For a long time this Blogger has struggled with the issue “Racism”, wondering largely why African-Americans tolerated it for so long. I looked at Race relations in the Country of my birth which ultimately defaulted to a caste system.
It became clear to me as the years progressed that African Americans had it exponentially more difficult that people in the Caribbean.
Simply put, the slave-master left Jamaica and other Islands leaving the infrastructure of light skinned superiority in place, but he left.
In America he never left.
Having lived lived most of my life in Jamaica in which I eschewed and reviled the caste system I moved to the United States . It was then that I started wondering why the Building blocks of Racism were allowed to remain intact while America got away with bad-mouthing and strong-arming other countries on issues of Human Rights , Justice and the like.
I also thought that since Black Americans would not engage in a war to claim their dignity , a choice they made from Kings days, why did they not use the next best thing, the power of their money?
Being a small business owner who operates two entities , one offering service the other sales. I observed over the years that African-Americans would only spend money on the service end of my business, that service being something they generally do not like to sources but from anyone other than blacks.
However as far as the outlet side is concerned the store was a mere Museum to be admired, they would not make a purchase.
At first I was tempted to just write it off as envy. Of course why not? Guy come to their Country acting like a businessman who the hell does he think he is right ?
Then I started talking to some of my customers with whom I had a good rapport. The consensus was that the service I offered they did not want from whites or others, but when they wanted to purchase things they went to other people and that’s how they grew up.
Yeah I know “Wow”!
They never quite figured out that their money is their power. African Americans have allowed themselves to be mere conduits for money, retaining precious little of the resources they earn. Of all groups in the United States the Black dollar circulates within the black community the least, less than once. The closest group to African-Americans are Hispanics , their dollar circulates eight times withing their community before it leaves. It circulates countless times in the white community.
Hispanics will be changing the number of times their dollar circulate quite rapidly.
As a group they are opening more start-ups than any other group.
African-Americans continue to be huge consumers of goods and services others produce without starting and supporting their own.
This year 2015, it is projected that African-Americans will spend between 1.3 and 1.5 Trillion dollars on goods and services, yet hardly any of that money will remain in our community.
One of the things I struggled with was, why haven’t big businesses stepped in and say no to racism meted out to Blacks in America ? Then it occurred to me they did not need to. Many of America’s largest Companies were built on the backs of slaves. In fact America was founded and built on the complexities of the slave trade, and slave labor.
Blacks were always going to walk into their stores and plunk down their money grinning like Cheshire cats asking to purchase flat screen Televisions and Cadillacs. Where else would they go.
Now after the Church killings at mother Emanuel , Companies like Walmart , Kmart, Sears, Amazon , and others are joining the chorus demanding the despicable Confederate flag be removed from in front the State house. They have gone farther suggesting they will no longer carry any merchandise with that symbol of hate in their stores or on their websites.
Removing the Confederate flag from the grounds of the state house will not end Racism. Neither will Racism stop because companies no longer carry their products.
However as it was when the Government went after the KKK and confiscated their monies when they were proven to have committed crimes against others, soon attitudes will change when we speak with no uncertain terms that Racism will not be tolerated.
Despite this cue Black suits on Television still do not realize that this is an opportunity to put the pedal to the metal. Instead as always they are engaged in asking for jobs and amenities like affordable housing.
How about you band together do startups and spend with your own kind? Then you won’t have to ask for affordable housing, you will be able to afford decent housing.
How about finally figuring out that you can effect meaningful change if you withhold your money from companies which promote and support Racism and Government policies which are harmful to your communities?
In order to figure that out Black Americans would have to determine that they will read and stop being coons only interested in being entertainers and being entertained.