Article by:
Shaundell Newsome
Fifty-seven years ago, in 1963, the famous March on Washington which featured the “I Have A Dream Speech” by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and introduced Civil Rights Icon Congressman John Lewis focused on jobs and freedom. Today’s march around the world through social media features economic growth through entrepreneurship and an attitude of advancement beyond just being free. They don’t just want to overcome. They want equity and inclusion on real opportunities that lead to a better life. They want to close the Black-White Wealth Gap.
At $171,000, the net worth of a typical white family is nearly ten times greater than that of a Black family ($17,150) in 2016. Gaps in wealth between Black and white households reveal the effects of accumulated inequality and discrimination, as well as differences in power and opportunity that can be traced back to this nation’s inception.
With all due respect to the legendary freedom fighters of the 20th Century there is a different battle that ensues today. It is as different as chess and checkers. It is as different as the Flintstones and Jetsons. While civil and economic rights might appear to look the same as it did five decades ago there is no similarity as to the impact made on today’s youth. Why? The Civil Rights battle gained traction when it made news on national networks throughout the United States when news stations around the country exposed the Jim Crow South and its vicious culture that murdered, beat and denigrated Black, Whites and anyone looking to change its racists laws of segregation. But the time slot was reserved for the six o’clock or eleven o’clock news. Today racism is exposed 24 hours on various news networks and on social media. The revolution is not only televised. It’s broadcast through smart phones, tablets, through podcasts, videos and tweets. And the message is not controlled or censored by a news producer. It is totally unfiltered and raw. Therefore, the ugliness of racism is exposed with no clothes on. What does all of this have to with small business and entrepreneurship? It has everything to do with equity in economics and closing the Black Wealth Gap. Somebody brilliantly took the word “economic” out of the narrative of the March on Washington. They focused on the “social” justice. “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” They left out “One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. So, why is that ignored? You cannot have social justice without economic justice. I can have access to the golf course. But if I cannot afford to pay the green fees then I am still left on the outside.
In a Brookings Institute article entitled Examining The Black-White Wealth Gap “At $171,000, the net worth of a typical white family is nearly ten times greater than that of a Black family ($17,150) in 2016. Gaps in wealth between Black and white households reveal the effects of accumulated inequality and discrimination, as well as differences in power and opportunity that can be traced back to this nation’s inception.” Black Americans, African Americans, Brothers and Sisters better wake up to the reality that they are not fighting social injustice. The true prize is economic justice. The next generation of young Black folks get it. The previous generations need to mentor, advise and counsel. Then get out of the way for the next revolution.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Shaundell Newsome is the Founder & Visionary of Sumnu Marketing, Veteran of the United States Air Force and author of the Twelve Steps of Marketing, A Perfect Guide to Branding.