_ _
September 17, 1986, Portland Observer, Page 3
Not All of African- American Problems Attributed to Racism
by Jerry Garner
Some years ago. an African head
of state was called upon by a dele
gallon of prominent African Amen
cans During his stay, the Black
American leaders began reciting to
him their long list of grievances
The visiting statesman waved a
weary hand and said, " I am aware
of current events
I know every
thing you are telling me about what
the White man is doing to the A fri­
can American Now tell me, what is
the African American doing for him
self?" This same question applies
today when one examines the social
and economic predicament facing
millions of African Americans
What are Blacks doing about the
high unemployment rates among
both adults and youth? What is
being done to address the problem
of drug and alcohol abuse in Black
communities throughout the na
tion? What is being done about
Black on Black crime? What are
African Americans doing to create
a solid economic base in their own
community?
Despite gams made by African
Americans as a result of the civil
rights revolution, the majority of
African Americans still live in a sea
of poverty in the wealthiest country
on this planet. In fact, looking at
the situation today, one will see that
the majority of African Americans
are in worse shape today than their
counterparts during the 60 s
According to recent reports:
• The economic gap separating
most Blacks from most Whites
remains as wide as it was a
generation ago
• Joblessness among African
Americans is double that of
Whites; for Black youths the
situation is even worse
• Half of all Black children today
live in homes headed by wo
men, most of them crucibles of
a new generation of poverty
• Teen age pregnancy continues
at disproportionately high le
vels among B la c k s -in 1980
the rate for Black women aged
15 to 19 was 100 births per
1,000 women.
• While high school completion
rates have climbed, nearly half
of all Black 17 year olds are
illiterate
Basically, there are two main rea
sons (besides White racism) which
accourt for continuing social and
economic disintegration of many
African Americans. They are the
failure of African-Americans to form
a viable economic infrastructure in
their communities and the lack of
networking among different seg
ments within the Black community.
Dr. Booker T Washington made
the following statements concern
mg the social dilemma facing A fri­
can-Americans: "N o people ever
got upon its feet and obtained the
respect and confidence of the world
which did not lay its foundations in
successful business enterprises Al
though business and commerce do
not embrace all the interest of our
people, we believe that without a
solid economic foundation, it is im
possible for any race of people to
make enduring, or much permanent
progress in the world "
An example of what Washington
was speaking of is the rapid pro
gress made by Asian Americans
After only one generation in this
country, Asian Americans are now
a model minority. They have the
highest median family income in the
nation: 122.713, Whites $20,835,
and approximately $18,000 for Afri­
can Americans.
Furthermore,
Asian Americans
have the largest percentage of high
school graduates; Asian Americans
have the lowest unemployment
rate of any ethnic group in the U S .
and are more likely to have a college
degree
For many Asian Americans, the
traditional American dream of eco­
nomic opportunity and political free
dom has become a reality.
The
main reason for their success is due
mainly to their developing a strong
network among themselves and a
viable economic base within their
communities.
According to labor department
figures, African-Americans earn
more than $200 billion annually
And of this amount, they spend
$170 billion on goods and services,
yet they spend less than 7 percent
with Black owned businesses, re
suiting in the majority of Black con­
sumers' money leaving the commu-
Afrii an American entrepreneurs sel­
dom expand their business opera
tions The lack of economic devel
opment has resulted in millions of
Blacks not being able to fulfill the
American dream of owning a home,
of financial security, and of educa
tion for their children
T h e failure of African Americans
to help themselves economicly con
tributes to the high rate of jobless
ness in Black communities and the
number of female headed house
holds
If Black consumers spent
more of their money with African
American owned businesses, the
unemployment rate for Blacks could
be reduced
The logic behind this is simple.
When
they
(Black consumers)
spend their money with Black estab
lishments they creato |obs and bus
messes
Small business accounts
lot 80 percent of all jobs in the U S
However. Black owned firms em
ployed less than two tenths of 1
percent of the labor force, although
African Americans account for 13
percent of the population.
H igh joblessness am ong A frica n
A m erican m ales c o n trib u te s to the
in c r e a s e in the n u m be r o f house
holds headed tiy Black fem ales and
the num ber of Black babies born
out o f w e d lo i k
A frica n A m e rica n
P ortland Black ow ned Business
nity in which they live
This non support by Afncan
American consumers of Black
Photo by R ichard J B ro w n
o w n e d e sta blishm en ts is
one of
tl ,
reasons w tiy Black o w n e d business
es d o n 't survive and w h y some
fem ales d o n 't g e t m arried because
the m arriageable m en a re n 't there
M an y Blat k w o m e n com e to the
rea liza tion d ia l an un ed uca te d, un
skilled and u n e m p lo ye d A frica n
American male is a liability, not an
asset.
Besides this. Black Americans
must do a better job of networking
among themselves in an effort to
solve the many problems facing
their race
Other ethnic groups
work closer with each other for the
betterment of their own. During a
recent interview I conducted with a
social activist in Northeast Portland,
I was told by the person that it's
very difficult to get Black organize
tions to work together in an effort
to address the problems facing
Black Portlanders
Unless vital segments of the
Black community cooperate hand
and hand in coming up with organ
ized strategies to confront the is
sues concerning Black Americans,
the problems will continue to get
worse
Furthermore, parents and educa
tors must strive harder to instill the
importance of education and train
mg for African Americans Without
a good educational background or
skill, nobody, regardless of race,
can compete in the general econ
omy in a highly technological
society
Finally. African Americans who
are successful should spend time
with young underclass Black youths
serving as positive role models
something that many Black youths
who live in urban Black ghettos
seldom see All too often African
American children see undesirable
individuals in their neighborhoods
pimps, drug dealers, users, and pro
stitutes as role models
A good example of this was the
recent funeral of a convicted heroin
dealer, Felix Mitchell, in East Oak
land. Mitchell made millions of dol
lars by selling heroin to poor Afri
can Americans
Despite being a
merchant of death, more than 1.000
people cheered as a carriage drawn
by two horses pulled away, carrying
Mitchell’s body in an intricate
bronze casket
A national program should be
created to pair disaster bound Afri
can American
youngsters
with
middle class adults who can help
them develop the academic and
altitudinal basis for escaping the
underclass
Unless Black Amen
cans start doing more for them
selves, Black communities will dis
integrate to the point of imminent
collapse
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