The Foundation is Black Economics..
It has been over 150 years since slavery was legally abolished; 55 years since the Civil Rights Act was passed, yet our economic state has changed very little, if at all. Once we get past the façades of movements and causes, we must realize that we are and have always been in an economic war. Slavery was an economic war; the Civil Rights movement was an economic war; and today we’re in an economic war. Remember, we were allowed to ride at the front of the bus in Birmingham, Alabama, due to the economic effect of a Rosa Parks-inspired bus boycott—not a newfound sympathy for Black people.
While the Black community has many important causes to fight for, the state of the Black economy is the most important. All issues affecting our community, from healthcare to police brutality to voter suppression and beyond, revolve around economics. To help deal with these issues we must make our economy a priority. Here are four ways we can make Black economics matter:
According to the Selig Center for Economic Growth, people of African descent spent over $1.4 trillion in 2019 in the United States. That’s more than the gross national product of Mexico. Yet, historically, we spend less than 5% of that money in our community. This must change if we are to build anything for our people. “To make Black economics matter we must strengthen our relationships in our own community and rebuild our trade zone and wherever possible practice the principle of buying Black,”
