BlackEconomics.org®
Introduction
“Headline Thoughts” (HLT) reflect our contemplations of, and conclusions about, recent and important media headlines from a Black American (Afrodescendant) economic perspective. HLT No. 8 considers—from a distance—global concerns about the potential fall of the United States (US) as the world’s hegemon, and an increasing interest by non-Black and Black Americans of actions that the latter can take to transform perceptions about our existence as a “burden.” Your takeaway should be that the long-term global strategic economic game, “is our game to win.” Because this BlackEconomics.org release occurs over a weekend when “April showers should be producing beautiful May flowers” that are too precious to miss, we make a conscious effort to not be long-winded and reduce the time required to absorb this HLT.
China: Not a New or Improved Answer
The global discourse on hegemonic change now points to a US decline and the rise of a new hegemonic coalition: e.g., a BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa)-like arrangement. Otherwise, dual hegemonistic leadership is discussed with the US and China as leaders. Whatever the outcome, what appears most important to comprehend is that just as the US simply replaced Britian as the global hegemonic power leading up to, during, and certainly after WWII, a new global hegemon will likely simply offer more of the same: A continued—potentially accelerated—rat race involving survival of the fittest to produce more goods and services, income, profit, and wealth and power for position retention, with little-to-no transformation of the global view concerning reorienting the world’s population toward a condition of plenty for many and more humaneness, preservationism, peace, and joy. Clearly, China offers neither a hope nor a strategy for such a transformation. Black Americans know that our history qualifies us uniquely to transform the world in the most favorable of ways. Our job is to convince the world of this view.
“Doing for Self:” Part I
When many Black Americans (Afrodescendants) consider the divine phrase “do for self,” our minds rush to entrepreneurship, and this is okay. It shows a purposeful intent to act, to work, and to produce improved outcomes for ourselves. However, we urge prospective entrepreneurs to account for the following four contexts when making a decision to conduct business: (1) Ensure that you have covered all 22 bases (there are likely more) that can make business operations a nightmare;(i) (2) dig deep, not into the past, but into the future to be fully informed about the prospective future life of the proposed business given expected improvements in, and accelerated adoption of, artificial intelligence (AI) and robotization; [Where are Block Buster, Radio Shack, and Tower Records today?]; (3) recognizing the reality of the first HLT presented above, the significance of point 2 of this HLT, and the likelihood that humans will grow more attuned to the meaning and benefits of life, should serve to transform the motivation to engage in business and the methods for conducting business; and (4) whether we settle on integration or separation (hopefully the latter) as a Black American strategy to improve our wellbeing, Black American entrepreneurs should abandon European-centric purposes and methods of business operations that target Black American (Afrodescendant) consumers. For example, it may look good on paper, and even profitable, to own fast food franchises. However, great despair may result at or before the end of life because 20-20 hindsight will likely confirm that the fast food used to produce your wealth was poison for our people; that it delayed our rise because of the related health expenditures encountered to avoid the approach of death that was summoned by your poison; and that our youth’s academic performance was stilted because their brains could not develop properly due to their addictive consumption of your poison.
“Doing for Self:” Part II
Credit should be given where credit is due.(ii) A family member adopted a practice of delaying her children’s entry into public schools until age six—irrespective of the child’s birth month. This meant that the related high school graduate entered post-secondary education with at least an additional year of life experience and maturity under his/her belt compared to student who enter school “on time.” There is mixed evidence concerning the impact of this “redshirting” practice on post-secondary educational attainment and lifetime earnings and wealth. The recommendation is to consider this redshirting option on a case-by-case basis. However, if the practice increases in popularity, then in time it could become the norm. As the norm, variation in educational attainment and lifetime earnings and wealth outcomes could be reduced.
Going deeper, without intimate knowledge of the rules, duties, and responsibility of members of the Church of Latter-Day Saints (The Mormons), it is common knowledge that certain adherents are expected to devote two of their post-secondary school years to proselytize their faith. Even deeper to the point, many nations around the world mandate that their youth perform at least one year of national service immediately or shortly after completing what is considered high school. Given this knowledge, and the seeming benefits thereof, Black Americans should hasten to consider adopting the idea inherent in the just-described practices.
Specifically, if Black Americans are interested in preserving our nationhood and peoplehood, then we should motivate agreement within Black families (households) and all Black institutions and organizations to mandate that our youth (irrespective of their qualities and characteristics) give serious consideration to delaying for at least one or two years their entry into post-secondary education or training programs after completing high school.(iii) While your mind is spinning from recognizing the logic of the idea and your unbelief that it has never been floated among Black Americans widely or forcefully given its existence before our very eyes, we provide the following list of selected fantastic benefits derivable from such a practice:(iv) (1) Increased mental and physical maturity when entering post-secondary training or educational programs; (2) depending on how the “delay” period is organized, youth can gain increased knowledge and experience in comprehending more completely the Black American condition and plans for improving it; (3) provides our areas of influence (communities) a great opportunity to benefit from an energetic and vibrant labor resource that could be deployed to improve our areas of influence marginally or transformatively; and (4) enables our youth to lock in more clearly and firmly to their goals and aspiration before setting sail on a learning voyage that will shape outcomes for their career and remaining life. In a phrase, it will facilitate our persistent and long-term high-level participation in the global economic strategic game: A game that is Black America’s to win!
©B Robinson
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i See Brooks Robinson (2014). “22 Reasons Why Black Businesses Fail.” BlackEconomics.org. https://www.blackeconomics.org/BELit/22reasons.pdf (Ret. 050225).
ii Arguably, the concept of citations could be labeled an African invention.
iii This could be the starting point position on the matter; related outcomes could be studied; and given sufficient evidence the concept could be revisited and made mandatory, left as a “serious consideration,” or abandoned.
iv The situation that is described characterizes well the locked-in nature of Black Americans (Afrodescendants) as adherents of the White American way of life. For almost all, if not all, Black Americans, White Americans are our “Joneses.”