Opinion
Blackonomics: Expecting More from Ourselves
F
rederick Douglass’ words –
“Power concedes nothing
without a demand” – have
been haunting me lately, because
of the pressing issues we face in
today’s political world, the dire
economic straits in which many of
our families find themselves, and
the ever-present social problems
Black people deal with every day.
The key word in that admonish-
ment is demand.
Ever since Douglass uttered
those words, we have used them to
determine how and what we must
demand from others.
Our
responses have been external. My
question is: What is our internal
response to Brother Frederick’s
words? Are we demanding any-
thing from ourselves as we seek
power instead of mere influence in
this society?
Although we seldom follow
through on much of the knowl-
edge passed down to us by our
forebears, we sure do like to quote
them. I guess it makes us feel
good; but as I always say, “There
is a big difference between feeling
good and doing good.” Yes,
words make us feel good, but they
should also make us “do good,”
too. Too many of our ancestors
have sacrificed too much of them-
selves for us to merely repeat what
they said without following
through on what they said.
Thus, the “demand” that Dou-
E CONOMIC
E MPOWERMENT
James
Clingman
glass spoke of is magnified to an
even larger degree and should be –
must be – taken on an internal
basis as well as an external one.
Our elder also said, “People might
not get all they work for in this
world, but they must certainly
work for all they get.” That state-
ment is more suited for an internal
response, which is probably why
we don’t use it as much as the one
that has to do with power.
On an economic level, Black
people are deserving of repair, or
reparations, as some would say.
There is no doubt and no lack of
truth about our history in this
country as it pertains to the wealth
we created for others with our free
labor, and the intellectual contri-
butions our forefathers and
mothers made to this society.
Those contributions, including
inventions that are still used today,
along with a couple of centuries of
free labor, are definitely worth bil-
lions, if not trillions of dollars. We
should at least have a discussion at
the highest level of government,
from the president on down, about
how to make up for such a wrong.
Apologies are not enough.
Beyond that ideal, I believe we
must also consider and act upon
what Conrad Worrill and Ken
Bridges called “Internal Repara-
tions,” which speaks very directly
to the internal demands we must
be willing to make upon our-
selves. Are we willing to demand
that we support one another? Are
we willing to demand that we
become the primary educators of
are only bent on selfish oppor-
tunism?
Those are just a few questions
related to the demands we must
make on ourselves, individually
and collectively. We must be will-
ing to acknowledge our internal
faults and deal with them head-on
if we want to make educational,
political, social, and economic
progress. Yes, it will take the
backbone of a Marcus Garvey, the
resolve of a Harriet Tubman, the
fearlessness of an Ida B. Wells, the
strength of a Maynard Jackson,
We must be willing to acknowledge
our internal faults and deal with them
head-on.
our children? Are we willing to
demand much more of ourselves
when it comes to loving one
another, respecting one another,
and trusting one another more?
Are we willing to demand of our-
selves a sense and practice of
Black-on-Black love rather than
hate and destruction? Are we will-
ing to demand of ourselves,
especially our leaders, a high level
of integrity, dedication, and sin-
cerity? Are we willing to stand
against the lies, divisiveness, and
evil tactics of those among us who
and yes, sometimes even the will-
ingness to make the ultimate
sacrifice, as Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr. did.
Fittingly, I end with some MLK
quotes and ask you to think about
and act upon what he and others
have said; and then demand from
yourself the internal fortitude to
stand against the “wiles of the
devil” by doing the right things for
the right reasons – all the time.
“History will have to record that
the greatest tragedy of this period
of social transition was not the
strident clamor of the bad people,
but the appalling silence of the
good people.”
“Our lives begin to end the day
we become silent about things that
matter.”
“In the end, we will remember
not the words of our enemies, but
the silence of our friends.”
“He who passively accepts evil
is as much involved in it as he who
helps to perpetrate it. He who
accepts evil without protesting
against it is really cooperating
with it.”
“Our scientific power has outrun
our spiritual power. We have guid-
ed missiles and misguided men.”
“He who passively accepts evil
is as much involved in it as he who
helps to perpetrate it. He who
accepts evil without protesting
against it is really cooperating
with it.”
Amen, Brother Martin, that sure
is right!
Jim Clingman, founder of the
Greater Cincinnati African Ameri-
can Chamber of Commerce, is the
nation’s most prolific writer on
economic empowerment for Black
people. He is an adjunct professor
at the University of Cincinnati and
can be reached through his Web
site, blackonomics.com.
