By Nate Abraham Jr.
EDITORIAL
Several years ago, I ran into a college buddy who worked for a Jewish-owned medical supply company. He said that his boss often sends him to North Carolina to pick up supplies from another Jewish-owned company. His boss and the owner of the other company hated each other’s guts. But they still did business because they both knew that keeping money in the Jewish community was far more important than personal animosity.
I have another buddy that owns a karate studio. He said that he had a discussion with an Asian businessman. This businessman told him that he will go to the other side of town to patronize an Asian business, even if there was a similar business next door. He understood the importance of circulating money in the Asian community.
Recently, I read that African-Americans spend nearly $1.8 trillion annually. Assuming that figure is correct, that means we spend $1.7 trillion OUTSIDE of our community every year. To put that in perspective, every day we spend $4.7 billion to enrich other ethnic groups and corporations.
African-Americans are at the bottom of the economy barrel in this country because we don’t spend enough of our hard-earned money in our own community. It is estimated that Black people spend less than five percent of our income with Black-owned businesses. Our money and resources go toward making every other ethnic group wealthy and powerful.
Every election year, we are told that our vote is our true power and that our very survival is dependent on voting for a particular party or ideology. We have been convinced that politics is our ticket to economic prosperity.
In reality, we have it backwards. Political power flows from economic power, not the other way around. Why do you think Jews and Asians have far more political influence than the Black community. They have the resources to influence politicians. They can buy or rent politicians to represent their interests.
Over the past 60 years, we have pursued the wrong strategy. We have used our resources to provide economic power (and thus political power) to every community except our own. It doesn’t make any sense.
To build wealth in OUR community (not to mention political power), we need to focus on spending money with businesses that we own and control. For 39 years, this newspaper has promoted and highlighted Black-owned businesses. We have hosted events promoting them, held banquets celebrating them and featured them every week on the front page and on our website.
We need to spend more than five cents out of every dollar in our community with businesses and institutions that we own. We are still compiling a list of Black-owned businesses – specifically in the Midlands and the Lowcountry. If you know of a business or have a list of businesses we should add to the list, please send it to us at news@CarolinaPanorama.com. Put Black business list in the subject line. We will publish it in an upcoming edition.
