African-Centered Economics Part 1 of 3: The Key To Cultural & Economic Prosperity

By Heru Ammen

Black Conservatism is defined, fomented and implemented by right wing, white Republicans. The talking points for Black conservatives is point for point, idea for idea, measure for measure the same as the talking points one would hear from hate speech divas on the right such as Limbaugh, Coulter, Hannity or Beck. It appears to this writer that traditional black conservatives are primarily motivated by a need to find favor with and derive income from their conservative white counterparts.

By parroting the right-wing mantra of white-conservative Christianism and economics, the black conservative has become the tool of the right wing machine and a foolish and willing pawn in the game of racial politics perpetuated upon the greater African American community by the right wing conservative movement.

Things are no better for our left leaning brothers and sisters. Black liberals fail to effectively address the issues that have plagued our poorer communities for decades. Before you choose to argue with me on that point, please take a look at statistics related to crime, out of wedlock births, drug abuse, sex crimes against children, socio-economics, education, illiteracy, entrepreneurial/employment opportunities and business development within our communities and show me where black liberals (or conservatives for that matter) have proffered viable solutions to address the aforementioned issues.

I often bump heads with my brothers and sisters on the right side of the political spectrum over African-Centered politics. Like our conservative brethren I believe that each person has a responsibility to be the best they can be. Where I differ with black conservatives is in the fact that our communities do not have the same access to capital and resources that other communities have and without that access, it’s damn near impossible for lower-income and lower middle-class African Americans to rise and transform their lives or the lives of people that live in their communities.

I also believe that we should not wholly put our fate on the premise that Government will invest enough capital and resources in our communities to make a difference; which is where I bump heads with our left leaning brothers and sisters. Justice demands that the Government do the right thing. However the reality is that it hasn’t and most likely will not.

Part of embracing an African-Centered Economic mindset is accepting the reality that we are the missing piece of the puzzle. We can only bring change to our communities by accepting the condition of our reality. We must accept the fact that the only way we can bring positive change to our communities and the Diaspora is that we do it ourselves through an African-Centered economic mindset. What is an African Centered Economic Mindset? Read part 2 of this series coming later this week.

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