Universally Speaking
By Rahim Islam
Rahim Islam
Rahim Islam is a National Speaker and Writer, Convener of Philadelphia Community of Leaders, and President/CEO of Universal Companies, a community development and education management company headquartered in Philadelphia, PA. Follow Rahim Islam on FaceBook(Rahim Islam) & Twitter (@RahimIslamUC)
The Black man’s economic start is so grossly behind the white man’s start – coupled with white supremacy and black inferiority, it has crippled the Black race from achieving real economic advancement in America. Whites control nearly 100 percent of America’s wealth (est. $9 trillion), its values as well as a system that supports the protection and growth of their wealth. THAT WEALTH, POWER, AND REAL ADVANTAGES HAS BEEN PASSED DOWN TO THE CURRENT WHITE GENERATION WHILE BLACKS, FOR THE MOST PART, HAVE INHERITED POVERTY AND A WHOLE HOST OF DISADVANTAGES INCLUDING THOSE THAT ENGROSS AND FINALIZE BLACK INFERIORITY.
Like I’ve said in previous articles, there is real competition in America and globally and it’s fierce but it’s not a fair competition for whites against Blacks. For the most part, Blacks are unable to compete with whites at any economic level because, as a group, whites own it all and Blacks own next to nothing. This is not to say that whites don’t have to compete, just the opposite. Whites have competition amongst themselves and with other ethnic groups that have capital (many immigrants who come to America have wealth). For the most part, no one is giving anyone anything – they must earn it. The competition is fierce because of the concept of economics and unlimited needs versus scarce resources. Economics is how the production and consumption of goods and how the transfer of wealth is assembled and used to produce and obtain those goods. Economics explains how people interact within markets; get what they want; become a driving force of all human interaction; and reveals why people and governments behave the way they do (whatiseconomics.org). Limited resources and unlimited needs will produce high levels of competition.
Man has unlimited physical needs/wants and sometimes natural and unnatural greed (i.e. oxygen, water, food, money, etc.) but the earth has limited resources and man has limited capacity to produce. There are just only so many natural resources available – man has a ton of natural limitations. The resource limitations are even more pronounced when you factor in population growth; technology and investment limitations. This doesn’t include what nature can do to negatively interrupt and ultimately negatively impact the level of natural resources (i.e. droughts, hurricanes, storms, tsunamis, earthquakes, floods, etc.) or what man has done to contaminate the environment permanently (i.e. nuclear and biological waste, storage, etc.) which hinders the production of food and key energy resources. The American government, like other countries have waged wars and been involved in undermining the political environments of other countries to secure and/or maintain access to natural resources. Governments have the job and responsibility to regulate and manage these economic outcomes not just domestically but to compete globally as well – this is why America has the strongest military presence in the entire world – competition is extremely high for natural resources.
A. Phillip Randolph once stated, There are no reserved seats at the table of life; you get what you can take, and you keep what you can hold. This quote can be applied to both a country (macro) and an individual (micro) level because it speaks directly to the fierce nature of competition which is reflective and supportive to the laws of nature. There is a natural food chain in creation and nothing is taken for granted – everything of value in creation is scarce and represents some type of food (some type of creation has to die for another part of creation to live). With the advances of technology where information is shared in light speed across the globe and transportation near perfect allowing us to crisscross across the globe in a matter of hours versus days and months, competition is not just local but it is now much more global than it’s ever been. The laws of nature create competition and man must fight for those seats at the table of life (capital and power).
Countries have always functioned on the approach shared by A. Phillip Randolph (no reserve seats). Countries have risen and they have fallen over thousands of years of history. There have been super powers in Europe and Africa but today the super power is clearly America. If countries aren’t able to compete and take an economic seat they will ultimately lose in the global economy and therefore their people will lose as well. On an individual level, those that don’t have resources (have-nots) must fight to compete for the scarce resources that many times others already have (haves). For those who have an accumulation of wealth (haves), they too must also be able compete in order for them to hold on to what they’ve earned and/or inherited by any legal means possible. When the competitive spirit really kicks in and individuals are trying to get ahead, sometimes they will cross the line in their pursuit of economic resources this why we have courts, jails, and prisons. If you watch the TV show American Greed you will get a sense that a lot of people have crossed the line by using violence to achieve a competitive advantage (i.e. mob, syndications, gangs, etc.).
America, like most free societies, have a number of rules and laws (contract and business) that govern our behavior as not to allow violence of any kind (i.e. murder, intimidation, extortion, etc.) to achieve a competitive advantage in the pursuit of scarce resources but we must remember that during nearly 300 years of enslavement the laws allow Black people to be nothing more than property (violence was allowed). Capitalism works when the playing field is leveled for all participants and the underlying theme is if you’re willing work hard and pursue your dream, you then can succeed for Black people this is an illusion. While working hard is a key ingredient, no ingredient is more important than capital. I use economics and power as interchangeable and Blacks have neither as a result of the enslavement of Black. The ideals of capitalism are great especially when all of the participants have a fair and equitable shot to succeed. My position, because of slavery, the white community has a monstrous advantage (i.e. economic, political, institutional, etc.) over the Black man in America we must not allow emotions to clout the facts, we must move from ignorance to knowledge.
