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Wealth Does Not Protect Young Millionaire from RacismBy Hazel Trice EdneyNNPA Washington Correspondent LAS VEGAS (NNPA) – When millionaire author and young businessman Farrah Gray sits in the first class section of an airplane, flight attendants sometimes question whether he should be in coach. And, like other Black males, police have stopped him for no justifiable reason. Gray is not surprised. “Number one, I’m young. Number two, I’m Black,” says the 20-year-old author of “Reallionaire,” a book that tells the story of the principles that enabled him to become a millionaire by the age of 14. The book is already a Barnes & Noble and Amazon best seller. His recent acclaim hasn’t shielded him the everyday indignities that African-Americans face. He settled out of court last year with a national drug store chain, which he prefers not to identify for legal reasons. According to Gray, an employee grabbed him and turned him over to a security officer. The employee accused Gray of stealing cookies that had been given to him by the general manager of a radio station who was a business partner. “They kept me for a little while, asked some questions and then realized they were Girl Scout cookies,” he recalls. “What I try to explain to people is that you’re still Black. You always have to remember that. You’re still Black in America,” Gray says in an interview. “But you want to go in with a success consciousness, not getting caught up in who doesn’t like you and who does.” That was essentially the message he conveyed here at National Newspaper Publishers Association’s mid-winter convention. “The Black newspapers serve as a cultural transcript. It is the Black newspaper that has provided for us instead of the mainstream media where we only get 28 days out of the whole year to celebrate our history,” he told the approximately 75 publishers who met in Las Vegas, where Gray lives and has one of two offices; the other is on Wall Street in New York. “You are the icon. You have educated a nation. You have empowered a nation and a generation and I am here today to say that your work will be continued. I represent a generation that is looking forward to carrying the torch. Your children’s children will carry the torch.” That’s a big promise for the 200-member NNPA, whose readers’ average age is 44 – more than twice that of Gray. Having established a string of businesses and organizations that contribute to the lives of others, Gray appears prepared to carry the torch. The youngest of five siblings, he watched his mother work tirelessly to make ends meet with no father in the home, Gray’s first entrepreneurial endeavor was to peddle body lotion for $1.50 from door to door at the age of 6. His says parents separated when he was less than a year old and he spent time with his father about once every six months. His father died five years ago. But, nothing could stop young Farrah’s his perseverance. At 7, he carried a lunch box for a brief case and a business card that read, “21st Century CEO.” At 8, he started UNEEC, Urban Neighborhood Economic Enterprise Club, a group of 8 to 12-year-old friends in the inner city who talked about how to get out of poverty by entrepreneurship and even inviting business professionals to talk to them. After his family moved to Las Vegas from Chicago, he reached millions of people as a 10-year-old co-host of a radio show, “Backstage Live,” that featured interviews with visiting celebrities. At 13, he founded NE2W U.S.A. (New Early Entrepreneur Wonders University Student & Alumni) Capital Search Fund. Headquartered on Wall Street, he raised a million dollar for the fund and opened up his Wall Street office, from which he has helped to finance the business futures for at least 800 young entrepreneurs. He became a millionaire at 14 after his business, Farr-Out Foods, a specialty foods company targeting youth, hit sales of $1 million. At 15, he sold the business for approximately $1.5 million dollars in order to pursue other endeavors such as real estate investments and the purchase of “innercity,” a youth-oriented magazine with a circulation of 300,000. At 20, he is a real estate investor and the youngest member on the board of directors of the National Association of Real Estate Brokers, Inc. The common experience of African-Americans, regardless of age, should be a unifier and a motivator, he told the publishers. “Our generation, they don’t realize that connection. We don’t realize that we actually have kings and queens, their blood running through our bodies, your blood running through out bodies,” he says. “I don’t believe we’re a lost generation. I believe we’re a generation that has insurrection and rebellion in our blood. Look at it. You wear your pants up. We wear our pants down. You wear your hat to the front, we wear ours turned around,” Gray said to loud laughter from the publishers. “What I believe in is taking that insurrection or rebellion in a [positive] direction.” The stereotyping of Blacks in America has gotten so bad that it’s almost like comedian Paul Mooney has described: “There needs to be a 1-900-Blame a Negro,” Gray said to loud laughter from the audience. It was one of several dashes of humor amidst a heartfelt presentation in which Gray, who grew up poor in the Robert Taylor Homes, a housing project on Chicago’s Southside. “Everybody was talking about, ‘You will not succeed. You’re not going to be able to open up an office on Wall Street, to have two or three multi-million dollar companies or sit on the board of the National Association of Real Estate Brokers,'” he recalls. “So, I took my skills and my talents and what I know how to do and I found my area of excellence,” he said. “I had to believe in myself when no one else would.” Gray encouraged the publishers to use this same level of determination to continue telling the story of Black people even though they are treated unfairly by White-owned companies and ad agencies. “Corporations don’t want to advertise with Black newspapers because they don’t think the information that we report concerning ourselves is important,” Gray explained. “Advertisers don’t respect urban dollars. They don’t understand the power of the ads,” Gray told the publishers. “But, we can say to the other mainstream papers, ‘Your news is not more relevant than ours. Your sugar is not sweeter than ours. Your ice is not colder than ours. We are a very strong institution within a nation.” Relaxed in a lounge area of the Stratosphere, the 100-story hotel, casino and entertainment center, Gray reflected on his life on Wall Street, his speech to the publishers and on his book. “Reallionaire: Someone who has discovered that there is more to money than having money. A person who understands that success is not just about being rich in your pocket; you have to be rich on the inside too,” states the inside cover of the book, which he often asserts as a guiding principle of his life. For Gray the inner richness largely means investing in poor communities and in people. He has donated thousands to charity and to helping others realize their dreams of entrepreneurship, education and home ownership. As a new board member of the National Association of Real Estate Brokers, Inc., Gray is just beginning his dream of helping poor people to get their own homes by establishing educational and financial programs for homeownership. In addition, the Farrah Gray Foundation, with offices in Las Vegas and New York, has helped to fund inner city literacy programs. Because of his support of literacy programs, he was appointed to the board of United Way, the youngest board member in its history. “If you’re not doing anything for your people, I don’t want to know you,” he says with conviction. A personable young man who stayed an hour after his speech to shake the hands of publishers who lined up to greet or take photographs with him, Gray often thinks of his future. He expects to eventually go to college, but says he would major in something unique and fun. Not business. “I would be bored in a business class.” That’s because on that subject, he’s apparently more of a teacher. “As a retired educator, thank you for the challenge,” responded John B. Smith, first vice chairman of the NNPA, who hosted the luncheon. “Thank you for reaching out to us, for helping us to understand that eventually when we turn this into young people’s hands like yours, we’ll be alright,” he said to applause.