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with or without them). Or they would be used to campaign against our “self-serving” behavior. Imagine that, they didn’t see it happening on a “Reality TV Show”, first. They didn’t hear some radio DJ or media superstar say “its time to go”. There were no TV commercials or radio spots pumping it up to the latest beats and no corporate logos underwriting it. No just us doing our thing. Black business owners, entrepreneurs and consumers, building a foundation of financial strength that would uphold and uplift one another and be available to pass wealth to future generations. They (we) just started networking as though our lives depended upon it. We just took the time to get connected and in the process let money start to flow. Networking is as natural as breathing, we do it all the time. The problem is, we have not systematically worked out a schematic for making it pay us everyday. If we did, we as a people, would be on the road to financial independence. Individual wealth is nothing until we all have an equal opportunity to be better off. Its not “civil rights” today that is the issue, its “silver rights”. I personally have been preaching this for over 25 years and, at times it seems for nothing. Talking about what others can do so uncomplicatedly is frustrating at times. Folk, its not that complicated. We only make it complicated as a way of avoiding the inevitable ... CHANGE. The complication is in our own minds. The marketplace is ready for change. We can and should seek out opportunity within our own
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community before crossing over to accept what someone else passes off to us as opportunity. The best way for us to be certain is to establish meaningful relationships from the networking connections we make with one another. Of all American immigrants, Blacks alone came to these shores in chains. This country was no “land of opportunity” for them. They didn’t come here seeking financial independence and the accumulation of assets on their balance sheet. They came here as assets on the balance sheets of others. You know how it went, “$100, two pigs, four cows and one Negro”. Our history in America started as us being owned by someone else as chattel slaves. Someone claimed ownership of us. We were their property. When the “spoils” and means of enrichment were created and divided, one group always helped themselves to the lion’s share. From their perspective, they were superior and there wasn’t anyone around to challenge them. They institutionalize their policies of injustice and proceeded to amass fortunes. Slavery was a “cause” and fear based, poverty, not trusting one another mindsets, of many of our people, is the “effect”. This effect is now creating causes all its own, and as a result, the system self- perpetuates. Frederick Douglas said it best, “Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.” We didn’t demand enough, we didn’t get enough. And so Blacks, became conditioned to believe in history, and accepted the small mouthful of
welfare crumbs and menial jobs that offered no real chance of economic enrichment. That perspective, has caused all kinds of problems for Black people in this country that continue until today. Just to survive, Blacks have lived through slavery, reconstruction, “Jim Crow” segregation, integration and affirmative action and today “affirmative re-action” (the dismantling of most of our civil rights gains). Nevertheless, the problem and solution is the same. Its on US! We’ve got to CHANGE! Our challenge now is to take “reaffirmative action”, not only for ourselves and the short term personal gain a business opportunity may offer, but for our families and our community. God has blessed us with natural gifts. One of them is the ability to network. We are a visual and oral people and have lived by that tradition all our lives. I propose that instead of joining every network marketing company or money scheme that comes along or being isolated as “rugged individualist” or just using the Internet to play video games, network silly jokes, sentimental stories, urban legends, unsubstantiated PC virus scares, or have long winded debates in forums, as some of us are known to do, we instead mobilize our collective Internet strength and create income streams that will flow, perhaps starting slowly at first but building up like “rivers of living water” from mouse to mouse, house to house. I propose that we come together and organize. Getting a critical mass of people involved in the process is crucial. Check out the information below. We are looking to find groups of leaders who are willing to (net) work together with ... The National Black Business Trade Association. If you are interested in taking Black business networking to the next level ... get connected with us! Suppose all Black business owners, entrepreneurs, salespersons and distributors made the connection. Suppose all the Black churches linked into this network. Suppose all the historically Black colleges came onboard. Suppose all the other non-
Urban Trendsetters | More Than A Magazine. It’s A Lifestyle
profit organizations were encouraged to participate along with all the fraternities, sororities, and community groups and so on. Tens, possibly hundreds of millions of dollars could start to circulate, all from just taking a small step and a simple action. This would be “new money”. Money that we would usually just give away to someone else with no hope of return. And it would cost us very little to participate. How hard is that to do? Not hard at all. If we can take time in the day to link hundreds of people to a silly joke or hoax, why not take action that will generate income for yourself today and future generations tomorrow? Why not? We must do something to help reverse the cycle of poverty and under privilege many face. By formulating positive attitudes and effective strategies to build our businesses, our personal worth, our schools and our communities, we all will overcome. The fact that we were able to endure over 250 years of slavery and more than 100 years of open discrimination is evidence of our ability to survive. We must move past survival as a strategy and move toward contribution. We must now mobilize and utilize all of our collective resources to build and prepare for the future. We must change any non-cooperative attitudes and negative perceptions and assume the responsibility for our own future. No one is going to do it for us ... but with God’s help, we can do it for ourselves. For more information on the Black Builders Club and the National Black Business Trade Association log onto http://www.blackbusinessbuilders. com/members.html?6952 or call 866970-4887 and join the Urban Trendsetters Team.