Black People : Who Do You Work For ... (who hands you the money) ... Black People or White People?

[Metaverse]

I've worked in the Black community going on nine years now, it's a wonderful feeling working directly with my people. I'm a Designer and an Artist and I create anything from Business signs, clothing designs to media press kits.

I love what I do and I love the people I work for. I don't always enjoy the rate of pay, but in an African marketplace if people are not haggling for your product that means they don't want it. I enjoy feeling wanted and even chased after for my product. I can personally say I work for Black people, and the majority of Black people I work for own and control their own businesses. Now, there are some here and there who do work for White companies. From time to time however I work "with" Asians because they dominate allot of the markets I have to access. It's difficult to get anything wholesale these days without them.

I learned a great deal about "Black on Black Business" in Brooklyn and Harlem. Sometimes we are afraid that our people will either not do business with us, or that they will take advantage of us because we are Black. You know, everyone wants a "hook up" or a family discount. This is true, however once you establish a professional attitude with the "right" people, things usually go fine. The "wrong" people are the ones you shouldn't be doing business with anyway.

Before working directly with Black people, when I didn't have a business I was selling on the phone for a big timeshare company. Supervisors were always on the floor watching you and taking notes. Managers were always calling you into their office to "rate your performance." And sometimes your best co-worker one week would be your overseer the next. I was never cut out to work for "The Man." But I guess we all work for them indirectly right? Everyone works for the Government one way or the other.

That being the case, why have middle men? I wish more of us would learn the value of entrepreneurship. Yet another thing is that, some Black people who employ other Blacks have become "The Man" too, and can crack a meaner whip. We need more Black suppliers and distributors too.

 

[kemetkind]

"Who do you Work For?"

The answer is not about what race is the person who signs my paycheck; it's about how do I spend the money I do earn.

I work for my family.

Even if every dollar I made came from the hand of another black person, if I spent that money frivolously and didn't support my family then I would have no legit claims to "working for" black people generally, or my family specifically.

It doesn't matter if your money is made off black consumers or not, as long as you're accepting payment via the u.s. dollar you are still dealing with a capitalist system.

Yes, Black people must support black business.

But black business cannot offer inferior services or unsustainable business models or consume all revenue for personal expenses instead of investing back into the business...not and expect to survive.

What happens to a white business that does this?

They go out of business.

They can't say, "white people didn't support my business even though I was working for them."

Why? Because all you usually have to do is look down the street and you'll find a white competitor with a smiliar product or service doing just fine.

Our problem is not who we work for, it is that in order for black people to support black business we have to offer SUPERIOR service, product or value than a black person can get anywhere else.

Now, we can lament about the reasons for this all we want, but the reality is what it is and won't be changing anytime soon.

I support black business as it is critical to our development as a people.

But as a business owner and budding entreprenuer myself, I have to deal with the world the way it is and not the way I WISH that it was.

There are plenty of black business people who provide jobs for other black people. And there are even some black business that make their money primarily from black people.

But those business will NOT be businesses offering the same service, or the same product, at the same price, as competitors. It is what it is, so we either deal with reality or we don't.

And I disagree, working for a business not owned by black people is in no way equivalent to human chattel slavery of the sort experienced by our ancestors.

Getting a job is not being a slave, neither is starting a business where you have to spend every waking moment working to keep that business afloat.

A slave has the fruits of her labor stolen and is not compensated with anything other than what is required to keep that slave living and breathing to work another day.

So rather than get a job or create a job, some young people today would rather rob and kill other black people to acquire quick $$$.

That is not a reaction against so-called "white supremacy" and is a self-destructive behavior that has no precedent in the legacy of african slavery.

Slaves did not do this. Slaves built and maintained families.

In spite of who they "worked for", they took care of themselves (the black family remained intact for 100 years after 1865).

If more of us acted like the best of our slave ancestors we'd be a lot better off than we are today.

 

[excel10k]

The African American Self-Perpetuating Cycle of Self-Destruction.

