Leader of conscious consumerism visits Claflin for 2016 convocation ceremony

Activist and CEO Margarita Anderson challenged the audience at Claflin’s 2016 convocation ceremony on Jan. 21 to be conscious of where money goes and what it can do.
Anderson told her story of overcoming the hardships of growing up in a poor community, being mentored by her law professor who would later hold the title of being President Barack Obama, and achieving a life that provided her stability but was not a truly fulfilling one.
She also educated the audience in Tullis Arena to the current state of black-owned businesses and products, including the story of her family’s choice in 2009 to live exclusively off of these services, sometimes having to go miles until a single black proprietor was able to be found.
“Sacrifice first and success will follow,” Anderson said, advising her listeners to look beyond the immediate satisfactions and to endure the challenges ahead for greater and larger rewards.
Anderson told how Martin Luther King, Jr. fought for black businesses and not just the freedom to shop in others. She wants her message to reach as many people as possible so that children will know they don’t have to just work at Sears but they can own a Sears as well.
Anderson said that in her speech, her aim was to teach.
To educate on the matter of black businesses, she provided statistics. In Asian-owned businesses, money circulates within the community before being spent back into the larger system for around 28 days, 21 days in Jewish-owned businesses, 15 in white-owned businesses, and in black-owned businesses, only six hours.
“We all have problems,” Anderson said. She explained how her doctor, just days before beginning this tour, diagnosed her with muscular dystrophy. However, “Put faith over fear,” Anderson said, and she continued along in her mission with The Empowerment Experiment, believing that now the cause was even more important.
Anderson is on the road with The Empowerment Experiment tour which will visit no less than 20 cities, teaching more listeners and creating jobs along the way.