Before Affirmative Action
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Posted By: Ivan Butcher II on November 10, 2008 I can remember growing up in the 50’s, when our communities were more self-sufficient. To me, Affirmative Action divided and destroyed what semblance of togetherness we had as a people. Affirmative Action was designed to Window Dress, creating a crabs in the barrel black society. Affirmative Action is kinda like the Pyramid schemes. Most of those educated and skilled, who understood the scam, took advantage of the opportunity. They were the ones, who were serving as role models, that began moving on up and out of the neighborhoods. When Malcolm talked of self-sufficiency, he was accused of separatism. The reality is that within the 50 states we are many nations in one nation. During this presidential campaign it was made clear that family and social values were paramount in connecting with candidates. We African Americans are a family and it is time that we begin working toward our own families’ interest. “Charity begins at home”, is not separatism nor selfishness. The neglecting of ourselves and relying on others to provide for us, nurtures that negative perception other families have of our community. Until we as a people take ownership of our own financial, political and social destiny we will be seen as not deserving of others’ respect. Today it is not a whole lot about fighting for our rights, it is more of how we should exercise our rights. For one, making sure that we are being treated fairly with the allocation of government contracts, loans grants, scholarships, etc. and with the contracting of capital improvement projects. With a unified voice some of these infrastructure projects will be developed and build by us in our communities. This new world market, which can only expand, provides opportunity abound; we have family and in-laws around the world, and when the companies and industries begin finding that potential clients and customers are looking to patronize business that is more reflective of their family members, those qualified will be in high demand and will be represented from the top executives to the receptionist. Those of us who are more fortunate should become entrepreneurs in the revitalizing our communities. We as a family need to get out of debt and pool our resources, and make our children, our elders and to the legacy of our Ancestors, Proud! Ivan Butcher II If you enjoyed this article, Join HBCU CONNECT today for similar content and opportunities via email! |
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Ivan Butcher II
Business Proprietor, The Butcher Shop of the Virgin Islands Member Since February 2008 |
Comments
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I agree that many of the programs that were designed to help us have become "entitlement" for those that don't deserve it, and make it more difficult for those who are motivated. What is the use of working hard for a career or education if the assumption is that we do not deserve the achievements we've gotten? I think that in many communities we are expecting government programming or charitable interests to do what we already have the capacity to do in our schools, homes, and churches. The 8(a) program has the potential to greatly support the development of small businesses, but relatively few people are taking the initiative to start and support business ventures that can benefit from the contracts. There is a huge difference between self-sufficiency and separatism. When our community does not produce housing, agriculture, or jobs, our lives are completely at the mercy of outsiders and that is unacceptable. Go to any urban community in America, and you'll find Asian and Middle Eastern entrepreneurs, but very few Black entrepreneurs. Not only do we produce fewer viable businesses, but we also are more than willing to spend our money with businesses that have little or no stake in our communities. Monday, November 10th 2008 at 11:04AM |
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