Obama Should Have ‘Audacity’ to End War on Drugs
T
he Institute of the Black
World 21st Century is gear-
ing up for a Day of Direct
Action June 17 in Washington,
D.C. to demand an end to the War
on Drugs and mass incarcera-
tion and call on President Obama
to invest in marginalized urban
inner-city Black communities
across the nation. While ending
the war on drugs as a devastating
racially-biased policy is essential,
we in IBW have always insisted
that overcoming joblessness and
economic underdevelopment is
ultimately the key to combating
the crime, violence, fratricide and
mass incarceration that have
The Depression-
level joblessness
and the fratricide
in America’s dark
ghettos is a
national
disgrace.
become the scourge of America’s
“dark ghettos.”
According to a study by the
Community Service Society, the
unemployment rate for African-
American men in New York, age
16 to 24, was 33.5 percent at the
height of the Great Recession.
That figure is likely closer to 50
percent when young Black men
who are no longer looking for
work are included. What is true of
New York is true of virtually every
urban inner-city area in this coun-
try
NNPA G UEST C OLUMNIST
Ron Daniels
In a recent New York Times arti-
cle by Jared Bernstein, Senior
Fellow at the Center on Budget
and Policy Priorities, lamented the
fact that chronic unemployment
has emerged as a major problem
for Americans in general with 11.7
million looking for work as of the
last job report and “about eight
million more stuck in underem-
ployment.” But, as William Julius
Wilson has pointed out, the prob-
lem of joblessness is much more
severe in Black communities
where work has simply “disap-
peared” because of massive
disinvestment in urban areas and
structural factors like deindustrial-
ization. Therefore, there are
disastrous, depression levels of
joblessness in Black communities
— levels which would not be tol-
erated in White communities.
The absence of jobs and eco-
nomic opportunity contribute to
destructive behavior among young
people, particularly Black males.
However, in the absence of “legit-
imate” jobs/work, an illicit
economy and new “employer”
have become a reality of life in
America’s dark ghettos – the traf-
ficking of illegal drugs. Africans
in America are only bit players in
a multi-billion dollar global enter-
prise dominated by huge
transnational cartels. But, the
fierce and deadly competition to
share in and control a lucrative
piece of the action has had a dev-
astating impact – turf wars,
chronic crime, violence, fratricide,
targeted, paramilitary policing and
mass incarceration.
Every week there is the equiva-
lent of a Newtown massacre in
some Black community in this
country. Data compiled from a
variety of sources by Zachary
Williams of IBW’s Research Con-
sortium paint a painful picture:
Blacks in the United States are
disproportionately affected by
homicide. For the year 2009,
Blacks represented 13 percent of
the nation’s population, yet
accounted for 47 percent of all
homicide victims.
In that same year, the homicide
rate for Black male victims was
32.14 per 100,000 … For White
male homicide victims it was 4.26
per 100,000.
Eighty-two percent of Black vic-
tims were shot and killed with
guns – 74 percent …were killed
with handguns.
The Depression-level jobless-
ness and horrific scale of fratricide
in America’s dark ghettos is a
national disgrace, a moral and
political crisis that should concern
all Americans. But, there is no
national outcry, no outrage
because the affected people are
Black – “the wrong complexion to
get the protection.” Who would
have believed that 50 years after
the March on Washington that a
State of Emergency would exist in
Black urban inner-city neighbor-
hoods? President Obama must
have the “audacity” to act on this
crisis.
In his New York Times article
Bernstein strongly recommends
that liberals/progressives resur-
face and reaffirm the goal of a full
employment economy as reflected
in the Humphrey-Hawkins Act of
1978. Under the proposed bill, the
government would become the
employer of last resort when
unemployment rises above 5 per-
cent. The emphasis would be on
utilizing public sector jobs as a
short-term remedy.
A direct, targeted public sector
jobs program with a priority on
employing formerly incarcerated
persons would have amazing
results. Decent jobs with good
wages and benefits is the best anti-
crime, anti-violence, anti-fratri-
cide and anti-mass incarceration
program that this administration
and the nation could embrace.
As we approach the 50th
Anniversary of the March on
Washington, it’s time for President
Obama to do more than reference
Martin Luther King and the
“Moses generation” as if the civil
rights/human rights agenda is a
thing of the past.
Week on the Web
Mayor
Hales to
Salem
Democrats:
Don't
Wreck
Police
Accounta-
bility ...
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Documen-
tarians Discuss the
Northwest’s Place in
Afro-Cuban Drum-
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Recess
from Clos-
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Seven Mil-
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May 29, 2013 The Portland Skanner Page 5
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