John Hope Bryant
Encyclopedia
John Hope Bryant is an American financial literacy
and poverty
eradication activist, and "silver rights" entrepreneur
. Bryant is the founder, chairman and CEO of nonprofit Operation HOPE, member of the President’s Advisory Council on Financial Capability
, and co-founder of Global Dignity. He is a member of the Forum of Young Global Leaders for the World Economic Forum, and a place on the Forum’s Global Agenda Council He served as the vice chair on the U.S. President’s Advisory Council on Financial Literacy and as the chairman of the Committee on the Underserved.
, and raised primarily in Compton
, and in the South Central
area of Los Angeles
, by parents Juanita Smith and Johnnie Will Smith. Bryant graduated from Santa Monica High School
in 1984. Later in life, on May 8, 2004 he received an Honorary Doctorate Degree of Human Letters from Paul Quinn College
in Dallas, Texas
, for his work around education and poverty eradication.
in Los Angeles, California
.
In 2004 he accepted a nomination from the World Economic Forum
to serve as one of the 237 Young Global Leaders who work to model a better world by 2030.
Bryant became the first African-American in history to be knighted by German nobility and the royal House of Lippe in 1998.
On January 22, 2008, Bryant was appointed vice-chairman of the President’s Council on Financial Literacy by U.S. President George W. Bush
.
described Mr. Bryant in his recent bestselling book GIVING saying, “John Bryant is a 41 year-old whirlwind of ideas and action. Lean, intense, focused, and completely positive in his belief in the potential of poor people to prosper, with ‘a hand up and not a hand out.’”
Financial literacy
Financial literacy is the ability to understand finance. More specifically, it refers to the set of skills and knowledge that allows an individual to make informed and effective decisions through their understanding of finances...
and poverty
Poverty
Poverty is the lack of a certain amount of material possessions or money. Absolute poverty or destitution is inability to afford basic human needs, which commonly includes clean and fresh water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter. About 1.7 billion people are estimated to live...
eradication activist, and "silver rights" entrepreneur
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
. Bryant is the founder, chairman and CEO of nonprofit Operation HOPE, member of the President’s Advisory Council on Financial Capability
, and co-founder of Global Dignity. He is a member of the Forum of Young Global Leaders for the World Economic Forum, and a place on the Forum’s Global Agenda Council He served as the vice chair on the U.S. President’s Advisory Council on Financial Literacy and as the chairman of the Committee on the Underserved.
Early years
Bryant was born on February 6, 1966 in Los Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, and raised primarily in Compton
Compton, California
Compton is a city in southern Los Angeles County, California, United States, southeast of downtown Los Angeles. The city of Compton is one of the oldest cities in the county and on May 11, 1888, was the eighth city to incorporate. The city is considered part of the South side by residents of Los...
, and in the South Central
South Los Angeles
South Los Angeles, often abbreviated as South L.A. and formerly South Central Los Angeles, is the official name for a large geographic and cultural portion lying to the southwest and southeast of downtown Los Angeles, California. The area was formerly called South Central, and is still widely known...
area of Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, by parents Juanita Smith and Johnnie Will Smith. Bryant graduated from Santa Monica High School
Santa Monica High School
Santa Monica High School, informally known as SAMOHI, is located in Santa Monica, California. Founded in 1884, it is one of the oldest high schools in the state....
in 1984. Later in life, on May 8, 2004 he received an Honorary Doctorate Degree of Human Letters from Paul Quinn College
Paul Quinn College
Paul Quinn College is a private, historically black college located in the Oak Cliff area of Dallas, Texas . Paul Quinn College holds the distinction as the oldest historically black college in the country west of the Mississippi River...
in Dallas, Texas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
, for his work around education and poverty eradication.
Career
On May 5, 1992, Bryant founded Operation HOPE, Inc. immediately following the 1992 Rodney King riots1992 Los Angeles riots
The 1992 Los Angeles Riots or South Central Riots, also known as the 1992 Los Angeles Civil Unrest were sparked on April 29, 1992, when a jury acquitted three white and one hispanic Los Angeles Police Department officers accused in the videotaped beating of black motorist Rodney King following a...
in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
.
In 2004 he accepted a nomination from the World Economic Forum
World Economic Forum
The World Economic Forum is a Swiss non-profit foundation, based in Cologny, Geneva, best known for its annual meeting in Davos, a mountain resort in Graubünden, in the eastern Alps region of Switzerland....
to serve as one of the 237 Young Global Leaders who work to model a better world by 2030.
Bryant became the first African-American in history to be knighted by German nobility and the royal House of Lippe in 1998.
On January 22, 2008, Bryant was appointed vice-chairman of the President’s Council on Financial Literacy by U.S. President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
.
Honors and awards
- On December 5, 1994, Bryant was selected by TIME Magazine as “One of America’s 50 Most Promising Leaders of the Future,” as part of their 50 for the Future cover story.
- On March 6, 2005, Bryant received the Crystal Heart Award from the USCUniversity of Southern CaliforniaThe University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
School of Social Work for his work in community service.
Honorable mentions
Former U.S. President Bill ClintonBill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
described Mr. Bryant in his recent bestselling book GIVING saying, “John Bryant is a 41 year-old whirlwind of ideas and action. Lean, intense, focused, and completely positive in his belief in the potential of poor people to prosper, with ‘a hand up and not a hand out.’”
Appointments
- On January 29, 2010, Bryant was selected to become a part of President Barack Obama's Advisory Council on Financial Capability.
- In September 2008, Bryant was selected to be a member of the Global Agenda Council for the World Economic Forum, Geneva, Switzerland.
- On June 13, 2004, Bryant became a Presidential appointee when U.S. President George W. BushGeorge W. BushGeorge Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
appointed him to a 4-year term on the non-partisan U.S. Community Development Advisory Board for the Community Development Financial Institutions FundCommunity Development Financial Institutions FundThe Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, or CDFI Fund, promotes economic revitalization in distressed communities throughout the United States by providing financial assistance and information to community development financial institutions...
, or (CDFI Fund), at the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
- Bryant became the first African-American in history to be knighted by German nobility and the royal House of Lippe in 1998.
- Bryant is the namesake of the "John Bryant Scholarship in Urban Social Development", a permanent scholarship fund at the USCUniversity of Southern CaliforniaThe University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
School of Social Work.
Further reading
- The New Color of Success: Twenty Young Black Millionaires Tell You How They're Making It, by Niki Butler Mitchell, Prima Lifestyles (December 15, 1999), ISBN 978-0-7615-2065-8
- Face Forward: Young African American Men in a Critical Age, by Julian C.R. Okwu, Chronicle Books (March 1, 1997), ISBN 978-0-8118-1631-1