Did Individualism Destroy the Black Community?

We live in a time of high racial tensions and competition, and as we celebrate Juneteenth and cultural gains, we must also recognize what was lost—the black family and black economic success. A great example of black success, that has been mentioned much lately, is/was Black Wall Street. The end of Black Wall Street was tragic, but what is interesting about the time of segregation and Jim Crow is that, like in Tulsa, Oklahoma, blacks looked to create safety and stability—a safe-haven, not just for themselves, but other Black Americans as well.

It seems that after many instances of attempting to rise together and constantly being set back, such as the gentrification, the lack of businesses, racist laws and law enforcement, and plain violence, Blacks have widely become to accept ¨the every man for himself mentality.¨ Even though, there are many successful Black-Americans; they do not live together in community among other successful and struggling Black-Americans.

The Effects individualism

One of the most troubling effects of individualism is that many people in the Black community have forgotten the importance of small business. New York City is a great example of the economics of small business and how it builds communities. Small business is the cornerstone of the economy in local communities and even in larger cities. Thus, even though there may be many black neighborhoods, they lack the investment and capital that small business attract. Black community is not only home-ownership; it is, also, small business. Those two factors combined that create a stable and healthy community.

Demand and Community Investment

In the Black community, there is a high demand for jobs, goods, and services. Black-Americans constantly have to go to another community to look for work, goods, or services that are in demand; they are rarely readily accessible. This is where community investment is crucial. Pooling money together from investors in the community to have local black owned gas-stations, franchises grocery-stores, or retail-stores creates, jobs, meets the demand in our communities, and controls and empowers the Black dollar.