The Fallacies of Black Capitalism

By Charles G Wells

Charles Wells wrote this book to provide the reader, especially young people who were not yet born, insight into the deceptive tactics and political games used by White Southern politicians and business leaders to keep minority communities economically depressed.

After the 1965 Civil Rights Voting Act was passed, Black civil rights activists and business leaders began a very aggressive campaign to improve conditions in minority communities. As the tactics being used by Black leaders around the country became more vocal and aggressive, President Nixon knew that White Southern politicians would resist any effort to provide economic aid to Black people and other minorities.

Nixon's program that he called "Black Capitalism" was designed to provide tax breaks and incentives for rich White developers, not economic justice. These developers used these incentives and tax breaks to build upscale projects that the residents could not afford.

Black leaders' complaints fell on deaf ears of the officials that Nixon put in charge of the programs, such as Commerce Secretary Stans who was against the program from the start.

The Black Capitalism program was doomed to failure for two main reasons:

It was underfunded from the very beginning.

The Minority Enterprise Small Business Investment Corporation (MESBIC) phase of the program was rack with fraud and poor selection of candidates for the program.

The MESBIC part of the program also failed because of several factors. The program was under capitalize, many minority businesses avoided the program and some White businesses set up phony minority forms to take advantage of the funding. They would set up a company and make a Black person CEO, and if things went bad, the Black person would be the one to go to jail.

It is the opinion of this author that the program was designed to fail. Nixon knew how to fool Black leaders while keeping White Southern support.

It is important to remember capitalism is not black or white. It's green.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Page Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Nov 3, 2022
• ISBN: 9781662465154

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The Fallacies of Black Capitalism

Charles G Wells

Copyright © 2022 Charles G. Wells

All rights reserved

First Edition

PAGE PUBLISHING

Conneaut Lake, PA

First originally published by Page Publishing 2022

ISBN 978-1-6624-6513-0 (pbk)

ISBN 978-1-6624-6515-4 (digital)

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Conclusion

Bibliography

About the Author

To Joyce Jones Wells, my babe

Chapter 1

Introduction

The slogan Black Capitalism is not new. Black­owned businesses in America have a history that extends back to the colonization of the United States, yet Black businesses have not developed to any significant extent since then.

Statement of the problem

When one studies the history of the Black man's role in American business, one soon discovers that the status of Black business has declined. Instead of growing and developing from generation to generation, Black business has stagnated in a cycle of frustration.

Black Americans have suffered because they have been denied the right to participate in the economic mainstream, and their confidence in their ability to learn and develop their business skills has been impeded by prejudice.

The effects of racism have left a terrible mark on the Black man, as well as the White; it has divided the nation and created an atmosphere of mistrust and hatred that must be overcome if this country is to survive economically and socially.

It was Calvin Coolidge who said, The business of America is business. This is no mere philosophical generalization. Any student of American history knows the relationship between business and the Federal Government has always been an intimate one. One does not have to look to recent Federal legislation; all that is required is a casual study of the nation's economic history.

It has only been recently that the Federal Government has shown active concern with small business and even more recently with minority business.

The changes that have taken place in society and business over the years make it increasingly difficult for smaller businesses to survive. This is a fact that has hurt the Black man in his struggle to succeed in business.

It is in this context that this paper attempts to examine the program of Black Capitalism as a viable instrument of bringing Black people into the economic mainstream of America.

The problem

Purpose of the Study: The purpose of this paper is to examine the theme of Black Capitalism and its implications on American society as a whole. The study is designed to show why the problems attendant upon the presently constituted Black Capitalism programs will fail. To this end, the paper will attempt to:

Discuss the origin of Black Capitalism and its effect on the program.

Discuss the reasons why the program as designed will not succeed in making the kind of impact on the economy to give minorities a fair share in the system.

Explain the role of the Black church and Black university if Black Capitalism is to become a reality.

Discuss how the economic system of the ghetto will play a vital role in the success or failure of Black Capitalism.

Discuss the role of Corporate America in making Black Capitalism a reality.

Explain why the concept of Black Capitalism must achieve success.

Importance of the Study: The theme of Black Capitalism has been debated by proponents for and against the program which was designed to assist minorities in becoming a part of the mainstream of the American business community. The rhetoric has been overwhelming on both sides to the extent that some of the major issues have been beclouded.

There is a growing feeling among Black leaders and the masses of Black people that if Black people are to become an independent race of people, they must develop political and economic power.

Since the start of the Civil Rights movement, particularly with the impact of Black power advocates, economic advancement has been recognized as one of the most important dimensions. There is a new mood among Black people with respect to economic equality. Black people are saying that they want their rightful share of the American economy.

For twenty-two million Black Americans, the slogan, equal opportunity, is an empty statement. For most Americans, economic advancement in business means participation. Historically, participation in business has denied Blacks through one means or another. Business has used such techniques as using tests to deny Blacks admittance to the skilled trade unions such as the steamfitters', the plumbers', and the sheet metal workers' unions.

Business has also used such excuses as that their clients or customers would not accept a Black or minority in sales. This technique has been used by many companies to keep Blacks from gaining positions in their marketing and sales departments.

The educational system has also contributed to keeping Blacks out of business. Black students traditionally have been counseled to enter such fields as teaching, the ministry, and medicine, but high school and college counselors have consistently advised Black students against studying business or entering programs for business. True, this advice may have been sound because the door to industry was closed, but this type of counseling has created an atmosphere of distrust and apathy in the Black community. Industry has also used such methods as hiring Blacks and placing them in positions they are either underqualified for or programmed to fail.

In a technological and information-oriented economy, education is an increasingly crucial resource. Yet this valuable resource has been used too often and hurt the Blacks' chances of advancement.

Another form of exclusion was the use of an arrest record to deny an individual a job, and since most Black people in the ghetto have had contact with the law at one time or another, this method denied a great number of Blacks jobs.

Black Americans are now seeking to become a part of this economic mainstream, but one must face reality and recognize that Black Capitalism will fail unless drastic changes are made in the development of the program and Blacks obtain the same opportunities to develop their business skills as Whites.

Entrepreneurship, while it has considerable emotional appeal, is not always a practical solution. A major problem facing the development of an effective program of Black Capitalism is a lack of business acumen and knowledge.

Traditionally, through racism and other forms of exclusion, such as union participation and hiring practices, Blacks have been denied participation in business for so long that there is no business tradition in the Black community from which young people can learn the rules of the game.

Black America has to ask itself some very important questions. Is the capitalistic system capable of eradicating ghettos, inferior schools, of providing equality of opportunity? Many Blacks, the author included, strongly feel that the economics of the country has to undergo essential changes through political action, or we can never hope to destroy racism and develop the necessary