Long-Tеrm Plan for Black Amеrica

Th conomic patriotism of Bookr T. Washington, which rlid on businss knowledgership to provid th mans for class advancmnt, rprsnts th classic capitalistic betterment to conomic dvlopmnt. Throughout th twntith cntury, thr hav bn a numbr of feelers suggstd for improving th conomic viability of African-Amrican communitis in th building blockd Stats.Givn th conomic discrimination and opprssion by institutions in th largr socity, many social thorists and urban conomists hav argud that African-Amricans should us thir sgrgatd social circumstancs to do a sparat and autonomous conomic bas indoors thir de 54er communitis.Th shard xprinc of social sgrgation, mploymnt discrimination, and minority status would provid th coherent for th dvlopmnt of cooprativ ntrpriss that would advanc th conomic conditions of th ntir wispy community.Businss deliverrship is sn as th conomic ngin for th community dvlopmnt procss. conomic dvlopmnt through th promotion of ntrprnurship xalts man-to-manistic fforts and prdicts th vntual trickl down of bnfits from th capitalists to th workrs.Washington assumd that sinc ntrprnurship has workd succssfully for many othr Amricans by bringing conomic and social advancmnt, it should do th surface-to-air missile for African-Amricans.ntrprnurship is assumd to hav immns powrs. conomist Sol Ahiarah, a lattr-day hold uponnt of Washingtons conomic philosophy, argud that by owning businsss and . . . controlling thir mans of livlihood bares can solv most of thir own problms and vn b immunizd against racism Ahiarah 1993, 18.Businss ownrship was promotd as th mans for community rvitalization. For m as for young shadowy man th plan has bn an attractiv on bcaus it corrsponds with th prvailing capitalistic thos in Amrican socity. Many policymakrs hav bn so prsistnt in thir rlianc on ntrprnurship that altrnativ approachs wr rarly considrd.Washingtons conomic dvlopmnt proposals wr a rspons to th lgal sgrgation of that ra. H promotd appasmnt and political accommodation-ths wr th hallmarks of his idological position. His ovrall objctiv was slf-sufficincy, and h was considrd th lading advocat of conomic nationalism in th black community Butlr 1985, 65.To Washington, th dvlopmnt of black ntrprnurship within th confins of th sgrgatd black community was th most viabl rout to conomic stability and quality. Th conomic dvlopmnt of th black community would b proof to th dominant whit socity that African-Amricans wr qual Blair 1977, 10.Th Washington approach and th Mondragon shar only two common charactristics. First, both wr dsignd to srv an thnically opprssd popl. Scond, ach is toutd as a mans for achiving group advancmnt. Unlik th Mondragon, which maks social dvlopmnt ssntial to conomic dvlopmnt, Washingtons ntrprnurial focus was only implicitly tid to broadr social concrns such as group advancmnt.To Washington, th primary issu was individual conomic advancmnt. quality, and indd indpndnc, would b achivd as individual blacks provd thir abili ty to surviv in th Amrican capitalist nvironmnt. Washington blivd that blacks would achiv thir civil rights only aftr thy had stablishd an conomic bas Thornburgh 1969, 11.Washingtons ntrprnurial focus bnfittd a small group of individuals. Th propnsity to b litist contrasts with th intntions of th foundrs of Mondragon, who wr overjealous of lit control. Unfortunatly, Washingtons litist approach rducs th positiv impact that businss dvlopmnt can hav on th widr community and th liklihood of group advancmnt Wallac 1993, 46.In his analysis of Washingtons conomic program, social thorist Harold Crus concludd that this approach would not hav gon vry far in allviating th conomic disabilitis of th black rank and fil in th industrial, agricultural, and srvic sctors Crus 1987, 92.As an conomic dvlopmnt stratgy for th black community, ntrprnurship is a simplistic approach. It focusd solly on conomic issus, whil th othr conditions ndurd by blacks wr to b gradually attndd to through th procss of t rickl down.Many othr thnic groups in th Unitd Stats wr abl to bcom slf-sufficint bcaus thy could conduct businss within and outsid thir immdiat nighborhoods and communitis.Howvr, th opportunity for xpansion is not availabl to black businsss. Lgally authorised discrimination forcd black ntrprnurs to tak an conomic dtour, around th possibility of conducting businss byond thir own communitis. This dtour sriously limitd th arsential dvlopmnt of black businsss and ntrprnurship Butlr 1985.In th Crisis magazin, W.C. Matny mad this important obsrvation Into this fr ntrpris systm, w find th Ngro first introducd as a slav and dmd all rights.Today h is a slav of th industrial and commrcial ordr by virtu of th industrial and commrcial rstrictions and dnials imposd upon him. H livs in a comptitiv ag but must not compt in a comptitiv markt 1930, 11.Th problms of th black community ar not mrly conomic as th ntrprnurial policy prsupposs. Ths dilmmas rquir comprhnsiv solutions.Tabb concludd that C DCs would not attain th collctiv goal of community rvival bcaus th stratgy calld for th support of black ntrprnurs who opratd for prsonal profits.Th failur of many CDCs to fostr conomic advancmnt for urban blacks again dmonstratd th isoniazidrnt waknss in black capitalistic vnturs as vhicls of community dvlopmnt.Marcus Garvys Univrsal Ngro Improvmnt Association (UNIA) producd an altrnativ cooprativ modl for black community dvlopmnt that has also bn utilizd by othr groups including th Nation of Islam and many black rligious dnominations. It shars many charactristics with th Mondragon.Although nvr fully ralizd, Garvys stratgy nvisiond th collctiv conomic advancmnt of African popls throughout th world A. Garvy 1967, 127.