Episode 33

He Grew Up on Welfare. Then He Ran the Agency.

Published on: 23rd October, 2026

Gary P. Jenkins went from growing up on public assistance and experiencing homelessness to eventually leading New York City’s Department of Social Services. We talk economic mobility, education, leadership, fatherhood, homelessness, and why your circumstances don’t have to determine your future.

📚 BMS BOOKSHELF

Never Give Up by Gary P. Jenkins

Gary shares the lessons in resilience, purpose, and leadership that shaped his journey from public assistance to executive leadership.

https://link.amazon/B0hrGeohS

🦃 4TH ANNUAL BLACK MEN SUNDAYS TURKEY DRIVE

Help us provide turkeys for Boys & Girls Clubs families and seniors in our community.

https://checkout.square.site/merchant/MLAGJ7749KJRZ/checkout/ZYXDAV3CTSTSUSJ7UAR6J3KH?src=sheet

All Episodes Previous Episode

Join the Black Men Sundays Community

Get new episodes, wealth-building insights, exclusive updates, and resources delivered straight to your inbox. Build wealth. Create opportunities. Leave a legacy.

Support Black Men Sundays

A huge thank you to our supporters, it means a lot that you support our podcast.

If you like the podcast and want to support it, too, you can leave us a tip using the button below. We really appreciate it and it only takes a moment!

Support Black Men Sundays

Anonymous $5

Stacy $20

Go Gators lol

Listen for free

Apple Podcasts Spotify Amazon Music RSS Feed Pocket Casts TuneIn

Overcast

Castro

Goodpods

TuneIn

About the Podcast

Black Men Sundays

Real conversations about wealth, business, ownership, and legacy. Helping you make smarter money moves and build something that lasts.

Black Men Sundays is a financial literacy and wealth-building podcast hosted by Corie Murray, featuring real conversations with entrepreneurs, investors, executives, authors, financial professionals, and business leaders.

Each week, we break down the strategies, lessons, and money moves that can help you build wealth, create opportunities, own businesses, and build a lasting legacy. Conversations cover financial literacy, entrepreneurship, investing, real estate, retirement planning, relationships and money, business ownership, leadership, mental health, and generational wealth.

Whether you're working toward your first financial milestone, growing a business, building an investment portfolio, or preparing the next generation, Black Men Sundays connects you with people who have built, invested, led, failed, learned, and succeeded along the way.

Real Conversations. Real Solutions. Real Growth.

New episodes every Sunday at 8:00 AM ET.

Support This Show

About your host

Corie Murray

Corie Murray is the host and founder of Black Men Sundays, a financial literacy and wealth-building media platform featuring conversations with entrepreneurs, investors, executives, authors, and business leaders. A five-time Emmy Award-winning broadcast journalist with more than 25 years of experience in media and storytelling, Corie brings that experience to conversations designed to help audiences build wealth, create opportunities, own businesses, and build lasting legacies.

Through Black Men Sundays, Corie explores financial literacy, entrepreneurship, investing, business ownership, relationships and money, retirement planning, personal growth, and generational wealth—connecting audiences with practical insights from people who have built, invested, led, and learned along the way.