The History Of Black Business In New York: Part 1

South Carolina 1899“I fact, a third of all free black people lived and worked in white households and those who did not labored to support themselves in a tightly restricted job market. Four out of ten black men were in the unskilled rank and their proportion in the skilled trades sharply declined during the first decade of the nineteenth century. White workers employed their numerical advantage and political power to push black laborers from occupations like street carting, in which black people gained a foothold during the labor shortages of the Revolutionary era, beginning an exclusion from the city’s transportation industries that lasted well into the twentieth century. Black women operated in a more restricted labor market, limited to domestic and service trades like household servants, seamstresses, and laundresses.” –From, “Slavery In New York”

[SIDEBAR: Stay tuned for a post on how Black New Yorkers combated this, later in the week. The post will be about the New York African Society For Mutual Relief.]

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Neely Fuller Jr., Dr. Frances Cress Welsing’s Mentor, Speaks On Her Life And Legacy

In the following video, Neely Fuller Jr. speaks on: The sudden passing of Dr. Welsing, how he met Dr. Welsing at a meeting held by Kwame Ture, their “exchanging of views” sessions, codifying behavior, how he researched the “what” while she researched the “why,” and the best way to honor Dr. Welsing and keep her legacy alive.

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Quote Of The Day

“Sometimes, at deep unconscious levels, people do not really wish to find answers to problems that they obsessively complain about…There is the conscious awareness, perhaps, of the need to know the whole truth and understand in depth; but below this surface, there is the more powerful need to maintain the status quo, which depth knowledge and awareness would explode in volcanic fashion.” -Dr. Frances Cress Welsing

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TODAY IS BUY BLACK FRIDAY

PLEASE PASS THIS ON! (EACH ONE TEACH ONE OR TWO!) THIS IS PHASE ONE ON HOW WE CAN HELP TO STRENGTHEN & EMPOWER OUR COMMUNITY:
The 2008 not guilty verdict in the Sean Bell case evoked outrage, emotion, and debate. It is not an anomaly that the police officers involved in the Sean Bell slaying were acquitted of all charges on all counts in State Supreme Court. I could run out of ink printing the names of people who have been victimized by the inaptly named justice system.

The American justice system has been especially terroristic towards the African American community. Many community members can cite historic and personal accounts to prove this. Therefore, it would be foolhardy (at the least) to turn to a system that has methodically oppressed us, and request that they free us. We can only free ourselves through extreme discipline and intelligent planning.

As a community we have been too compliant with leaders who organize ineffective, delayed reactions. The only strategy that can save us in this last hour is one that calls for a collective code of conduct that will be conducive to improving the conditions of our community, and shifting the paradigm of how we are treated by outside entities. The first step of this code of conduct should be based on economics.

The old adage of “money talks,” still reigns true in the new millennium. Any political scientist worth his or her library card will tell you that: “Economic powerlessness equals political powerlessness,” and conversely “economic power equals political power.” This means that if we continue to allow our wealth to be extracted from our community, we will remain impotent.

The power of the collective “Black Dollar” is often discussed. However, that power has been left unchanneled. Today is the day to change that. A one-time boycott is not going to bring long-term change and respect to our community. Our community has launched boycotts before. Our success and ascension will be based on what we consistently do. For this reason, we should initiate “BUY BLACK FRIDAYS.”

BUY BLACK FRIDAYS is a small step towards our community acquiring power via controlling our economics. Every Friday, people who acknowledge the injustice and oppression that the African American community has been consistently subjected to should do one of the following:

Option #1: Spend $0 on Friday
Option #2: Spend no more than $10 on Friday
Option #3: Only Shop at Black Businesses on Friday
[PLEASE NOTE THAT THE ABOVE OPTIONS CAN & SHOULD BE EXERCISED ON A DAILY BASIS. However, we can all at the very least focus on Fridays. This way we can take a collective stand and build our collective discipline. Please remember that this is only Phase 1!].

To the people who are tempted to label “BUY BLACK FRIDAYS” as racist, I say this: In the big scheme of things, this is about right & wrong, justice & injustice. The African American community is a strong, proud community that has endured the brunt of America’s iron fist. We must stop the pounding. I feel that any fair-minded individual will concur, and join in.

ANY business that is privileged to enjoy the support of the African American community MUST return that support.

I thank you in advance for your effort and dedication.

-Elsie Law AKA Starface

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