Black Think Tank

[CrimsonTide4]

The TIME is NOW for EMPOWERMENT!!

1. The first Americans or native Americans going back to 13,000 BC wereblack! Look up the Folsom people who lived in Arizona.

2. Best reason to stop our use of the term African American and say Black. A white person who was born in Africa, who moves to America is an African American and qualifies for financial aid, etc., but will get the jobs/pay privileges afforded to whites.

3. Look up the Slavery Law of 1665 (which stayed in effect until 1968)and the Maryland Doctrine of Exclusion (1638): both laws state that blacks must be excluded from the benefits afforded whites and that blacks must remain noncompetitive with whites, except in sports and entertainment.

4. Two white men: Bill Gates and Larry Elision, combined have more wealth than the combined wealth of all 36 million blacks in America. Civil Rights did not change the economic landscape or the balance of power in America.

5. Asians received 80% of all government minority set aside contracts. Hello!!!!!!!

6. Blacks eat more fish than whites by a four to one margin. For every dollar whites spend on fish, blacks spend nine dollars on fish. Fish sold wholesale for $1 will retail at $2.50 --$3.00. Guess what business we should be in as Blacks?

7. There are no black owned national cable or major network television stations. The black woman who owns our only black owned radio stations, plans to sell to white owners after hearing the deal Bob Johnson received for selling BET. (Cathy Hughes is from OMAHA, ya'll!)

8. There are no black owned companies on the Wall Street Stock Exchange where blacks own the majority or controlling interest of the stock.

9. 96% of all black inmates are men.

10. Over the next two years 440,000 black inmates will be released from prison. The State has no place to put them as they reenter society. Halfway house business!

11. In 1860, 98% of all Blacks in America worked for White people. 2001, 98% of all Blacks in America still work for white people.

12. In 1860, blacks in America had a combined net worth of half of one percentage point. Guess what in 2001, after Civil Rights, Jesse Jackson, Oprah, Shaq, NAACP, and Urban League, our combined net worth is half a percentage point.

13. For every dollar earned by a Jewish person, that dollar touches 12-18 Jewish hands before it leaves their community. For every dollar earned by a black person it leaves the community soon as he or she earns it.

14. Last week in Washington, DC black teenagers were arrested and booked for eating McDonalds on the metro subway. Cops cited the recent 5-4 court decision as the permission to arrest lawbreakers even for minor offenses.

15. 67% of all hate crimes in America are against blacks. After we get through being pleased that we have carpet in our office, a secretary, our name on the door and make six figures, we do not own anything. What will happen if you miss six months of work without pay?

All we have left our children is debt not an inheritance. You cannot
pass welfare or food stamps onto our kids as a nest egg! We are not even in the race. By the way, the word "race" hit the English language in the 16th century when Europeans held a contest to see who will win the race to gather the most wealth through exploitation of blacks.

You must read Powernomics by Claude Anderson. This is our blueprint to create wealth, not just have a job, but be a business owner, so you can hire people, be listed on the stock exchange, develop businesses to meet our needs.

[AlacrityZK]

All I can say is that I am at a loss for words!

[Steeltrap]

The author subtly touched upon something I've thought about for a while: the early civil rights movement overlooked economic empowerment as a goal. If we had economic empowerment and the ability to practice cooperative economics, the threat of ending affirmative action would be eased a bit, IMO.

[DST Love]

Originally posted by Steeltrap
The author subtly touched upon something I've thought about for a while: the early civil rights movement overlooked economic empowerment as a goal. If we had economic empowerment and the ability to practice cooperative economics, the threat of ending affirmative action would be eased a bit, IMO.

To build from what you've said, I believe the Civil Rights Movement hurt us more than helped us. We were and are too busy trying to be accepted by whites, be their friend, and have what whites have (materially, ie clothes, cars, things with no value) that we were and are not focusing on what is most important. And that is building our own communities and businesses. If we had that, then a lot of our problems would be diminished. Maybe still existing, but diminshed.