Brother DSS ... i'm understanding you, i know we're more together than apart.

But it's not about us trying to live on an island. It's more like this ... i live in my house, my neighbor in theirs. My house is a filthy mess, but i am going over to clean my neighbor's house. What kind of sense does that make? That is totally out of order. We need to be in order of the natural balance of things. We need to first clean our own house, then go and help our neighbor clean theirs.



Destee

Destee,

You hit the nail on the head when you said "We are collectively perpetuating the system that is our demise." I call this "The African American Self-Perpetuating Cycle of Self-Destruction." Our issues as a races are far too complicated to consider from the single social perpective of who we earn our living from.

I am sure, that like me, you are interested in SOLVING our problems rather than just talking or complaining about them. As of this writing, there is no plan in place robust enough to solve our tangible problems. Furthermore, racism, is a distractor from our tangible problems and will keep us focused on hating/disliking whites rather than truely confronting our own tangible problems.

I will give you a perfect example of this. On average 6342 black men between the ages of 16 and 34 are killed each year, by black men ages 16 to 34. (Total soldier killed in Iraq and Afghanistan during both wars combined have been 4646) This is an average of 17 black men murdered by black men each and every day. But, because it is a black man doing the murder, there is no outrage, Al and Jessie, stay home, we do not protest in the street. BUT, let one white person kill a black, or a white police officer kill a black, "oh snap, no he didn't, grab your signs, lets walk the streets".

I am not suggesting that we ignore racism, but that we address ALL enemy of our race. I don't care if the enemy is black or white. I don't care if Don Imus or "50 cent" call a black woman a nappy headed prostitute, they are both the enemy of the race. We have an enemy within that we are giving free tickets....in fact in some case, we are paying their way to the tune of millions upon millions of dollars. If we are so distracted by racism that we cannot confront our internal enemy, we cannot transition from victims to victors. If we can confront internal and external enemies equally, then we are on to something.

NOW, back to my "African American Self-Perpetuating Cycle of Self-Destruction." Well, to see the document, go to http://www.thedream2008.com then go to the "Files, Video's, and Music" menu and open the pdf file named "Visio-CRM African American Self-Perpetuating Cycle of Self-Destruction" for a "flow chart" of our comprehensive problem graphically depicted. I would love to discuss it with you. Considering your passion, which I appreciate greatly, it should generate a lot for us to talk about.

For the record, I did answer your poll. I do work for a white owned company that has close to 3k employees and I only personally know of one other black person. I have heard rumors of two to three more, but have not seen them...(the company is spread over 11 states). Yes, the employer will always make more than the employee. It works the same for white employees of the white employers. This is not about cleaning their house while mine is a mess. It is about how capitlism works. In America, we are all free to choose our way. That is why one 24 year old might CHOOSE to sell crack in the street and claim he is just doing what he must to survive (he is the enemy) while another is Ephan Taylor the Multi-Millionair and youngest black CEO of a publicly traded company. They made different choices. One choose to blame racism for forcing him to sell poison to his people for a quick dollar while the other choose to use his spare time responsibly, make wise investments, be the employer rather then employee, and not make excuses as to why it couldn't be done. We all have the ability to make such choices.

One thing I have noticed about these young men who are "doing what they must to survive", they are most likely to conceive children, and least likely to provide for them financially and emotionally. Rather than invest their quick dollar in businesses, they invest in rappedly depreciating assest such as 22" wheels, $150 gym shoes, and gold teeth (even gold depreciates installed in a persons mouth They are the least likely to invest in a home, land, or any other type of appreciating asset. We must name this activity and lifestyle as an internal enemy, teach our children the value of education, and unity. We must stop doing self-destructive things! We cannot do self-destructive things then EXCUSE it away, by claiming they are just doing what they must do. This is not TRUE. They can do better than sell their own people poison to earn themselves a quick dollar.

