“Money equals power; power makes the law; and law makes government.” – Kim Stanley Robinson
In order for black people to move forward, I believe that we must look back, starting with the concept of race. A ‘race’ in it’s literal meaning is a contest. But race in regards to skin colour is a social construct which was created for hierarchal purposes. Now view race as a race within capitalism, we know that for historic reasons black people were put at the bottom, asian/hispanic/arabic people in the middle, and white people at the top:
This was established by Darwinism but actually started back in the 1440s when ‘Henry the Navigator’ brought apx 16 Africans to the Pope who decided that he would use them as slaves. From then he said that slaves should not be captured from war, personal indebtedness, or religious persecution, but rather based on skin complexion. This began the view that skin complexion is a hierarchy within capitalism.
In a capitalist system we cannot eradicate poverty. It is impossible. People are needed at the bottom so that there can be people at the top. So with this in mind, we as black people need to understand the value of power in ownership and financial control, while recognising where we currently stand in this race.
I see two key factors hurting the black community due to the history of this hierarchy:
- Lack of resources:
This is one of the key reasons why we repeatedly hear about Dr Martin Luther King Jr over Malcolm X. One was known more for equality and the other for power/independence. The latter is more powerful than the former in a capitalist system. We cannot have true social integration without economic integration, and that will take a redistribution of wealth.
Why is it that Jewish survivors of the Holocaust were given reparations? Because it was acknowledged that money was necessary for them while coming out of that tragedy which was ultimately a set-back for them in the race called capitalism. Finance provides opportunity for land/property, it provides opportunity to sway political and legislative decisions, it provides opportunity to dictate the voice of the media, and it ultimately provides opportunity to change society.
Based on U.S. statistics, White Americans tend to bounce their dollar apx 8-12x before it leaves their community, Hispanic Americans bounce their dollar 6-8x, Asian Americans apx 13-14x, and the Black dollar bounces 0 times before leaving the community. Now if we are to look at the UK, there is a reason why China town exists, there is a reason why North London is home to a large Jewish community, there is a reason why Bradford is home to a lot of Asian people, and there is a reason for gentrification. Because there is power in community.
2. Lack of cohesiveness:
If we are in this race called capitalism, we need to act like a team in order to get results. Let me rephrase, in order to succeed in the race called capitalism, we need to act like a team in order to get results. Elijah Muhammad stated that knowledge of self produces love for self, and love for self allows you to do for yourself. This was expanded upon by Nuri Muhammed who stated that a ‘brother’ is your ‘other’ self, therefore if you know, love and value yourself then you cannot lie, steal, or deceive your brother because that is lying, stealing and deceiving yourself. What hurts you hurts me. My children are your nieces and nephews, hence the saying “it takes a village to raise a child”.
Dr Claud Anderson stated that effective communities can be visualised as a five floor building:
- Community – The ground floor, the base, the people along with their morals, values and culture.
- Group economics – Making your pound/dollar bounce 8-10x before it leaves the community. To do this we need to own and spend black more than we already do. One out of every 35 white people in America have a business, one out of every 53 Hispanic people has a business, but just one out of every 105 black Americans have a business.
- Politics – Dr Anderson views voting as a game, the real influence comes from buying elections, hence why group economics is beneath it.
- Legislative system – Control over laws based on elected officials, which results in influence over housing, education, healthcare, and general resources.
- Media – Without it we cannot communicate, motivate, educate, or dictate public opinion or conversation.
- Education – Dr Anderson puts this as the top floor because he sees it as a tool to be used within the second floor – economics. If we are all out here with our degrees but no black businesses to go into, then we must go to where the jobs are, which does not benefit the black community. Hence why there are countless studies around glass ceilings, and binning CVs which have names which don’t sound white etc. We should essentially be able to take our degrees back to our communities and utilise them there.
I am writing all of this out so that we can understand the system we are in, and know what we need to work towards. These are just my views based on my own research, but the conversation needs to start, and action needs to follow. I believe there is a brighter future for people who look like me, but I believe it will take a commitment to resource investment, and community amongst ourselves.
Priscilla McGregor-Kerr
@cillahope
References:
- Powernomics – Dr Claud Anderson
- Why I’m no longer talking to white people about race – Reni Eddo-Lodge
- Theories of race and ethnicity – Karim Murji & John Solomos
- What if blacks did not exist – Felix T Ehut
- Brother Nuri Muhammed on the Breakfast club https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNsy44O7fmQ
- Header image – https://journals.sagepub.com/home/sora
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