On
my blog about the Black Matriarchy, I received a comment from a Black woman who
was upset about what I wrote. She accused me of making a long-winded statement
blaming Black women for the state of the Black economy.
Now
I wasn’t blaming Black women for anything. In fact, I was trying to educate
brothers and sisters about their economy and who controls it. Everything I
wrote in that blog were known facts I received in my minority studies class as
a senior way back in 1991 at Taft high school. Facts anyone can read in any
history book and or in any African-American studies class in college.
White
Supremacists did change the Black economy after the 1960’s. White Supremacists
did change the economic system of the Black community by taking the income
generating and purchasing power away from Black men and giving it to Black
women. By re-allocating the financial resources in the Black community, they
made the Black woman the primary breadwinner over the Black man through jobs
and government programs. And when the Black woman became the financial leader
of her community it changed the Black community from Patriarchy to a
Matriarchy.
Here
are the facts:
80
Percent of Black men are unemployed. Most cannot contribute to the economy due
to the racism that prevents them from accessing the job market or staying in it long-term.
Who
are the heads of Households who file 1040s in most households in the Black
community? Black women.
Who
are all the heads of households on those welfare cases in the Black community?
Black women.
Who
are the heads of household on all those Section 8 leases in the Black
community? Black women.
Who
are all the child support checks made out to in the Black community? Black
women.
Who
are the heads of household for Medicaid and WIC in the Black community? Black women.
Who
has to prove that she’s making no income or low-income to receive all those
government benefits? Black women.
Who
are usually hired for most entry-level jobs like retail, receptionist, customer
service, and administrative assistant? Who are all the assistant managers,
front-end managers and other first-line managers in those low-wage jobs? Who
are all a significant percentage of government civil service employees? Black
women.
Who
can get hired and meet two standards of affirmative action? Black women.
Now
if Black women have these financial resources they control how the money is
spent in their communities. That gives Black women complete control over the
Black economy.
The
Black Matriarchy has tremendous power in the Black community. It can make or
break individuals. When Black women flex their economic muscles it has a huge
impact on the Black community. Look at some of the accomplishments of the Black
Matriarchy have done over the past 40 years:
They
made Oprah Winfrey a billionaire.
They
made the Black Church into a multi-billion dollar institution. Guys like Creflo
Dollar and Bishop (Peaches) Eddie Long didn’t become megachurches without the
support of Black women.
In
1984 they helps made the Cosby show into an institution and ushered in a golden
age for Black television that ran for 15 years with their word-of-mouth.
They
Made Spike Lee a household name. They made Robert Townsend, Keenan Ivory Wayans
and the Hudlin Brothers into household names. Their support of these three
filmmakers revived the Black Film industry in the 1980’s and 1990’s.
They
Made Tyler Perry a millionaire. All those plays and movies he produced were
supported mostly by Black women.
They
made Steve Harvey a millionaire. Three going on four times.
They
Made Terry McMillian into a multi-millionaire.
They
established the African-American book market. It was Black women’s buying power
that established the African-American book market in the 1990’s. They are
currently the reason why all those street lit, erotica and other African-American
books sell like hotcakes.
They
made Nike into a multi-billion dollar business. Air Jordan anyone? 13 years
after his retirement from the NBA and all the kids from those single-parent
homes in the Black community always have a pair of these shoes on even if they
have no lights or food.
They
made the NBA into a multi-billion dollar business. If it weren’t for Black
mothers spending money on all that NBA merchandise for their kids, or buying
all those sneakers, The NBA wouldn’t be as big as it is today. Without the
support of the Black female dollar the NBA would be as financially troubled as
the all-white, all male NHL. I kid you not.
They
made hip-hop into an international multi-billion dollar business. Diddy, Jay-Z,
Ice Cube or any rapper or producer wouldn’t have a dime if it weren’t for Black
mothers giving their kids money to spend on it or Black women spending their
money on it.
They
helped elect Barack Obama as President.
And
while Black women have been given great power, they haven’t used it
responsibly. Instead of using their economic power to build up their
communities, they used it to build up other peoples’ communities.
Just
like the White Supremacists figured they would. Because Black women are
home-oriented and focused on consuming products and not creating products,
businesses, or building wealth, they have given their economic power to others.
98% of the Black dollars wind up in the hands of people outside of the Black
community.
Hispanics
take Black dollars in the Bodegas and supermarkets.
Asians
take Black Dollars at the fruit stand.
Asians
take Black dollars Black women use to pay for all the hair in their weaves.
They take them in the nail salons.
Arabs
take Black dollars at the Deli.
Jewish
landlords take Black dollars to pay the rent on apartments.
