Blackonomics: What Would We do Without White Folks?

Remember the e-mail that posed the question, “What would this world be without Black people?” It was really a history lesson on all of the things Black people invented, and suggested that if Black people had not been here, our traffic lights would disappear, many of the machines we depend upon would not work and many other conveniences we enjoy everyday would not be here. It was a nice reminder of the importance of Black people to this country. However, even though Black people invented a great deal of the items we use today, with a few exceptions of course, they could not get patents on them or they were simply relieved of their inventions by White people.

Now, let’s take a look at what Black people would do without White people. First of all, some of us would simply throw up our hands in exasperation and call it a day—no, we would call it a life. Some of us would feel so bad, so lonely, so dispossessed, so depressed that we would not know where to turn. “What are we going to do now?” some would ask. Others would lament the loss of all of those stores and all of those products and services they are so use to purchasing. Some would cry, “Where will we buy our clothing, our cars, our houses and our food?” “For whom will we work? What about our jobs?” Others would just go insane trying to figure out how they would get their banquet tables sold for their annual dinners and soirees. What a sad day it would be for many Black folks.

On the other hand, rather than complaining and crying, some Black folks would immediately get to work on those issues. Some would say, “Let’s do for ourselves.” Others would rally the people and call for new businesses and new products and services and efforts to support our people. Some Black folks would even have the audacity to think they really could run major corporations, industrial farms, airports, states, and even this country. But then, what other choice would we have?

What would you do without White people? Would you suffer from a lack of the essentials of life? Would you wilt under the pressure of having to figure out this thing called life all by yourself? Could you successfully navigate through the swirling waters of life’s uncertainties? Could you survive? Marcus Garvey told us we are living on borrowed goods, and we must get something of our own. So instead of us wondering what this country would do without Black people, just imagine what we would do without White people.

Suppose they closed all of their supermarkets to us, could we feed ourselves? Imagine them denying us the right to use their banks, would we pool more of our money and start more Black banks? If Whites said we would no longer be allowed in their department stores, would we create our own? You get the picture, I am sure. What would we do?

It’s nice to call for “Black Out Days” and “Stay Home From Work Days” and “Don’t Spend Any Money Days,” and all of the rest of the Black absentee efforts we hear about. But what would we do if there were a “White Out Day?” Maybe even a “White Out Month?” Would we panic? Or, would we finally start doing more for ourselves? Would we finally start preparing an economic future for our children, the same way other groups in this country are doing for their children?

You know, sometimes I wish it were so. Maybe if White folks stopped doing what they are doing for us, we’d be more inclined to do more for ourselves. Maybe if they would back off a bit and we would step up a bit, better relationships would exist between the two groups, because there would be more reciprocity, more leverage available to Black people, and a greater likelihood of positive responses from White folks when we really do need their support. Maybe, if Black people get our economic act together by recycling our dollars, supporting our own businesses, and building income-producing infrastructure, maybe Whites would be knocking on our doors asking to play ball with us.

What would we do without White folks? The same thing our fathers and mothers did before integration; that’s what we’d do. We would develop economic enclaves second to none in this country.

But a similar question was probably asked by some of the Children of Israel about Pharaoh. While Moses was telling Pharaoh to “Let my people go,” he should have also told the people to “Let Pharaoh go.”

James E. Clingman, an adjunct professor at the University of Cincinnati’s African-American Studies department, is former editor of the Cincinnati Herald Newspaper and founder of the Greater Cincinnati African American Chamber of Commerce. He hosts the radio program, ''Blackonomics,'' and is the author of the book, “Economic Empowerment or Economic Enslavement–We have a Choice.” He can be reached at (513) 489-4132, or by e-mail at jclingman@blackonomics.com.

This guy is extremely racist. However, I am not sure following him would be any worse than listening to Jackson. The following comes from his site:

Is it safe? -- March 2000
By James Clingman Jr.

