Black economy can crush institutional racism

The following is inspired by the words of Dr. Chika Onyeani in his book, Capitalist Nigger.

It is no secret that everything is owned by the white man (or the Chinese). Everything the black man consumes is owned by another race, your TV, your clothes, hygiene products, the food you eat, jewellery, your car, cutlery, toys, bedding, the programmes you watch, the music you listen to, where you shop, etc. The list goes on and on.

The black community needs to create its own economic web. Credit: WORLDOFi

As the black race, we cry foul whenever we come across it, for instance, the recent H&M ‘hoodie’ outcry, and in many cases, we think there’s nothing we can do about this. But there is, institutional racism, is something that we as the black nation can put a stop to.

Our power lies in our money.

Basic economics tells us that money never stops moving, it keeps circulating, no matter where it lands. There’s an economic doctrine that Onyeani has termed the ‘Spider Web Doctrine’. This is, when a dollar or rand or shilling or naira comes into the black community, either through a salary or purchasing goods to sell back to the community, that money doesn’t leave the community. It is reinvested by buying within the black community.

The Spider Web Doctrine is a mentality that is employed by Indians, Asians and Pakistanis. In the 1980s, the Native Americans started building their own economy through purchasing newsstands in New York. One by one, they ended up owning all the newsstands in the area. Today, the New York Yellow taxi cab is solely owned by the Pakistani. This, just like the Native Americans, was possible through the Spider Web Doctrine.

The black community also needs to adopt this mentality. It is one sure way that can bring an end to institutional racism. Let’s stop handing over our money willingly to white owned corporations. Quality black businesses are few and far in between, but they do exist. It is absolutely worth it to pay a little more for a black owned product or service, because the cause is bigger than the price tag.

Nation Rising / PfukaTiko supports and endorses the #SupportBlackBusinesses #BuyLocal initiative.