with the federallobbyists at the ACLU as well
and they're with the LGBTQlobbyists and the religious
liberty lobbyists, and I cameand selling real estate with my
dad and I joined the NAACP herein Anne Arundel County about
(05:08):
2016.
I was a youth advisor.
Then I became the politicalaction chair in 2018.
Then the first vice presidentin 2022 or one, and then became
president last year.
Shay Cook (05:24):
Oh wow, that's a lot.
So you've been giving backsince forever.
It seems like.
Steven Waddy (05:29):
Yeah, it's in my DNA it's in your DNA.
Shay Cook (05:33):
I love that.
Same here.
I come from servant.
You know whether my dad's inthe military both parents are
ordained reverends, you know soit's always been.
You got to give back to people,god's people, and help them in
any way you can.
Steven Waddy (05:44):
So much is given.
Shay Cook (05:46):
Yes, much is required , so thank you for your service.
Steven Waddy (05:49):
Thank you your continued service yeah.
Shay Cook (05:51):
Cause you do an amazing job being our president
and leader of our branch, so weappreciate all you do.
All right, now let's get intoour rapid fire questions.
Steven Waddy (06:02):
Are you ready?
Shay Cook (06:02):
Yeah, when was the first time you realized your
(06:30):
money had power beyond justbuying something?
Steven Waddy (06:34):
When I came back from Ghana.
I had seen so much poverty whenI was over there and I
experienced a change in myworldview around how I should
spend money and the level ofexploitation that was going on
in that country, say on thecontinent.
And I came back and I didn'twant to buy any oil, I didn't
want to pay for any gasoline, Ididn't want to drive anywhere
(06:58):
because of the level ofexploitation that these oil
companies had engaged in, andthat was just one form of
protest that I wanted to take on.
I was so disgusted by mycountry's multinational
corporations taking advantage ofthe most poor and destitute
people in the world and forcingthem to pay service on debt that
(07:24):
they had been forced to take onduring dictatorships.
So it was just a series ofthings that I came to understand
in full relief when I was inGhana that I knew before I went
I didn't have a full perspectiveon how what was going on here
affected people globally.
Shay Cook (07:45):
Yeah.
Steven Waddy (07:46):
Until I went there .
Then I came back, and that'swhen my money made a difference.
Shay Cook (07:50):
Yeah, I could see that we lived in Turkey and saw
some of that similar thingsthere too.
Oh wow, all right.
What's one example of a boycottor values-based purchase that
stuck with you?
Steven Waddy (08:02):
A boycott that stuck with me so far has been
this Chick-fil-A boycott.
Shay Cook (08:06):
Oh, okay.
Steven Waddy (08:08):
Like whenever I think about all these other
boycotts going on in this moderntime, like the Chick-fil-A
boycott around their LGBTQpolicies and of the owners.
It's not even like theChick-fil-A's per se, but it's
the owners of Chick-fil-A whohave such disdain towards the
LGBTQ community.
I think that that is somethingthat has kind of stuck with me
(08:29):
for the past 10 years, 10, 15years.
Shay Cook (08:31):
Wow Okay.
Steven Waddy (08:33):
People have been engaging in that.
Shay Cook (08:35):
And what change did you see from that?
I haven't seen much change.
Steven Waddy (08:40):
The change.
I did see like relationally waslike who is really about that
you?
Shay Cook (08:47):
know what I mean.
That's really what it is.
Steven Waddy (08:49):
That's what stuck with me is like some people
would say, oh, I'll boycott thisFor Black people, I'll boycott
that, but when it came to LGBTQand Chick-fil-A and their
chicken, you know what I'msaying?
Yeah, it was like am I thereyet?
Yeah, are those my people?
(09:09):
Are they in my community?
You know what I mean.
And so it just it tested thelimits of community, especially
for Black people.
Shay Cook (09:19):
Yeah, we're about to get into that soon.
So last question how do youpersonally decide whether to
support or stop supporting abrand or a company?
