Some Lessons From History
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Posted By: Rudolph Hickman on May 27, 2010 I grew up during the 50s and 60s and can remember heated discussions everywhere in the community regarding the benefits and disadvantages of integration. Is wasn't so much whether we should integrate but whether the advantages of doing so outweighed the negative effects. Some 30 years later no one seems to be talking about this era in our countries history or assessing its impacts. I can remember one of the fears associated with being infused into the larger culture was the devastating impact that could be visited upon black businesses. While I did not believe that local or community-based businesses would wither and die, the reality is a lot of them did. I mention this history to point out that in our quest to better ourselves many of us are forsaking the opportunity to develop services and products that cater to members of our community. As has been pointed out many times, the African-American community spends almost 40 billion dollars annually to purchase goods and services. In short, we spend a lot of money outside our communities. To me this means: 1) there is a lot of opportunity for the FUBU (For-Us-By-Us) business model to be further developed and 2) present economic conditions suggest that our communities might be better served by patronizing businesses that not only profit by serving us but also give back. If you enjoyed this article, Join HBCU CONNECT today for similar content and opportunities via email! |
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Rudolph Hickman
Owner, Rudolph Hickman Photography Virginia Union University class of 1974 Member Since August 2005 |
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