From Prada to Purpose: Why Kansas City Needs to Fast with Force

By Pastor Timothy Hayes Jr.

Kansas City is lit right now. The city’s buzzing with excitement as the 7th Annual Kansas City People’s Choice Awards takes center stage at the Kauffman Performing Arts Center. It’s become one of the biggest nights for local talent and community recognition—a time when our city dresses up, shows out, and celebrates Black excellence in all forms. But while some of us are clapping, others are quietly questioning.

This week, a particular nominee made headlines—not for an award he won, but for what he wore. An $8,000 Prada fit. Head to toe. He called it “hood rich,” captioning his photos with phrases like “this what success look like.”

Now before I go further, let me be clear: I’m not here to tear down a brother for his choices. In fact, I used to be that brother. I remember the days when I thought my worth was tied to what I wore. When rocking Gucci belts and Jordan 1s felt like financial progress. When I believed that buying from brands who wouldn’t dare walk through my neighborhood somehow gave me status.

But let’s call it what it is: bondage.

I was a slave to validation. A slave to logos that didn’t love me back. And I wasn’t alone.

The High Cost of Hood Rich

We have to talk about this. Not from a place of hate—but from a place of healing. Because what we’re seeing play out on our stages, our timelines, and our block parties is bigger than one man in Prada. It’s about a mindset that’s been programmed into our people.

We’ll drop thousands on brands that have never advertised with Black-owned media, never sponsored our schools, never invested in our hoods, and still don’t see us as more than a trend. We turn ourselves into walking billboards for billion-dollar companies—meanwhile, the businesses owned by our cousins and kin can’t stay open for a year.

According to a 2023 Nielsen report, African Americans possess over $1.6 trillion in spending power. But only 2 cents of every Black dollar stays in our community for more than six hours. Six hours.

You know how long a Prada outfit lasts? Longer than our economic legacy at this rate.

From Fashion to Fasting

That’s why I wrote Fasting with Force: Targeting Power, Redirecting the Black Dollar. This isn’t just a book—it’s a battle cry. It’s a mirror and a movement.

Because we’ve fasted from food. We’ve fasted from sin. But when are we gonna fast from spending like slaves?

The Target Fast, launched by Pastor Jamal Bryant, isn’t just about one corporation—it’s about consciousness. It’s about breaking up with the brands that don’t align with our values and redirecting our dollars to rebuild our villages. It’s the longest economic protest since the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and it’s built on biblical, cultural, and economic conviction.

I fasted from certain stores, from reckless spending, and from emotional buying. And what I gained was worth more than an outfit—it was insight.

We’ve got to stop confusing labels with liberation.

It’s One Thing Not to Know…

See, I get it. A lot of us were never taught. We didn’t get financial literacy in school. We didn’t grow up seeing economic unity. So when we get money, we don’t always know what to do with it—except show it.

But here’s the truth: it’s one thing not to know, it’s another thing not to care.

And once we’ve been informed—once we’ve been shown the damage, the stats, the historical context—what we choose to do next reveals where our heart really is.

Fasting with Force is full of receipts. Historical receipts. Economic receipts. Scriptural receipts. It walks you through not just what’s happening but why—and what you can do about it. And it’s not just critique—it’s strategy. Solutions. Success stories.

We talk about Tulsa. About Black Wall Street. About the power of the boycott. About what happened when we did redirect our dollars—and how we can do it again.

A New Definition of Success

Let’s redefine what success looks like in Kansas City.

Success is building a business that feeds ten families.
Success is keeping your Black-owned home in a gentrified zip code.
Success is your child knowing the difference between a pair of Off-Whites and ownership.
Success is wearing your cousin’s custom shirt and turning him into the next Virgil Abloh.
Success is sacrifice. Success is stewardship. Success is strategy.

Prada can wait. Purpose can't.

Final Word

To my brothers and sisters in KC and beyond: this ain’t about shame—it’s about shift. Ain’t nothing wrong with wanting to look good, feel good, and celebrate your wins. But let’s make sure our wins ain’t costing us our future.

Support your people. Question your purchases. Read this book.

We’ve shouted “Black Lives Matter.” Now let’s make sure Black Dollars do too.

Read the movement. Buy the book.
👉🏽 www.fastingwithforce.com
“This ain’t anti-anybody. It’s pro-us.” — Pastor Timothy Hayes Jr.