During his years as a student at Cornell, Rodney A. Brooks ’75 recognized the wealth gap between Black and white Americans—an awareness that grew over time. Through his work as a reporter in Asheville, North Carolina, and in Philadelphia, Rodney became increasingly interested in the power of financial literacy. This interest led him to become the first business editor of the Ashville Citizen Times, and to pursue and earn a certificate in financial planning from Georgetown University.

Rodney continued to expand his knowledge about retirement and personal finance issues, and his understanding of the underlying racial, wealth, and health disparities in this country.

“My own journey to financial literacy came from self-education and trial and error,” he explains. “I made so many mistakes as a young man, including cashing out my 401(k) when I left jobs and not saving.”

Rodney began working at USA TODAY in 1985 and stayed at the paper for the next 30 years, rising through the ranks to serve as deputy managing editor for personal finance. Towards the end of his time there, he began writing a column on retirement—which became one of the most popular columns on the newspaper’s website. Later, he also wrote personal finance and retirement columns for The Washington Post, The Street.com, and U.S. News & World Report.

Over time, Rodney realized the magnitude and impact of the racial wealth gap in the U.S. According to a 2020 article by the Brookings Institution, the net worth of the average white family is $171,000—nearly ten times greater than that of the average Black family, estimated at $17,150.

Rodney recognized that many Black Americans did not understand the basics of investing and how to manage their investments to build wealth. “I felt it was my duty to educate young Black Americans about financial literacy and eventually write a book on the topic.” Fixing the Racial Wealth Gap was published in September 2021, and is intended to share the knowledge Rodney has gained and help other Black Americans build generational wealth.

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