This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Teri Williams, president and chief operating officer of OneUnited Bank. It has been edited for length and clarity.
Growing up in Indiantown, Florida, I used to follow my great-grandmother around, whom I called Ma Honey. Ma Honey owned a penny candy store, a barbecue place, and a juke joint, where I learned how to play pool. She also owned rental properties, and I’d go with her to collect the rents.
Ma Honey’s businesses shielded her family from the dangers of a segregated southern town. Her money also gave our family opportunities: she paid for my grandparents to move so that my father could attend high school, since there wasn’t a Black high school in their town. She also built houses, one of which my parents and I still lived in when I was growing up.
But they say wealth lasts for three generations, and I was the fourth. By the time I went to college at Brown University, I was on a scholarship, and I felt embarrassed about Ma Honey and my small-town Southern roots.
I started running a bank while raising kids
I didn’t think about Ma Honey as a businesswoman until I was in my 50s. But looking back, I can see that her spirit shaped my success. I went to Brown, then Harvard Business School, before working for major national banks.
In the mid-90s, my husband Kevin and I consolidated four banks in Boston, Los Angeles, and Miami to form OneUnited Bank. The banks we consolidated were serving the Black community, and that’s what we’ve done since.
Kevin and I were growing the bank — he as chairman and CEO, me as president and chief operating officer — while we were raising our kids, who are now 30 and 32.
I taught my kids to prioritize savings
I’m curious if my kids thought about us as bankers or just accepted the environment they were raised in without questioning too much, as I did with Ma Honey.
The lifestyle of bankers isn’t what people might think. In our house, being bankers meant prioritizing savings. One of the most important things we’ve taught our kids is to save, save, save.
I explain it like this: savings allows you to take risks. And to succeed, you need to take those risks — even more mainstream ones, like owning a home. The higher the risk, the higher the reward, and having a healthy savings account gives you a cushion for when mistakes and pitfalls inevitably happen.
Financial literacy is hard, even in my family
Building financial literacy was also very important — not just for my kids, but for the wider Black community. I wrote a children’s book that addressed some of the issues in the Black community, such as check cashers and payday loans. At OneUnited, we’ve integrated these terms into our financial literacy programs in schools.
All the financial terms can still be overwhelming. One of my children called me when she was a young adult. She was confused about the balance on her credit card. In talking, I realized that she thought her balance was what she had available. I had to tell her it was what she owed.
I almost fell off my chair, thinking, “Where did I go wrong?” Then I reminded myself that financial terms can be complicated. There’s no embarrassment or shame in not understanding terms that aren’t easy to comprehend at first glance.
My kids use money differently from me
I tried to remember that as my children transitioned into adulthood. We had talked with them about money a lot. And yet, when you’re suddenly dealing with your own paycheck, taxes, bills, and credit cards — well, that’s a road that’s different once you’re actually traveling it.
My kids handle money differently from the way I did. I invested mostly in mutual funds, whereas they often chose individual stocks. They invested in crypto, which I wouldn’t do. It’s natural for financial decisions to change over time, so this doesn’t worry me too much.
I hope this next generation thinks bigger. Ma Honey was able to serve her town, and through OneUnited, my husband and I now serve all 50 states. I hope my children, or my children’s children, might be able to serve the world.
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