Steven Waddy (09:28):
Oh, definitely has to do with their relationship
with the Black community.
That's a personal decision thatI constantly engage in.
And then it's theirrelationship to my body.
You know, whether or not I'meating something or drinking
something that's trying to killme.
Yeah, that's another thing.
Like, if I'm thinking aboutmonsanto, I'm thinking about all
(09:50):
these different brands thatthey own, um, and how they
affect my health, yeah, thehealth of other people.
So those are my main metrics,like what is the company's
relationship to the blackcommunity?
And then what's the?
What's this relationship to meand my own health?
Shay Cook (10:06):
Yeah, exactly.
Yeah, that's good, that's good.
Thank you for sharing.
All right, so let's get intothe main discussion.
So, with the rise of recentboycotts and their real world
economic effects, I mean let'stalk about that.
I know the first thing thatcame to mind I know a lot of
people's mind in my circles isthis target with the DEI and all
of that.
And people have been talkingabout Amazon and a lot of those
(10:26):
things out there, Like what aresome of the real world effects
that we're seeing from just howthese people are treating us not
treating us whatever, or justthe boycotts?
What are you seeing from that?
Steven Waddy (10:39):
I think a lot of these, the rise of recent
boycotts, when we're talkingabout since 2020, since this
year, are we talking about thisyear?
You would?
Shay Cook (10:49):
say, over recent 2020 with George Floyd and all of
that, and, yeah, all of theracial tensions.
I mean it's been there forever,right?
I mean since the start.
Steven Waddy (10:58):
I think what you just said about George.
Floyd is that the George Floydbacklash was like a defense from
boycotting Target, engaged in acampaign for Black suppliers.
After George Floyd, all theseother companies.
They put up their little Blacksquares and they were engaging
(11:18):
in DEI efforts and they wereplacing funds in the hands of
Black businesses and creatorsand whatnot, and that all has
ended and I think that the riseof the recent boycotts is really
in response to that.
It's not necessarily it'sdisinvestment.
Shay Cook (11:34):
Yeah.
Steven Waddy (11:35):
That we're boycotting because you've
disinvested in us.
That response is veryheartbreaking because it feels
like we're alone and isolatedand we were only tokens for the
brief period of time that youdecided to support us, exactly
Based on our race.
You do see race clearly in thatthere are racial dynamics to
(11:56):
black poverty, to poverty in butthe wealth gap.
You're only willing tosacrifice so much of your own
greed and hoarding in order tohelp provide for people who have
built your companies and spenttheir last at your space.
(12:16):
For you, you only have so muchthat you're willing to give to
us, and so there's a lack oftrust, there's a lack of
reciprocation.
When there's a sense ofcommodification around who you
are, then for Black peopleespecially, it's very visceral.
Other people may not sense it,but Black people know when
(12:36):
they're being treated likeproperty and that property we
take that very seriously.
Shay Cook (12:42):
We do, and it's very disheartening and disappointing
period.
You know, I'm just at the pointwhere, you know, I consider
myself empathetic andcompassionate and my husband
might say it but sometimes I,just right now, in this moment,
I just don't care about theother, like I'm sorry, like
people that are on the otherside don't understand what, how
(13:03):
this is affecting the blackcommunity, is affecting the
Black community.
Even in the beginning of theyear I'm all for Black and Brown
, but at one, then some.
I mean I was just done withthat.
I'm like no Black, like you,brown, y'all, a lot of y'all
voted for, you know, and all ofthat you're going to get all
into that.
It was just very dishearteningand I was just like I have no
empathy when I see people andlike crying about certain things
because of who they voted forand now they ain't doing what
(13:25):
they want to or because thingsare changing.
It's like we were trying totell you we were the token, that
they were this, that it wasn'tgoing to last, and look at
what's happened.
It's hard and I know God didn'twant us to be like that.
I'm sure if Jesus was hereright now he'd be like Shay,
come on, you got to have.
No, I just Lord.
It's hard.
