Today I watching for a time on MSNBC snippets from the National Action Network. I was struck by the same old complaints and whining regarding the Black agenda. The following is a written statement from the NAN website written by Rev. Sharpton.
Complimenting the ‘Measuring the Movement’ roundtable that Saturday will be a secondary panel that will include recording artist Chuck D, BET personality Jeff Johnson, professor at Harvard Law Dr. Charles Ogletree, TLC Health Care Services President Debra Toney, Warren Ballentine of ‘The Warren Ballentine Show’, assistant professor of finance at Syracuse University Dr. Boyce Watkins and Judge Greg Mathis, star of the Court TV series, ‘The Judge Mathis Show’. The roundtable will engage in a thorough discussion with this secondary panel as we intelligently debate key issues like skyrocketing unemployment, health care reform, education gaps, housing foreclosures, job creation and more. We will each pledge real action to effectively combat many of these concerns, and we will reconvene next year to pinpoint exactly which promises we delivered on and how we created tangible results. It is undeniably crucial at this stage that we as a community cannot simply have a conversation about inequalities and disparities that surround us, but we must take real, actionable measures to bring about the constructive change we seek. The stakes couldn’t be higher; the time couldn’t be more pressing; and the risk of not doing anything is simply far too great and troubling. Even though we will continue to hold the President and our elected officials accountable, I cannot stress how important it is to hold ourselves as equally accountable too. Everyone will undoubtedly leave enlightened, re-energized and motivated to counter the disparities we see around us.
In equalities and disparities. Again we hear that government is responsible to correct these inequalities and disparities. Government is expected to create jobs for the Black community, to provide health care and educational opportunities.
Personally I find myself being unsympathetic to the 'black issues'. No race in the history of this country has been singled out for Federal bailouts as overwhelmingly large as the Black community. What do we/they have to show for it? Virtually nothing when you look at the big picture. The complaints are the same. My question is why are there complaints? We have an African-American President. He is just as black as those complaining at the conference. Education? Our President is Harvard educated, he earned his degree like so many others, grants, student loans and hard work. His family was a broken one. They had no money, yet here he is, President of the United States. Now, if the son of an African immigrant and Caucasian mother from Kansas can make it, so can anyone else.
I don't hear the Asian Americans complaining, Hispanic Americans complaining. The ONLY minority race in this country, the one most pampered in recent times is the one complaining the loudest. I disagree that opportunities for Blacks do not exist. Instead of expecting a handout, how about reaching out to your own community and coming to you own solutions just like everyone else. Pakistani's, Indians, Koreans, Chinese, Vietnamese people all found a way to survive and flourish. Why not blacks? Why are they so different? Everyone knows the answer. Pampering, entitlements.
The complaint now on TV is how the money is taken from the black community and not being returned or reinvested. I am glad this came up because I am ready for this one as my primary example.
The largest Black owned bank in the US is Carver Bancorp in NYC, founded in 1949. According to Wikipedia, they had revenues of $26.1 million, 126 employees. The largest Hispanic owned bank is IBC, in Laredo, TX, founded in 1966 with revenues of $10.9 Billion. Yes, billion. IBC has 250 branches in 90 cities with 380 ATM's.
IBC started as a small hometown bank in Laredo, TX. Not NYC.
Are we to surmise that Hispanics are smarter than Blacks? Do Hispanics handle money better?
I had no idea that IBC was a Hispanic owned bank until I saw their poster as #1 while walking by a branch at my local WalMart. The bank looked like any other bank to me. Maybe there is something there?
Let me give you another real world example of the real issue.
A Pakistani family saves their money and sends their smartest to the US to start a small business. He comes here and finds a storefront in a rundown Black community, signs a lease and opens a small grocery store. All his customers are Black, he has to charge higher rates because he does not have the buying power of WalMart or Kroger. He does well. He sends money home and the family sends another member to help out in the store. The second member then takes his seed money and opens up a business too. The cycle continues indefinitely. Now, who complain the loudest? The Black community because the Pakistani is making money off the backs of po' black folk. If there is a riot or civil unrest as in Los Angeles during the Rodney King riots, who got burned out? The Pakistani. Now you have no store to buy your groceries and no one will come back for a very long time. Who then complains because they don't have a market? The people who burned it down! This is reality folks. My question is, why did not the black people open their own store? They live here. There are financial incentives to do so. They speak the language. They have connections to the community. So why not? WHY NOT?
In closing, I just want to offer some advice to Black Americans. Stop complaining, be part of the solution. If Barack Obama and the Pakistani can do it, so can you.