With many of our "Leaders" now finally jumping on Booker T. Washington's and Marcus Garvey's economic bandwagon now, I think back to a movie titled, Marathon Man. The particular scene that comes to mind is the one in which Dustin Hoffman was about to be tortured with dental instruments by Laurence Olivier, who kept repeating, "Is it safe?"

It's not so much the movie itself as much as it is the question that I am sure some of our leaders have been asking for quite some time. Now, some thirty-five years after MLK was assassinated while fighting for an economic cause, our leaders have apparently answered that question with a resounding "Yes." It is finally safe to deal with economic empowerment without offending the establishment.

During our "struggle" to gain high political office and a little influence on the powerbrokers, our high-level corporate jobs that pay millions, and the notion that we had "made it," we felt it was not safe to discuss economic empowerment. After all, why rock the boat and talk about Black people getting our true collective freedom, especially since some of us had already gained our individual freedom. It was not safe then because we could lose our individual creature comforts and newly found status.

So for the last thirty-five years we acquiesced to the ridiculous notion that we had made tremendous progress. Now we find ourselves, having followed the leaders who chose individualism over collectivism and politics over economics, mired in last place in the wealth-building race.

But Economic Empowerment is in vogue now. The Jackson's (father and son) are saying this is our next great fight - the fourth movement of a freedom symphony - with the release of their new book, "It's about the money." While I am glad he and others are getting the word out, I hope and trust their brand of economic empowerment is collective rather than individual. I hope they incorporate that same theme that is also in vogue now: "Leave no [Black] one behind."

The other issue that amazes me is that now, after three decades, Brother Jackson has come to the conclusion that it's all about the money. It's always been about the money - even in 1968. Why does it take us so long to wake up? Or, is it that we have been awake all the time, only with a different (individual) agenda?

The Jackson's are using analogies, metaphors, and other flowery language to describe our current economic condition and what we should do about it. They describe the first movement of our symphony in terms of Black people getting our freedom from slavery. The second movement is centered on Black people fighting and overcoming segregation. The third revolves around Black people securing the right to vote. And the fourth and current movement is wealth-building (economic empowerment) -- for everyone.

The consistent term (or note) in the first three movements is "Black People." That term is obviously missing in the final movement. It is strange, now that Black people have achieved the first three movements, the fourth movement is centered on everyone, i.e., minorities and women. Sounds like those Black Rights (13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments) that soon turned to "Civil Rights" and became a stick that others used to beat Black people down.

Will somebody please help me understand what makes any of our leaders think we are obligated to help everyone else achieve their wealth? Haven't we already created wealth for everyone else as slave laborers, as consumers, and as corporate executives? What would make us think we are able to help everyone else as we make feeble attempts to help ourselves? Here we are on the bottom of the economic heap, and the Jackson's are suggesting that we, of all people, are going to form a movement that will empower all "minorities and women. The only people talking about "diversity" are Black people, as if we have the obligation and the power to change someone's mind about Black people.

As I once wrote in comparison to this kind of thinking, before an airplane takes off someone gives instructions about the oxygen masks. They say if there is an emergency put your mask on first, and then help someone else. The same principle applies to our economic situation as Black people. We must help our own people and stop this delusion we have about "rainbows" and "minorities" and other politically correct titles. Most "minorities" are miles ahead of us anyway. What do we look like saying we are going to help them? We can hardly help ourselves.

Is it safe? Is it safe? Is it safe? Well, Black people being 135 years removed from slavery, having given our lives for this country, having enriched all sectors and groups with our dollars, and having the most education of any Black people in the world today, I would say it is definitely safe.

It's safe to support your brother and sister's business. It's safe to invest in your community. It's safe to love and trust one another. It's safe to be seen with another Black person. It's safe to work for the economic empowerment of Black people. It's safe not to mention "minorities and women." Yes, it is safe to BE BLACK!

I hope and trust that we as Black people will finally stop doing what we have done since 1965. If we do not, we will continue to get the same results we have always gotten. And, leaders, please stop deluding our people with the notion that we can achieve Black economic empowerment by creating it for everyone else. They already have theirs; let's go get ours. It's always been about the money - Our Money.

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