When the first slave ship landed in Jamestown Virginia in 1555, our African ancestors had no idea what to expect in this “new land.” The long trip across the Atlantic gave them some idea, but little did they know that our experience on the shores of America would be worse. The trip across the middle passage lasted for months. Being the property of White plantation owners would ultimately last for centuries.
Our ancestors were never the ignorant, primitive uncivilized savages that European liars claimed we were. We were highly skilled, divinely educated builders of civilization with strong families and strong communities (termed villages). We were masters of our own destiny. We were the generals of our own future. We went from “being owners to being owned” for over 300 years.
When that first slave ship arrived our people were physically shackled by chains. They could not move like the mighty warriors they knew themselves to be. The ultimate victory for the wicked depended heavily upon us becoming shackled mentally so that we could no longer think like the warriors we knew ourselves to be. They punished any slave who tried to instill into fellow slaves the mentality of “self-determination.” They introduced us to a brand of Christianity that had us look for our wealth in the sky AFTER we die while we worked their fields to create wealth for them on the Earth. Back then, our ancestors had no other option except to live as the private property of White America or die. Today we have a choice to either become an owner or be owned by someone else. For the life of me I can’t understanding why anyone would choose the latter over the former.
Let’s be clear. Jobs are drying up in America; especially for Black folk. Not even a Black president could reverse the curse of our people as the “last hired and first fired” in the land of the free and the home of the…(yawn). Recent statistics say that unemployment among Black people hovers at about 10% compared to 4.5% for Whites. Even these numbers are questionable. I’m sure it’s ten times worse than what is reported. They’re finally admitting that the wealth gap has very little to do with the education gap. According to the Economic Policy Institute, even among Blacks and Whites who have the same education, the unemployment rate is still consistently twice as high. This tells us that obtaining more college degrees is not the panacea. If 8 years of a liberal, progressive, young Black president could not change this dynamic, what in the hell do you think Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump will do if either is elected president.
If I’ve said it once I’ve said it one hundred times. Black people in America have but two options; own or be owned. We must reclaim, redevelop and resurrect the “Ownership mentality” that our ancestors had of our future; which is to be brighter than our past. Since White people owned slaves, land and everything else in this country since its inception there is still a culture of ownership among Caucasian people. Since Black people were in servitude bondage for the majority of the time we’ve been in the Western Hemisphere there is still a culture of “being owned” in our community. To teach your child to “go out and find a good job in 2016” is almost like sending them out to fill a bucket with apples in an orchard filled with fig trees. If there aren’t enough jobs for White people in this country there will never be enough jobs for Black people. There is only one solution, according to the Honorable Elijah Muhammad. We must do for self, or SUFFER the consequences.
Doing for self necessitates that we open up and support Black-owned businesses. It means that we must take our nickels, dimes, quarters and dollars; combine them and purchase acres of land to pass on to the future generations. Doing for self means making an accurate assessment of the value of U.S. currency (i.e. the dollar) and see its decline on the international scheme of things. We must use these dollars to purchase gold and other tangibles that appreciate vs. Gucci bags and Jordan sneakers that never held any value in the first place.
The disregard for Black life that we see in the streets of America with law enforcement is mirrored in these employment statistics. They don’t care about us. To send your child to college with the hopes of landing a “good job” after graduation is to send them into a war with no ammunition.
Teach your babies that the first place they should look to find a job is in the mirror. Teach your babies that their cell phones are potential money-making devices; not social platforms to simply popularize ideas that other people monetize. Ownership starts with ownership of ideas. We must also overcome our aversion to paperwork. Ownership requires that legal and business paperwork be absolutely on point. If we are to change our reality we must be all about the ownership mentality. Join us Saturday, Oct. 1st as we lay down the law about ownership in the Black community.