It's hard to have empathy forthe other side with all of this
(13:46):
stuff going on.
Steven Waddy (13:48):
It's very hard.
I totally agree with you, and Ithink Jesus also said you know
or at least I don't know aboutJesus, but God, when they're
talking about what we'refighting against, paul was
saying this you know we're notfighting against, you know flesh
and blood yeah.
So the fact that you have noempathy for those types of
principalities is understandable.
(14:08):
You know what I mean.
The people are one thing.
Shay Cook (14:10):
Yeah.
Steven Waddy (14:11):
Because, unfortunately, we've attached
the sense of identity toproperty.
Your race or your ethnicity isnow attached to what it means to
be your wealth and yourproperty.
Shay Cook (14:25):
Yeah.
Steven Waddy (14:26):
You know what I mean.
Those things are American.
They're not just American butthey're capitalistic at its base
.
That's where it'sunderstandable that it's
problematic.
Shay Cook (14:40):
Really understanding our buying power and how we
collectively can shift thisbehavior.
I'm just going to use Targetthroughout this episode.
I know for y'all that loveTarget I used to love Target too
but you got to stand on yourground.
You got to stand where youbelieve, your beliefs are and
your values and I know that'slike a poster child right now.
Target but and there's manyother companies that were out
(15:01):
here, bulk hiding, but with thatyou know it a struggle.
Like people understanding, likeyou said, they had the black
business supplier, diversitysuppliers in there and they
started cutting doles.
There was a lot of bad thingsgoing on.
And just understanding thatcollectively we can really
change things, you know, buthaving people really believe
that sometimes, especially inthis modern day, with my husband
will always say people sofocused on themselves they don't
(15:22):
understand what we can docollectively.
Steven Waddy (15:24):
Yeah, where are you on Walmart?
Shay Cook (15:29):
I still I don't.
I haven't been to Walmart inyears.
I've never been on WalmartShepard, really.
Why not?
Because I was more of thatbougie Target girl and I'm OCD
and I hated going into Walmartand it was like stuff all over
the place and it wasn't just so.
I'm like that person.
Like instead of going to Ross,I'd rather go to a boutique
store.
That's just me with my OCD.
Honestly, I just like qualityand cleanliness and stuff.
(15:52):
But I mean, what do you, whatdo you guys say about Walmart?
Steven Waddy (15:55):
People have boycotted Walmart for a very
long time.
Yeah, yes, and I think what youjust said about your first
statement I'm a boozy black girland then I don't shop at Target
.
I mean, I shop at Walmart.
I think that the people ofWalmart they had that meme that
used to go around called thepeople of Walmart and it would
invariably be like someoverweight person who looked
(16:17):
like they were wearing theclothes that didn't fit and they
were country.
It was just.
That was the meme that wasgoing around.
It just defined how people sawthe shoppers.
That's what I mean in terms ofidentity being associated with
your purchasing.
Same with Starbucks.
(16:37):
People have boycotted Starbucksfor various reasons, most
lately because of their supportof Israelis.
Israelis yep, but before thatpeople were boycotting Target
because of their practices withfarmers.
They weren't paying farmers.
I have this book about a womanwho was boycotting Starbucks and
she kind of describes how herthought process around why she
(17:03):
boycotted Starbucks.
Starbucks One they kind of tookthis Italian, the idea of an
Italian bistro or Italian coffeeshop, and then commercialized
it.
So now they've commercializedan entire, but you've lost all
of the cultural aspects of itand you're only keeping the
(17:24):
aesthetics yeah for commercial,yeah, that people will enjoy.
And then that's just one layerof Starbucks commodification of
culture and cool.
And then at the same time,they're also commodifying and
exploiting these farmers who areproviding some of the best
(17:44):
coffee in the world.
And you know, you've madebillionaires, but these coffee
farmers are struggling to beable to provide for themselves.
So there's a direct.
People can see that.
I mean Nike.
People are boycotting Nike.
