By James Clingman

“Let me issue and control a nation’s money and I care not who writes the laws.”

 - Mayer Amschel Rothchild   

A long time ago, this country’s and, indeed, the world’s finances were commandeered by a few power-hungry, greedy, treacherous families, the results of which have left us in a quagmire of corruption, underhanded dealings by politicians, and total rip-offs by corporate crooks.  Our meager and futile attempts at changing the way business is done in this country, mainly by petitioning and begging folks to “be fair” and to “treat us right” have fallen on deaf ears and gone unheeded for centuries.  What can we do? 

I read an enlightening e-mail by Kenneth Price that discussed the current political situation and how Black people are so emotionally invested in the upcoming presidential election.  One point centered on the fact that other groups in this country are not wringing their hands about who will be president; they are not losing sleep over the next election and, in many cases, they couldn’t care less who wins.  Of course, those groups to which the piece referred were busy taking care of their businesses and aggregating their resources among themselves.  I know, I know; they have not been through what we have been through.

Another article titled “The New Black Agenda,” written by Rev. Earl Trent, pastor of the Florida Avenue Baptist Church in Washington, D.C., stated, “We need to focus on becoming a respected competitor in the global marketplace.” 

Rev. Trent laid out a comprehensive strategy for Black folks to move from protest to parity.  He ended his article by saying, “The new Black agenda is focused on creating a Black economy that competes like any other group in the global economic game. Currently, we are marginalized, overlooked, and disrespected.  We have a different history than other groups and must push for interventions that will change the status quo and level the playing field.  It will not happen simply by good will. It will not happen without intention, without sweat or demands of quid pro quo. The new Black agenda is about winning something tangible, worthwhile, and passing it on”.

With all of the issues facing Black people in this country, politically, socially, and economically, you would think we would not only have seen these points quite clearly but we would have acted upon them long before now. 

Politically, we are still on the outside looking in, at this point hoping to elect a Black president.  Trent says, “Not even the election of a true Black president will solve the economic problems of Black America unless we have an agenda where the state of the Black economy is at the center of that agenda.”

Economically, we are at the bottom of every good category and at the top of every bad category.  We have a whole lot of income but very little wealth.  We have a whole lot of “stuff,” but very little substance. Our dollars, like our votes, are literally taken for granted by those who receive them.

Socially, we are ostracized, caricaturized, criticized, and demeaned.  Just the other night, I heard one of this country’s so-called conservative talk show hosts call Maya Angelou a “whore” and Michelle Obama a “hypocrite.”  And, if you think Obama has taken some body blows, believe me, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet. 

All of this, despite our being in this country for 400 years and contributing more than any other group to this nation’s foundational wealth by working without pay for 250 years or so.  It’s quite obvious to me that those in charge are not coming to save us; after all, we have been here for four centuries and they have not come yet.  What should we do now? 

The first thing we must do is acknowledge our situation. Understand what runs this country and deal from that perspective.  Rothchild was right, and he proved it by accumulating billions of dollars for his family and future generations.  Many others have done the same, and they don’t care who is in office.  They give money to both parties and cover their bets in politics because they definitely know what time it is.

“Our charge, as Black people in America, is to move from a social agenda to an economic agenda,” as Earl Trent has so eloquently and straightforwardly suggested. Black folks are the only group in this country trying to assimilate, trying to be accepted, and trying to be approved and validated by White people.  In the process of our inappropriate behavior, we are losing and falling even further behind in the collective economic game.  As Trent says, “It’s like drinking water from a cup with holes in its sides… we may get a small drink but we have nothing left in the cup to pass on to our loved ones.”

We must wake up and then get up and be about the business of economic empowerment, regardless of whom wins any election.  We must not allow the hoopla of “making history” to divert our attention from the real action, and that action is building, owning, and controlling our own income producing assets. 

As I began with a quote form Rothchild, I end with one from Trent.  “An economic agenda is the central agenda of all politics, for it determines who gets a slice of the pie, who gets the crumbs and who gets nothing.  The new agenda for Black America must consciously replace the social agenda with an economic agenda whose central focus is how we can improve the state of the Black economy.”

James Clingman is an NNPA columnist based in Cincinnati, Ohio.