Black real-estate developers are working on a major housing project in Birmingham, AL.
Black Americans have failed to network in a way that would give them ownership stakes in the national and global business environments, causing them to become a "begging" class that trails other ethnic minorities in economic advancement, according to an article today at donaldwatkins.com. A longtime and highly successful attorney and entrepreneur who grew up in a high-achieving Black family in Montgomery, Alabama, Watkins laments the opportunities many Blacks have missed because they have not developed the necessary business skills and savvy.
Under the headline "African Americans Are in a Rut," Watkins writes:
There is a reason why African Americans lag behind every ethnic group in the United States in the accumulation of wealth. We are the only ethnic group in the nation that does not engage in networking with each other.
We mistakenly believe that wealth, power, and influence come from the clothes we wear, the car we drive, the size of our home, and who we party with.
We strive for celebrity status and “vanity wealth,” rather than business ownership and corporate influence and power. “Vanity wealth” is derived from items like: (a) designer shoes, purses, and clothes; (b) high-priced but mass-produced jewelry; (c) luxury cars; and (d) expensive homes. While our display of vanity wealth may impress our friends, neighbors, and poorer blacks, it is meaningless to the financial institutions that power the world’s economic engines.
Blacks, Watkins says, need to realize that Black celebrities and professional athletes are not necessarily role models for sustained business success. He writes:
We have plenty of Black celebrities and professional athletes who get mobbed by autograph seekers when they stroll through the mall. However, these individuals have no power or influence with the leaders of the United States, Russia, China, India, the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Germany, Greece, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Japan, South Korea, and a host of other influential countries that drive international commerce.
Our celebrities and professional athletes, who are great people and very accomplished in their craft, do not own or run any Fortune 500/New York Stock Exchange companies. They are not major defense or national security contractors. They do not own Wall Street banks or accredited financial institutions. They do not own Silicon Valley-based international technology companies. They do not own international multimedia empires like Rupert Murdock, John Malone, the Newhouse family, or the Walt Disney companies.
They do not manufacture airplanes, trains, trucks, buses, cars, or yachts. They do not own or run any major international oil and gas companies. They do not mine uranium, copper, lithium, diamonds, or gold. They do not own or run global telecommunications companies.
They do not own major retailers like Amazon, Walmart, Target, Costco, H&M, the Gap, and DSW.
They do not own Cisco, Google, Apple, Microsoft, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, PayPal, Cash App, and other Internet-based infrastructure and social-media companies.
They do not own or run any major airlines or space-exploration companies. They do not own or run international solar, wind, and hydrogen-powered clean energy companies.
They do not set monetary policies or the price of gold each day. They do not own skyscrapers in any of the world's major cities. They do not serve on the board of directors for the SWIFT organization that oversees international transfers of money between banks.
They do not own major league football, baseball, basketball, hockey, soccer, rugby, NASCAR racing, or yachting teams. They do not own any venue where major professional sports are played.
Can Black Americans turn this situation around? Watkins suggests it is possible, but it won't come easily or quickly. First, however, Blacks need to recognize the problem and become determined, and united, to address it.
One sign of hope is unfolding in Birmingham, Alabama, where a team of Black real-estate developers is launching a $100-million housing project on 222 acres of land.
As for the larger, overall picture, Watkins puts the problem in blunt language:
The Failure of Blacks to Network With Each Other is More Fatal to Our Economic Progress as an Ethnic Group Than White Racism. Further, Watkins writes:
For the most part, African-Americans do not buy goods and services from its reservior of highly-qualified and capable Black vendors. We do not bank with Black-owned banks. We do not use Black doctors, lawyers., architects, engineers, investment advisors, real-estate brokers, management consultants, or other black professionals, unless they are employed by White-owned firms.
As a people, we tend to beg for what we need and buy what we want.
Today, we are an at-risk population because of our choices in lifestyle, our political impotency, and wholesale adoption of destructive cultural values.
Today, the real question is not what clothes we wear, or what car we drive, or the size of our house. Instead, global financiers want to know what businesses we own. What annual revenues do these businesses generate? Can these businesses be replicated around the world, and at what cost?
As a people, we rarely discuss economic empowerment, privately or publicly. We tend to talk about VIP parties, the accumulation of material things, and gossip incessantly about the lives of other people.
At this juncture, the failure of African Americans to network with each other is more fatal to our progress as an ethnic group than White racism.
What is worse, we have allowed ourselves to become a race of beggars and consumers.
At one time, we had a thriving "Black Wall" in the Greenwood community of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Now, we beg for jobs, contracts, access to VIP parties, and donations for churches, schools, and charities. We are constantly on our knees begging everybody for something.
Is the situation likely to improve anytime soon? Watkins is not optimistic, partly because of a lack of leadership among Black business professionals:
At the same time, we spend nearly every dollar we make enriching businesses and vendors from other ethnic groups in America that have zero interest in reinvesting in us or our communities.
This is the biggest reason why African Americans are falling further behind every ethnic group in America each year.
We do not help ourselves, via networking. We are always looking for a white "savior" to rescue us. That cavalry ain't coming anymore!
Will this sad paradigm change? Not in my lifetime. We are in a rut and there is no dynamic leadership on the horizon in today's African American community.