Shay Cook (17:56):
Yeah, I know my daughter keeps me up on all of
these boycotts, so yeah, shekeeps every week there's a new
one.
Steven Waddy (18:03):
That's what I'm saying, and so, as a consumer
society, that's what we are.
It defines who we are, and thatdefinition of what we buy as a
part of who we are is verydifficult for us to break
through, as we especially gainmore wealth and attach more of
(18:24):
ourselves to where we are inlife yeah, exactly to what we're
where we are in life and whatwe have.
Shay Cook (18:29):
Exactly.
That's a good point because,even going into the next point
here, biblical principles forconsumer choices, really that's
I mean, if we focused on that,the stewardship, the justice,
the alignment with God's values,that would help us make
decisions and, honestly, all thethings you're saying I'm like I
don't want to shop nowhere, butjust small and black.
That's it, Small and black,Even though I have an addiction
(18:51):
to Amazon.
Not too bad, I can let stuffsit.
But even when I'm on Amazon I'mlooking for small business, you
know, because I want to endwith women owned or whatever,
because I want to support those.
But we really got to make sureour consumer choices are aligned
with those things.
That's what's important to us,that it's not all about
(19:12):
capitalism and Kamadovkish, allthat.
Steven Waddy (19:13):
It's about what really matters, who we're really
supporting and keeping theBlack dollar in the Black
neighborhoods.
I mean seriously.
The other side of it is thatour government has been co-opted
by these multinationalcorporations and by just this
idea that, no matter who you are, you can be bought and sold.
When you're talking aboutAmazon, when Amazon's trying to
find a shop on Amazon, is whatyou just mentioned.
(19:34):
And so that's been a major pieceof regulation that has been
thwarted by Amazon's lobbyinglately is that Amazon was
actually creating mirror shopsand selling the same,
undercutting the pricing of thesmall business owner by creating
(19:55):
the same product at a separateshop.
Oh God, yeah, that's the levelof duplicity that they were
engaging in.
Wow, because they have such amassive control over the online
marketplace, their ownershipwithin that market is like 60%.
60% of the online purchases gothrough Amazon marketplace,
(20:17):
almost a monopoly.
Huh, yeah, exactly, you have togo to Amazon marketplace in
order to be able to have anonline storefront for the most
part.
That's what they're saying, andthe regulation of that, like
you said, it, defeats theircompetitors.
They are allowed to be amonopoly for the most part, or
(20:40):
they are so, so powerful thatthey determine what other online
markets are marketplaces looklike that's crazy Like Etsy and
Depop, shopify, all of thoseShopify, yeah, all these other
marketplaces are defined by whatAmazon does.
Their market power and theirmarket strength is something,
(21:03):
online especially, needs to beregulated.
But Amazon has co-opted theregulators, the FTC, you know,
the Federal Trade Commission andso they control how they are
and they also own thepoliticians.
Shay Cook (21:18):
They do do that, they do own them, yes, yes.
Steven Waddy (21:22):
So where we're looking for, like you said,
these principles of justice andstewardship and alignment with
God's values, we're insteadseeing corruption, Exactly Money
, power, all that trying to takeover and yeah, yeah.
You know who talks about that.
From my perspective, the bestpastor to talk about.
(21:45):
That led a boycott inMontgomery, alabama, and Dr
King's leadership in thatboycott and understanding of the
economic dynamics of Blacknessin America and the economic
dynamics of America.
He speaks in his drum, majorfor justice speech.
He talks about the sense ofbelonging that's associated with
(22:09):
your purchases and even yourattendance at church being.
You know, some churches arechurches that are for the
professionals and everybody atthis church got a Cadillac, so I
got to have a Cadillac.
And then you know everybody atthis church driving some other
car, they work in some otherplace.
(22:31):
That adds a level of prestigeto who you are.
And Dr King was saying thatoutside of all of that, you have
to have a sense of belonging,and the best way to build that
sense of belonging is throughservice.
Amen.
Dr King talks about everybodycan serve and everybody can be a
servant, and that's what hisleader in Jesus was a servant.
