Money as a Means to an End with EmmoLei Sankofa
Quench Finance: How was money discussed while growing up? Was it discussed with you or something you could talk about easily?
EmmoLei Sankofa: My mom taught us a lot of the basics: Saving, balancing a checkbook, [as well as] allocating money properly based on your obligations and financial goals, etc. What I wished we talked more about was stocks, retirement accounts, mutual funds, and other financial devices that can be leveraged to create and maintain wealth. For the most part, I’m realizing that my mom shared info in stages. She’s a numbers lady and I’m learning that she knows more than what we were probably interested in learning when she was open to teaching it. If I could go back, I’d ask more money/finance questions.
QF: How has navigating queerness impacted your perception of money?
ES: I’m not sure that I’ve thought deeply about this because when I look at money, I don’t see an identity. I just see a tool. Somewhat like a hammer or a computer.
QF: Has your queerness changed or influenced how you navigate career finances?
ES: Well, right now, all things “other” are somewhat floating to the surface so there’s a lot of opportunity and access to capital that is being directed to all types of underserved communities that I identify with. I try to stay sharp when it comes to funding opportunities that allow me to support what I’m building. To be honest, I don’t think my queerness has impacted how I navigate my career finances as much as being a black woman has.
QF: Do you discuss money differently with straight folks than with other queer folx?
ES: No.
QF: How did 2020 change your views on handling money?
ES: 2020 was my best year financially. I had the opportunity to save more and put my money to work. I developed a better relationship with it for sure and got to see where my shortcomings were previously. 2020 also exposed a lot of the legal loopholes that wealthy folks have been using for years to leverage their money. They’ve always been there, but most people are never taught the rules and the rules change often, but that’s another convo for another day. ;)
QF: What are some of your favorite money blogs and vlogs?
ES: I keep up with Beez (@Capital SB) primarily right now and monitor the financial columns across different news outlets here and there. I monitor Forbes often too. Also, Twitter is a microblog, so these days I spend more time keeping up with executives on Twitter across various industries and pay attention to how they discuss money. The discussions and things they share on their timelines is often more valuable than blogs/vlogs to me.
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EmmoLei Sankofa is an American composer, singer-songwriter, record producer, sound artist, and multi-instrumentalist. Her work stretches across music, visual media, and fine art.
EmmoLei founded Bèl Son, a creative audio collective, in which she has worked with some of the best emerging filmmakers on a wide variety of award-winning films and visual media projects for top brands like BLAVITY, Pandora, Art Not War, & BuzzFeed. Read her full bio here.
