Photo: WXIA
1200 ml bottles of Purell have been sold for $79 and rubbing alcohol is more precious than gold, these days. The Coronavirus scare has flipped markets upside down and left grocery store shelves empty. Through the panic and scare there is a clear lesson for Black people: if you cannot produce the most basic products for your community, you stand no chance in crisis. If Black people cannot produce food and rubbing alcohol, survival is not as certain as you may want to believe.
Ports in Los Angeles, Seattle and various other locations are practically empty. China is the origin of the Coronavirus epidemic. China is also responsible for over 20% of all goods the US imports. When Chinese factories shutdown, one can expect US store shelves to be empty, soon. The crippling of the nation’s retailers gives but a small insight into the dependence of Black people on others, even for the most basic essentials. From food and water to medical supplies and energy, Black people are literally at the mercy of market forces and the benevolence of others, a fact that this latest outbreak has made glaringly clear.
Buying Black, encouraging group economics and solidarity, are not merely “good ideas” for the “woke.” Dependence on others will only lead to scarcity, in times of trouble. A people that cannot produce their own food, clothing and other essentials, exists in a perpetual state of vulnerability. Independence and cooperative economics, then, are actually essential to Black survival. In a world full of racism, Black people must see that dependence is surely a death sentence. Whether the need is underwear or transportation, food or water, Black entrepreneurs must move towards producing it and Black consumers must line up to buy it.
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