Wealth inequities and structural racism are the two biggest problems facing the Black man today that has marginalized and crippled the Black community’s ability to succeed like other groups. Consider that prior to emancipation proclamation, 100 percent of all Black people were in poverty. Today, with total freedom, nearly 70 percent of Black people live at the poverty level or live at near poverty levels. The socioeconomic disparities that exist between the Black and white communities are astronomical and almost near permanent (fixed). The truth is that Blacks in America absolutely dominate every negative socioeconomic statistic and is nearly invisible in every positive socioeconomic statistic. Contrary to today’s myth that we are a post-racial society (mere fancy words), nothing could be more further from the truth – race is a very serious issue, yesterday, today, and in the future. White America has become more callous and suffers a deep level of denial because of the media and its out-of-sight and out-of-mind attitude (even in cities where Blacks and whites co-habitate, two cities have been created). Clouding our perception of these issues becomes more challenging because of the media which promotes people like Oprah Winfrey, Shaquille O’Neal, Denzel Washington and other so-called wealthy Black entertainers not realizing this group represents an extreme minority (i.e. one half of one percent).
Racism is an undeniable factor in American life – how else can you explain that Blacks remain the primary targets of conservative hate groups with nearly 70 percent of the reported hate crimes, police brutality, racial profiling, and with nearly 1.5 million Black men in prison, have become the raw product for the explosion of newly built prisons in America (there are entire cities that are dependent on these prisons at the cost of Black lives). Although only 14 percent of the American population, Black men are approximately 55 percent of the prison population (this disparity becomes even more extreme when you isolate Black men between the ages of 18 35). Blacks are still redlined when it comes to mortgages, business loans, insurance, etc. The point that I’m trying to make is that whites have an unfavorable advantage (privilege) just by being born in America and most Blacks have an unfavorable disadvantage by being born in America – both are a legacy of slavery.
Blacks worked for white slave owners for nearly 300 years prior to 1863 without any compensation and during this same period of time, whites amassed an unbelievable level of wealth and power. Today, Blacks are disproportionately underemployed and unemployed (in many urban areas Black males between the ages of 18 and 35 have unemployment levels over 35 percent). Blacks predominantly work for white owned businesses, non-profits and government. The truth of the matter is that Black unemployment numbers will always be high when Black business owners are extremely low. Blacks have been unable to leverage their collective earning power for any type of economic independence (Black ownership) – some have described the Black man’s economic situation in America as being the highest paid slaves in the world.
When you consider the following: 1) Black ownership of the nation’s wealth remain where it was in 1860 near the end of slavery at one half of one percent of the nation’s wealth. Why is this? Wealth inheritance is the passing of past benefits and gains from previous generations that are passed to future generations. Currently, nearly 90 percent of all of the nation’s wealth was passed from one generation to another – this wealth is forever locked in the hands of select families (i.e. cash, stocks, bonds, land, business, trust accounts, endowments, foundation, etc.). While not all white people are rich, there is a massive disparity between the net assets of the average white family versus the net assess of the average Black family ($110k+ vs $6-8k).
As we’ve discussed previously, a lot of attention has been given to Black income which currently exceeds one trillion annually as proof that Black people have finally arrived in America. Nothing could be further from the truth because two thirds of all Black Americans live at or near poverty (even the other third is comparatively doing much worse than their white counterpart). Blacks are still at near zero wealth wealth is the foundation for capital and capital is the foundation for business development and ultimately wealth creation. Wealth is the real measurement of growth not income. The lack of wealth of Black people limits educational opportunities, housing and neighborhood selection, capitalization of entrepreneurial aspirations, and a genuine ability for self-determination.
Another economic indicator that helps to determine the economic promise of a group are the number of businesses they startup and Blacks are dead last starting only eight businesses per 1,000 people compared to whites who are starting 90 businesses per 1,000 people. There are a number of other factors that contribute to this statistic but the fact remains, the more business start-ups a group has helps to create more choices, more competition, more capacity, more opportunity, and ultimately more JOBS (this is capitalism at its best). However; when a community doesn’t have a healthy number of business start-ups it sends a number of signals to the market not to invest and increases entrepreneurial risk, which is the basis for business starts.
Blacks have faced and continue to face the ultimate catch 22. In my humble opinion, the most damaging economic catch 22 is the lack of capital. Access to jobs is the lifeline for any society and contrary to popular belief, economic statistics show that the biggest job creators in America are small businesses not corporate America. The small businesses located in the Black community are extremely insignificant and small and unable to spin off the number of jobs to needed to employ more Black people – lack of capital is a critical factor. This is extremely critical when you consider that business is one of the most segregated areas of American life right behind church and neighborhoods. In business, when it comes to employment whites hire whites, Italian hire Italians, Irish hire Irish and Blacks hire Blacks. When Black businesses suffer, Black employment suffers, Black wealth suffers and ultimately Black America suffers. Black businesses can’t thrive without having capital.
Unfortunately, the Black man in America is in an economic race that the white man has had a 350 year head start and many have the audacity to act as if this little fact should be forgotten. Just because we tell ourselves that we are all free and we live in the world’s greatest democracy, doesn’t mean we are, lest we forget.