Just A Thought: The Black Dollar — HENDOG MEDIA + DESIGN

As the month of February comes to a close there are several pros and cons that can be brought up when talking about African-Americans, blacks, or something else in that realm (take your pick in what you see as fit to you) & it’s true and fair because there are so many things that can be conversed about that happened over 400+ years ago to now in the present from slavery to discrimination to equality issues and the list goes on. However the main focus of this article will be that of business and the subset of the black business & the black dollar now & in the past. Like every subject before this they can always be expanded upon & just because I have a thought about things (hence the name of the series “Just A Thought”) doesn’t mean my view is the end all be all, because I’m not setting precedence like an attorney, I know my perspective is different from others but I’m not going to be closed minded because of it and actually hear people out within reason. So hopefully y’all read and enjoy the article & view and learn a thing or two in the process.

The Foundation Of The Black Dollar

When talking about the origin of businesses they start from somewhere & it’s no different with black ones as well when looking at companies they have to start from somewhere like looking at examples Walmart started in Arkansas or Amazon got its meager start in Washington in Jeff Bezos garage, over the years people’s views and perspectives are constantly changing with every decision they make whether they are positive and negative and vary from person to person but they started somewhere & are the giants they are now, the same goes for black businesses look at FUBU (For Us By Us) which is headed by Daymond John, Russell Simmons who was over ADD (All Def Digital) & has a stake in Def Jam, Oprah Winfrey who was big on her talk show in the 90’s & has a hand in lots of entities now, or even Madam C.J. Walker who because of her ingenuity with hair care and her savvy became big in her time. At the end of the day a foundation is built no matter how big or small a company & no matter what skin tone the head is and the foundation plays a role throughout.

The Mindset in Business

When talking about business in a nutshell people think that people can have the same mindset, attitude, & mentality when in actuality it takes a certain kind of attitude to not only survive, but to thrive, & actually succeed, it’s the same as playing football on whatever level because if you ever played it takes a certain attitude to consistently make contact throughout a game or a practice whether dishing it out as a defender or taking it an offensive player, you can’t be the same person you’re on a daily basis, extra friendly & just all lovey-dovey because having that mindset where people are faced within the contact people can get scary & because that’s how people get hurt or don’t fully commit because they are thinking over everything then just reacting. It’s the same with the business we live in a capitalist society in America & people think that if someone goes into it because of a small business or something bigger that requires several people it takes a different approach to do so no matter the melanin. If you run a small business it’s like being enrolled in an online class, certain aspects & factors take discipline to do from taxes to following up with people far as sales of products and services because at the end of the day there is no safety net like a regular hourly or salary job. Now this is not saying because of the system we live in that people should be cutthroat in pursuit of it is in a capitalist society but it takes a different attitude and skill set to succeed just like being a black-owned business we run into people looking for a hookup or a discount for example, it’s not a rare thing in small business but it takes a special sternness to change people’s minds and change people’s views when dealing customers because if people give into it they won’t succeed over time, the best way to explain it is a consumer going to a place to buy something, people don’t go into an establishment to haggle over a price point or a price that was set & it’s the same with business in general especially people in the black community, they see a certain value in what they do & hopefully consumers respect that in their decision because respect is a two-way street.

The Adaptation of the Black Dollar

Random fact before I was a interdisciplinary studies major at Prairie View A&M University (basically pursuing the path of a certified teacher) I was a history major and took a bit interest in things like Wendell Scott (first black nascar driver), the buffalo soldiers, Bass Reeves (the real Lone Ranger), Henry O’Flipper (first black West Point Graduate), even the Tuskegee airmen,

I could go on about black history but the thing that sticks out to me when talking about the black dollar is Black Wall Street, people will say they heard about it from the tv show Watchmen but I heard about it several years ago, however in a simplified version of what happened a black community in Oklahoma was self-contained basically doing everything for themselves because of things like segregation and them were free and prosperous as well, however, the city near Tulsa was attacked by a white mob a result of this is Greenwood was destroyed and they never really recovered after, I bring this up because most cases people say well we should be self-contained when it comes to the community and that we shouldn’t be dependent on others when we have a perfectly good community around us and that sounds good on paper & because of this and the previously mentioned incident happening like it did this idea is in black people’s heads ever so present, but the factor people forget about is for a long time this ideal was practiced because it had to be because of things like segregation, Jim Crow, or racism even if certain areas weren’t as prosperous as Greenwood, what comes to mind is Roy Wood Jr. Talking about his uncle saying he should find someone that could cook & he stated that during segregation it was a necessity because people couldn’t go out then, and it was the same with the black dollar and the economy it circulated in the community before it exited compared to because now we are more connected & money changes hands quicker & exits a community at the same rate.

Like I said before in the article Just A Thought: Perception things are constantly changing and the black dollar is no different & just because there is adaptation doesn’t mean owners and consumers can stay stagnant and the same over time.

The Fine Line

Finally, when talking about the black dollar, black businesses are riding a fine line between serving their community with their services and products & being considered a “sell-out” which is a subjective matter and depends on what they do. This comes into play because very soon in the life of a black business people have this idea that service should happen to their people or only for them like the previously mentioned Greenwood & like I said before this looks good on paper be looking at things like the 2010 census that population is only 14% African Americans in the USA which is a drop in the bucket for as the entire USA, what make this even more difficult is the opinions of others once a business decides to pursue opportunities outside what they are commonly around in most cases because they want to thrive & even though it is not done maliciously or with any ill intent behind it people will still throw around the word “sell-out” with no reason even though morals and ideals were never given up for a check. So because of this black businesses are balancing being mindful of their demographic and consumer while at the same time being progressive enough to improve and adapt to the changing landscape while not giving up their main values.

Conclusion

Overall when talking about the black dollar, this article is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to talking about this and every business and potential consumer or customer deals with it differently and like the saying goes “there is more than one way to skin a cat” even though that is messed up to do in the first place and is considered animal cruelty it rings true because every individual is different & some are doing better than others because of decisions that were made, & the thing that rings true in all of this is being mindful of the past when making decisions moving forward and doing things that are right for the entity because opinions can change quickly.