Malcolm X on the Power of Black Economics
The economic philosophy of Black nationalism only means that we have to become involved in a program of re-education. To educate our people into the importance of knowing that when you spend your dollar out of the community in which you live the community in which you spend your money becomes richer and richer; the community out of which you take your money becomes poorer, and poorer.
-Malcolm X
Black Economics
Malcolm X was a firm believer in the Power of Black Economics. In his speech The Ballot or The Bullet he makes it plain how buying Black benefits us. Conversely, he points out how not buying Black or creating our own opportunities can cause our communities to fail. According to Malcolm, “When you spend your dollar out of the community in which you live the community in which you spend your dollar becomes richer and richer; the community out of which you take your money becomes poorer and poorer.”Expansion
To stop our communities from becoming poorer and poorer, Malcolm X posited that we setup our own stores. Once we set them up, he wanted us to expand them into bigger operations. In his speech, he speaks about how the companies Woolworth and General Motors started off small but expanded into larger operations. Woolworth ceased operations in 1997 but General Motors is still going strong. After giving those examples, our Brother encouraged us to start our own businesses! And where did he say the perfect place for us to start something was? Right in our own communities! Where we could create job opportunities for our people.Employment
Malcolm X envisioned us creating job opportunities for our own people as a result of creating our own businesses. With a Black spending power of 20 billion dollars per year in the 1960’s, he reasoned that his fellow leaders should have been teaching us how to pool our wealth together to set up something of our own. After we set up something of our own, we would no longer have to “beg” the white man for a job. In 2018, are we better off than we were in 1968? Although we have made some improvements, the masses of our people are still suffering.
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State of Black America
[caption id="attachment_5492" align="alignleft" width="300"]
Downtown Detroit[/caption]
We do not need a bachelors degree in economics to analyze the economic conditions of our neighborhoods. Throughout America, you will find Black areas where there are a dearth of opportunities but an abundance of dilapidated buildings and hopelessness. These problems will persist until we decide that enough is enough. We know the solution already. More rhetoric is not what we need. Action is all that is necessary!
Solution
Malcolm X would be proud of us for creating a Black digital marketplace in We Buy Black. When we purchase products from We Buy Black, we are letting Malcolm X know we got the message he delivered! Most importantly, we are continuing his legacy by creating more Black businesses. (See Related Post)]]>About Post Author