(22:54):
And so his commitment tobiblical principles, commitment
is maintained through hisconstant, steady focus on the
service of Jesus on behalf ofthose poor and destitute and
those who may not even know whothey are.
Trying to provide a vision forpeople to find out who they are
(23:15):
in times where they're trying tobelong through the purchase or
the consumption.
Like your belonging is throughservice and not through
consumption, not throughconsumption.
Shay Cook (23:27):
Yeah, wow, that's good you know, and having
discernment in these boycotts,too, really matters, right, when
do we honor God or when do theyhonor God or when do they might
cause unintended harm.
I know the biggest thing goingback, just going to use it as a
model for this conversation.
But, like Target, all of them,like you said, walmart, nike,
starbucks, all those big brands,like you know, they are some of
(23:48):
my franchises and when youstart hurting the black owners
of these franchises, right thatyou got to make that discern,
have that discernment and tryingto make that choice of
boycotting.
Steven Waddy (23:58):
Well, you got to have information, you know.
You got to have information inorder to be able to make the
proper choices.
And if we are separated as acommunity, where you feel like
you're an owner and you're a jobcreator and you're an
entrepreneur and you gotambition, don't nobody else have
ambition that you have, youfeel like you're separate from
(24:20):
the rest of the community, it'sgoing to be very difficult for
the rest of us to support you.
I think we kind of see thatwith the Target boycott, when we
were listening to one of thepeople who received some money
from Target and she wasdescribing how y'all could do
this boycott if you want, butI'm going to be hurt by it, and
(24:41):
at the same time, it was like weunderstood that was a
conversation, whereas there'sother people who we will never
know that they were hurt becausethey aren't having that
conversation with us.
With social media, more of ushaving direct access to
consumers and not solely havingto advertise through television,
(25:03):
there's less barrier to entry.
Shay Cook (25:05):
Yeah, it is.
Steven Waddy (25:06):
And so a lot of these social media companies are
selling us to the-.
Shay Cook (25:13):
The brands of the companies.
Steven Waddy (25:14):
yeah, yeah they're selling us to the owner, so to
the brand, like you said, and sothe brands have to communicate
back to us what their situationsare.
One of the issues with us thisis a mass, politicized, economic
the nonviolent action that'staking place, and it's
politicized.
(25:34):
It's political and it's massand it's economic.
You have to have organizationassociated with that.
When you're not a part of theBlack organizations, then it's
harder for you to understand whois going to be impacted.
You and I are having thisconversation because we've been
in the same room many times.
You know what I mean.
(25:55):
We're part of the sameorganization, and so if you're
not a part of theseorganizations, like the NAACP,
the Urban League, even theNational Newspaper Association
all of these legacy Blackorganizations were created
during the time of segregation.
If we have these spaces,businesses and entrepreneurs
(26:16):
need to be a part of them, andso do consumers who want to be
able to make informed decisions.
That's going to allow us tohave better discernment, yeah.
Shay Cook (26:24):
I agree with that.
Knowledge is power.
It always has been to havebetter discernment.
Yeah, I agree with that.
Steven Waddy (26:28):
Knowledge is power .
Shay Cook (26:28):
It always has been, yeah.
And then there's a balancebetween conviction and
compassion, as I was talkingabout earlier, with the empathy
and the compassion when makingspending decisions.
You know, I want to, not onlyif I'm on Amazon looking for
small and Black-owned, I'mlooking.
I'm actually going to thewebsites of the book owner or
the author or to the brand thatis Black-owned, because it's
just better, even though I justread an article recently about
(26:51):
how people don't want to gothere because you get the free
shipping and all of that.
On the other side, like I said,they're capitalizing and
monopolizing Amazon or all ofthat.
But I was like man, I'll justgo ahead and pay the $5 shipping
, whatever.
I mean that is going towardsthe business owner.
I mean they got to take theirtime to pack that box to send it
to me.
I ain't mad at that.