When white people didn't accept us (not that they totally do today), then we did what we had to do. Meaning, we shopped at our own stores, ate at our own restaurants, lived in and took care of our own neighborhoods, supported our own schools, we helped one another out, etc. But once white people opened up to us (so to speak) then we felt we were too good for our own. I have a stupid friend with her stupid parents that tried to put down HBCUs (mind you she applied to one but didn't get accepted . It's funny because she went to a state university and she's not doing too much with herself, whereas myself, boyfriend, friends, others from HBCUs that she knows; we are all making nice scratch working in our fields. [Disclaimer: No I am not comparing HBCUs to predominantly white schools.]) My point, if you're about business, you'll handle it anywhere be it HBCU or other. Anywho, I told her and her stupid parents that it is funny how HBCUs were opened at a time when we weren't allowed to go to school with whites but now that whites "include and accept us" there are Blacks who try and degrade our own institutions. I always say, "When white people give us a dime, we think we're millionaires."

Disclaimer: And no this does not pertain to people who choose to attend non-HBCUs but more those who openly degrade HBCUs.

[Steeltrap]

DST Love,

I enjoyed your HBCU section. The key, IMO, is having a degree, not where you got it. In my case, I went to a PWI not because it was "better," but because it had a degree program that fit my needs and that I was too immature to leave my parents at the time (I hadn't turned 18 yet).

[DreamfulOne]

Unfortunately if we take a deeper look on the historical findings of historically black colleges and universities we will see that these institutions were founded and funded by white people with the exception of a few of them who were founded by blacks. I believe it was WEB Dubois who founded Tuskegee but I could be wrong. Anyway, the schools were founded and funded by whites FOR blacks. Thats where the difference comes in. (just a side journey).

A professor of mine wrote a book entitled "The Conspiracy to keep black colleges open". Many of the black colleges and universities that are still open are not functional. I say that because they are still operating under a mission designed for at the end of slavery. To remain functional one must amend their original mission to fulfill current times.

So i have a poll, should black colleges/universities remain open?

[CrimsonTide4]

Originally posted by DreamfulOne
. I believe it was WEB Dubois who founded Tuskegee but I could be wrong.

Booker T. Washington

[DreamfulOne]

Thanks for the correction

[stillwater15]

interesting post. i'd like to also add a quote from www.blackenterprise.com - "Today, few ethnic haircare products are owned by black companies. Their decades-long legacy has been lost to mainstream manufacturers."

i haven't figured how to post the link, but anyone interested in reading the whole article can access their website, click archives and it's in the november 2000 issue. this is another example of other folks making money off us. madame c.j. walker is probably rolling over in her grave.

[DoggyStyle82]

Crimsontide4

If I may ask, where did you get your facts? While I would not argue their veracity, the context may be incorrect.

An white immigrant from Africa cannot be considered an African American. That designation is strictly for American born Blacks. Black Immigrants from the Caribean and Africa cannot even use that designation unless they were born here.

If we become a slave to statistics without context, we will BELIEVE that "we" are worse off than we are. The gross GNP of Black America places us at about 12 or 13th among the world's nations. Bill Gates has more wealth than 99.9% of all white billionaires, so what does that mean?

I pay no attention to statistics without context, because the ones that you have illustrated says that we are losers and if you think that you have lost, guess what?, you have.

[CrimsonTide4]

Originally posted by DoggyStyle82
Crimsontide4

If I may ask, where did you get your facts? While I would not argue their veracity, the context may be incorrect.

An white immigrant from Africa cannot be considered an African American. That designation is strictly for American born Blacks. Black Immigrants from the Caribean and Africa cannot even use that designation unless they were born here.

If we become a slave to statistics without context, we will BELIEVE that "we" are worse off than we are. The gross GNP of Black America places us at about 12 or 13th among the world's nations. Bill Gates has more wealth than 99.9% of all white billionaires, so what does that mean?

I pay no attention to statistics without context, because the ones that you have illustrated says that we are losers and if you think that you have lost, guess what?, you have.

Every year there is a BLACK THINK TANK and I received these statistics from an S G Rho that I am acquainted with from the actual think tank that was held this year.

[sunnydays96]

Originally posted by DoggyStyle82
If we become a slave to statistics without context, we will BELIEVE that "we" are worse off than we are ....

I pay no attention to statistics without context.

