Five hundred years after slavery days, and we still trust our exploiters and oppressors more than we trust each other.
We still have an inferior perspective when we analyze the things that we can do for ourselves and for each other.
We don’t believe a Black person can be a “leader” unless the White media designates a certain Black person as a leader.
At one time in African-American history we could do everything we wanted to in our communities. We could farm, we could fish, we could build. We owned all of the grocery stores in our communities. We owned the restaurants, the hotels, the dry cleaners, the shoe shops, the cab stands and the neighborhood bars, too.
Today, African Americans will drive ten miles past a Black-owned store just to get to the mall and buy from the White man or other non-Black merchant.
Madam C. J. Walker made millions of dollars selling hair products to Black women and men. But if she was living today, she wouldn’t make a dime, because we buy weaves and other hair products from Koreans.
If we don’t start trusting each other and patronizing each other’s businesses there is no government stimulus bill that will get us out of the economic trap we face every day!
If we don’t start to spend more of our money with our own kind, we will continue to make other ethnic groups richer and make Black people poorer than many of us already are.
A poor neighborhood has poor schools. A poor education will only get you a poor job. A poor job will only generate enough income to live in that same poor neighborhood. What a vicious cycle.
But we can rise! We hear everybody talking about “buy American” but we should tell all of our friends, family and neighbors to buy Black! Buying American will result in more American jobs and buying Black will result in more Black people getting work, because no one will hire more of us than we will if we have the capital, the opportunity and the customers to make a business work.
So this week after you leave the barber and beauty shops, stop by a Black-owned restaurant and have some chicken, purchase a Black newspaper, or get your taxes done by a Black accountant.
Economically speaking, integration is killing us if we’re not already walking dead. We should love, respect and get along with everybody but we must begin to look out for each other. We have to keep money in our community by spending more money with each other!
Posted By: Siebra Muhammad
Tuesday, March 8th 2011 at 1:10PM
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