Or I'll go to their shop inBaltimore or around this area to
(27:12):
go buy something, and that'show we need to support them.
But how do we balance thatconviction and compassion?
Steven Waddy (27:19):
when we're talking about these boycotts.
It's difficult because, like Ithink about the Montgomery bus
boycott, like they boycotted for360 some days but people were
going to jail and the stakeswere so high because it was
violence on the other side ofthat, and I think that breeds a
(27:42):
stronger sense of conviction.
Like you said, when you havethat empathy and when you can
understand the heightened levelof violence associated with your
compassion and your conviction,then it can increase your
willingness to participate, yeah, and make those decisions.
So part of what I've tried todo lately is, especially with
(28:07):
this big bad bill, the budgetbill that they passed is
describe it as being violent,that they are engaging in
economic violence, they'reencouraging starvation, they are
encouraging a disinvestment,and disinvestment leads to
homelessness, disinvestmentleads to all types of backlash.
Shay Cook (28:29):
Which crime and all of that goes up with all of that
.
Steven Waddy (28:35):
Your health care.
This is, they're taking awaypeople's health care, so they
want people to die and, outsideof all of that, I would describe
that as a form of policyviolence.
That as a form of policyviolence.
I think we need to startspeaking about what's happening
and what these corporations aredoing, with the same level of
heightened vocabulary.
Shay Cook (28:52):
Yeah, and not only heightened, but plain language,
where people put it where theysay put it where the goats get
it.
But people understand and, likeyou said, a little more
dramatic and heightened so theycan be like what, what?
When you said that to me I waslike what Economic violence man,
I'm going to be using that fornow?
Steven Waddy (29:10):
But that's what.
Shay Cook (29:11):
Target is engaging in .
Yeah, that's good.
Steven Waddy (29:13):
Target is engaging in psychological manipulation.
They are terrorizing us becausethey are trying to say it's our
fault.
Because they are trying to sayit's our fault.
You know that they are choosingto not support black businesses
because we aren't supportingthe Republican Party.
Shay Cook (29:32):
Yeah, because they want to align with the
administration.
Steven Waddy (29:37):
Yeah, exactly Exactly, and they're trying to
say it's our fault.
The same thing that DonaldTrump is doing right now in DC
is that they just fired 50,000people that live in the Maryland
DC VA area.
Maryland has had its highestunemployment rate since the
pandemic that just came out.
People are having to decidebetween paying their mortgage or
buying food.
(29:58):
People are existing inworkspaces if they still have
their jobs that are hostile.
We got a hostile workplace.
The manipulation that they'reengaging in is totalitarian.
It's like you agree with us asthe party, or you don't deserve
a right to exist, or existenceis under threat, and that's the
(30:21):
level of violence, like I said,that they're engaging in against
us in this very moment, and soI think people have to start to
see that in order to be able tohave the conviction to say if I
have any type of economicprivilege, then I'm going to
take advantage of that tomaintain resistance.
Shay Cook (30:41):
You know what I mean.
Steven Waddy (30:42):
I'm going to live in a space and I'm going to help
other people resist theirviolence against them.
Shay Cook (30:48):
Wow, that's amazing.
It's amazing crazy, oh my gosh.
It's amazing, y'all, that I'mhaving this realization during
this span, just the economicviolence of it all, and how we
need to step up and support eachother, and we need to.
It needs to be a collectiveaction, as I was saying earlier,
and we need to come together.
Y'all need to attend theseNAACP meetings, Anne, arundel
(31:11):
County or wherever y'all at, orany other organization you know,
like Steven is saying.
Steven Waddy (31:17):
We have our Green Book director.
Shay Cook (31:19):
Yes, we have our Green Book of Black and Brown
Businesses, anne Arundel County.
So definitely it's on ourwebsite and you need to check
that out.
Just Google it Anne ArundelGreen Book.
It's on our NAACP.
They want us to say itdifferent, because every A
matters.
Somebody said recently, which Iagree, but I mean you know, you
know what it is, so.