Using statistics without context especially for argumentative purposes is an easy way to convince people towards a certain way of thinking/believing.

[LiberatedQueen]

Actually, they can. My whole family is West Indian, and we all qualify for African American Status after we've been naturalzied. Any AFrican (of whatever color) can claim African American once they achieve American status. What's crazier, in my opinion, is that most North Africans (according to immigration law), and people from what we call the "middle East" are eligible for honorary White status. So they can legally claim that they are of caucasian status.

WHere did you get the info on the GNP of Blacks? I know what we SPEND as a community places us at ~ number 12 when it comes to world wide nation spending (unfortunately, ~95% of that money is spent outside of our community), but I don't see how we can be at 12 for the GNP.

I would be interested in seeing who numbers 1-11 are. If it is all european countries, then I wouldn't be surprised because the AMerican Black could very easily be ahead of the rest of the "3rd world countries" (which is not saying a whole lot at all), and far behind all of the "developed" countries. In that context, being # 12 wouldn't matter, if we are at the top of a list of countries who only make $25 a month. Hopefully that makes sense. If it we are at #12, then that really makes our situation that much more dreadful.

Being #12, sure hasn't stopped us from dying earlier and living like zombies. Recognizing the horror of our situation does not make us losers. To bury our head in the sand and be glad that the very small portion of us who get degrees and go on to get the big money is part of what is killing us. We would have to be, deaf, dumb, and really...Western minded to not realize that we as a COMMUNITY are looooooooooossssssiiiiing this fight for our lives right now. The Claude Anderson book is phenomenal, but I would also recommend the first book in that series called "Black Labor, White Wealth". He really breaks down how we were SYSTEMATICALLY left out of the industrial pool of monetary wealth. And it's not some conspiracy theory mumbo jumbo. Which is really what makes his books such a great investment.

Originally posted by DoggyStyle82
Crimsontide4

If I may ask, where did you get your facts? While I would not argue their veracity, the context may be incorrect.

An white immigrant from Africa cannot be considered an African American. That designation is strictly for American born Blacks. Black Immigrants from the Caribean and Africa cannot even use that designation unless they were born here.

If we become a slave to statistics without context, we will BELIEVE that "we" are worse off than we are. The gross GNP of Black America places us at about 12 or 13th among the world's nations. Bill Gates has more wealth than 99.9% of all white billionaires, so what does that mean?

I pay no attention to statistics without context, because the ones that you have illustrated says that we are losers and if you think that you have lost, guess what?, you have.

[LiberatedQueen]

You're absolutely right. This insane desire for physical closeness w/ white people (read "integration") has left us with nothing but their stores to shop in, their schools to go to, and their neighborhoods that we spend years saving up to live in.

Many civil rights activists have said that their true fight was lost. they weren't fighting to live next to white folx. they were fighting for basic human rights.

Originally posted by DST Love


To build from what you've said, I believe the Civil Rights Movement hurt us more than helped us. We were and are too busy trying to be accepted by whites, be their friend, and have what whites have (materially, ie clothes, cars, things with no value) that we were and are not focusing on what is most important. And that is building our own communities and businesses. If we had that, then a lot of our problems would be diminished. Maybe still existing, but diminshed.

When white people didn't accept us (not that they totally do today), then we did what we had to do. Meaning, we shopped at our own stores, ate at our own restaurants, lived in and took care of our own neighborhoods, supported our own schools, we helped one another out, etc. But once white people opened up to us (so to speak) then we felt we were too good for our own.

[mccoyred]

Yet, when Malcolm wanted to change the focus to Human Rights and take the U.S. before the world courts he was shot down (figuratively, who knows who REALLY hired those thugs who murdered him!) by these very same folks. In fact, Amnesty International, among others, is fighting this same type of second- and third-class citizenship in other countries that was the norm here in the liberated U.S. as recently as 30 years ago.

White folks are laughing all the way to the bank. Our civil rights movement gave them license and opportunity to harness our intellectual and economic power, in addition to our labor from which they have benefitted for 500 years.

Originally posted by LiberatedQueen

Many civil rights activists have said that their true fight was lost. they weren't fighting to live next to white folx. they were fighting for basic human rights.