White
retailers take Black dollars at the shops when Black women buy clothes, cars,
shoes and other items like DVDs and Big screen TVs.
All
of that Black money leaves the Black community and never comes back. Only two
percent of it gets re-invested in it.
Only
three places bring money back to the Black community: hair salons, churches, and funeral
homes.
Which
is why the Black community is crumbling. It’s why our schools have no books,
it’s why our schools have no after-school programs.
It’s
why we have no voice in the political arena. It’s why our representatives in Congress,
the U.S. Senate and our local city councils ignore us and enrich themselves.
It’s
why stuff like sewage treatment plants, homeless shelters, and drug rehab
centers are built in our neighborhoods instead of libraries and community
centers.
It’s
why there are no jobs in the neighborhood for local residents. Want to know why
there’s 80 percent unemployment in the Black community among Black men? It’s
because there are no Black-owned businesses in the Black community.
Almost
all of our wealth is in someone else’s hands. While the remaining two percent
go into the coffers of the Black Church.
Most
of the businesses established in the Black community are owned by non-Black
people. And they all target their goods and services towards the single person
controlling the money in the Black community: The Black woman.
White
Supremacists knew that the Black woman was the weaker vessel. That she could
easily be led. That she could be easily controlled. And through her they could
get control over the Black economy.
Am
I blaming the Black woman for the state of the Black economy? No, I’m stating
facts about White Supremacy and racism and its impact on the economy of the
Black community.
And
I’m stating those facts so Black women can wake up and take a look at the way
she spends her money. Moreover, I want her to take a long hard look at where
her money is going.
Because
how she spends her money impacts the very neighborhoods she lives in. It impacts th eneighborhoods her children gtow up in.
Everyone
is getting rich off the Black woman except the Black woman. She’s the only
person in the entire world who winds up poorer with every dollar she spends.
Because
all her money is spent outside of her community and almost none of it comes
back to be reinvested in her or her children.
I
want Black women to start making efforts to redirect her money back into the
Black community. So she can build wealth in her neighborhoods. So her kids can
have resources like clean streets, good schools and jobs for local brothers and
sisters. So the standard of living and quality of life can improve.
She
also stated that she downloaded one of my eBooks and now she was considering
not reading it because she didn’t like what she read in this blog.
The
tone of the comment like she was punishing a little child.
But
Shawn is a 38-year-old grown- man.
And
I’m not Kevin Hart who runs scared when Black women don’t like something I say.
I stand my ground.
Because
I know when I offend someone I’m making them think about things that make them
uncomfortable. Because it shows them the truth about themselves.
I
see the threat in between the lines of that comment to my livelihood. I see the
threat in between the lines of that comment to my career.
But
I’m not giving up. The one thing I learned working at STRIVE twelve years ago
is that pain leads to growth. And growth leads to change.
Now
I don’t care if she reads my eBooks or not. I don’t care if she buys them or
not. But I’m not going to stop writing the truth in this blog or in my books or
eBooks.
Even
though I’ve been unemployed for three going on four years and my savings are at
their lowest, I’m still going to write what needs to be written and say what
needs to be said about the Black community. I understand that this is bigger
than me. I have to continue moving forward in my mission as a writer and a
self-publisher. The voices speaking in the Black community aren’t saying
anything to help Black women.
As
I stated before, I’m not Steve Harvey, Tyler Perry T.D. Jakes, Lee Daniels,
Barack Obama, or any one of the Simps, Pimps, and Manginas who patronize and
exploit the Black community for their own personal gain. I’m not going to
pander to Black women telling them what they want to hear. I’m not going to
whisper lies in their ears to charm money out of their wallets into my pocket. That’s
not going to help Black women.
In
fact it’s going to hurt them.
What
this woman doesn’t know is that by not supporting me and my writing she does
exactly what those White Supremacists want her to do: Taking money out of her
own community and giving to the very people who are oppressing her.
Enriching
those who aren’t looking to enrich her. Keeping her in a state of mental and
spiritual poverty.
Now
it may cost me the money and support of some Black women, but I’m going to keep
doing what I can to enrich the brothers and sisters in my community through my
writing.
Hope
and Change aren’t slogans for me. I know that change is hard and requires
diligence, resolve, and discipline. Growth requires the perseverance to
overcome challenges and obstacles. I didn’t get this far by giving up.
I’m
willing to do the hard work and I’ve been doing that hard work three going on
four years to establish a foundation so I can give brothers and sisters a hand
up in building their own community.
Because
I know the wealth of knowledge is powerful. It can build up a fortune that
empowers people and changes their lives for the better.
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