But I would add you know, 66%of consumers say they're willing
(31:41):
to pay more for products fromcompanies whose values align
with their own.
And you know, some people justare so stuck in their ways and
so trying to follow influencesor whatever, they don't care
about that, they're just goingto buy whatever.
But we really need to beintentional in our buying
because our power we have powerin that.
Steven Waddy (31:59):
And Costco was sure to.
Shay Cook (32:00):
Oh yes, costco has been a supporter.
Yeah, oh yes, costco has been asupporter.
Steven Waddy (32:04):
Yeah, the NAACP also did release a list of
companies that have not endedtheir DEI and continued their
support for diversity.
At least I don't know ifthey're all engaging in equity
and inclusion, but you know,equity and inclusion is a much
deeper conversation.
It is you know a lot of themjust getting caught up on the
(32:26):
diversity part of it.
You know we're going tomaintain our support for Black
people or white women andLatinos.
When we're talking aboutemployment, it's something that
are you hiring more employees orindependent contractors?
Are the contracts that you'reproviding to these different
(32:47):
businesses, small businesses?
Are they exploitative, or arethey actually aligned with the
needs of the organization?
That equity is a wholedifferent situation, a whole
different question.
For a lot of organizations, likeeven if you're talking about
Starbucks or Whole Foods,starbucks or Whole Foods,
starbucks or Whole Foods areseen as the harbingers of
gentrification.
(33:08):
If you see them coming intoyour neighborhood and you're in
a poor black city, you know thatthe white folk are coming and
it's going to be money that'sgoing to be coming to take your
property and you will be likely,you know, priced out shortly.
And how do we navigate thosetypes of conversations when you
(33:30):
see that, okay, they might bealigning with one group of like
entrepreneurs, butcommunity-wise, they are
destroying, you know, blackneighborhoods and enclaves with
their wealth and their littletokenized decisions?
Shay Cook (33:48):
Wow, steven.
See, this is why y'all need tojoin our branch and get all this
knowledge from this brother man.
He's full of great information.
Oh my God, there's so muchgoing on with, so much that each
of us can do in our own littlecircles, in our world.
And just remembering you knowyour money is not just currency.
It's a tool God has entrustedto you.
Every purchase is anopportunity to advance justice,
(34:10):
show compassion and reflect onhis kingdom values.
So, before I get into the callto action of the week, any final
thoughts?
President Waddy and Stephen,that was amazing.
Thank you for your time.
Any final thoughts?
Steven Waddy (34:23):
Thank you, shea, for bringing me on, and you know
, I know, that the Crusaders forChange is going to be a major
part of any change that happens,any boycott, any economic
decision making that's going tobe made by people who want to
have disposable income, who wantto be able to identify ways to
use their income in godly waysand Christian ways.
(34:45):
They're going to need you to beable to guide them on that
route, because you have apurpose.
That purpose is something thatis impactful and is necessary in
this movement.
I definitely appreciate youbringing me on and letting me
talk my ish for a little while.
Shay Cook (35:04):
I appreciate it.
I love hearing you talk yourish.
You got a lot of ish that weneed to all be talking about.
So thank you for your time andall you do, and thank God for
you and your family.
And may y'all stay safe.
So, guys, this week prayfullyreview where your money is going
.
Identify one company or causeyou can support more
intentionally and one you mayneed to reconsider supporting
(35:26):
based on your values.
And remember small changesmultiplied by millions of
believers can make akingdom-sized impact.
Thank you for joining us.
We'll see you soon.
A big thank you for listeningto this episode.
We hope you found today's chatabout the intersection of
religion and money insightful.
(35:47):
We would love to hear yourfeedback.
Hit that subscribe button orfollow the podcast, and please
feel free to leave us a review.
For the latest Yahweh's Moneycontent, visit us at
crusaders4changeorg or find usanywhere you listen to podcasts.
Until next time, stayfinancially fit and spiritually
(36:08):
inspired and remember it'salways better Yahweh's way.
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