 

[Destee]

I've worked in the Black community going on nine years now, it's a wonderful feeling working directly with my people. I'm a Designer and an Artist and I create anything from Business signs, clothing designs to media press kits.

I love what I do and I love the people I work for. I don't always enjoy the rate of pay, but in an African marketplace if people are not haggling for your product that means they don't want it. I enjoy feeling wanted and even chased after for my product. I can personally say I work for Black people, and the majority of Black people I work for own and control their own businesses. Now, there are some here and there who do work for White companies. From time to time however I work "with" Asians because they dominate allot of the markets I have to access. It's difficult to get anything wholesale these days without them.

I learned a great deal about "Black on Black Business" in Brooklyn and Harlem. Sometimes we are afraid that our people will either not do business with us, or that they will take advantage of us because we are Black. You know, everyone wants a "hook up" or a family discount. This is true, however once you establish a professional attitude with the "right" people, things usually go fine. The "wrong" people are the ones you shouldn't be doing business with anyway.

Before working directly with Black people, when I didn't have a business I was selling on the phone for a big timeshare company. Supervisors were always on the floor watching you and taking notes. Managers were always calling you into their office to "rate your performance." And sometimes your best co-worker one week would be your overseer the next. I was never cut out to work for "The Man." But I guess we all work for them indirectly right? Everyone works for the Government one way or the other.

That being the case, why have middle men? I wish more of us would learn the value of entrepreneurship. Yet another thing is that, some Black people who employ other Blacks have become "The Man" too, and can crack a meaner whip. We need more Black suppliers and distributors too.

Brother MetaSaience ... thank you for sharing your experience working for/with Black People. It is experiences such as you've described, that make me believe. When i started my business, it was Black People that sustained it, Black business owners. I absolutely loved working with us, and still do to this day, even though my path has changed some. Then, like now, Black People are actually looking for other Black People to do business with, to commune with, to heal with. This is why i believe, because i have seen it.

Unless things have changed a lot in 10 years, working for white people is detrimental to the overall health of Black People, in my opinion. Yes, i know there are probably some low-down Black employers, mimicking what they've seen done in regard to business management ... but i don't believe it's our nature to be that way. The more of this we can showcase, provide examples of, good working experiences with other Black People, the better it will be for us. I know i always imagined, that if people were working with/for me, i'd be the kind of employer that i always wanted. One that would appreciate my contribution properly.

We need more experiences like yours, and mine, and they need to be built upon. We have it within our own means, to take it to the next level, allowing us to work for each other on the most basic of levels and beyond. Once we amass a collective of this, we will have given our children something to build upon.

Again ... thank you for sharing!



Destee

 

[Metaverse]

Mother Destee,

I'm not sure if you've experienced this, but I can really sit back and observe White people for what they are now that I don't work for any of them. When I go to the store and see them, or the gas station- there's a sense of freedom I experience, like a force field. Now if I had to see White people every single day and work for them, then I would be a different camper. I've gone months without seeing a single White face.

Now I live in a mixed community, Black, East Indian and South American people- so sometimes I see White faces. My Queen works for White people, and we have a totally different end of the day. She comes home every day stressed out. If I'm stressed out it's because I didn't make allot of money that day. If she's stressed it's because a White person was nipping at her heels. I keep pushing her to go work for herself, even offered the startup money. But I've found out that some of us, no matter how conscious we are, are just "used to" working under White people. Even the stress seems normal to us.

Sometimes I understand, because bills have to be paid and people have to eat. Every now and then, a White person will show up and start begging me to come work for them. "You'd be such an asset to my company." To which I reply "I know, because I'm an asset to my own."

This is another great conversation to have before the Euro year 2008 pours in like cement. This new concrete will either trap us, or provide a stable foundation for us to walk. Find out what our people need and find a way to provide for them. Sounds easy enough right?

Mother Destee, thank you for understanding what we need, a way to express ourselves, communicate and sometimes- just vent. My wish for you is for your actions to never be in vain, and all that you do for the community maintains you financially. As well, this wish is for all of us.