And so for an African American, whether Christian or Muslim- opening a business is not as cut and dry as writing a business plan and dreaming of the riches to come. For those from families with ties back to slavery and the old south, a business is about a community, about a legacy, and about a promise.
Khair never forgot the lessons of his early childhood and wanted to share those lessons with a people he believes have forgotten where they came from. His biography “From Freddie to Freedom” is not just about his life, but a look into the journey that many African Americans still struggle through today.
The events of his childhood would shape the man who would later come home to lead a bank that was established to help the very communities he saw on fire. You see, five year old Erbert Johnson made a promise to himself to somehow make things better when he grew up. And from a child’s heart to God’s ears, it was a promise he planned to keep.