Equal Justice Is A Problem - But Economic Equality Is The Solution!
The deaths of Jordan Davis, Michael Brown, Eric Garner, and others only ignited an already combustible situation in African-American communities across America. This explosive situation is rooted in the hopeless conditions resulting from systematic injustices and compounded by a chronic absence of economic (equality) opportunities.
-The state of the economic conditions in African-American communities is not good.-
All across America African-American communities are on the verge of collapsing under the awesome weight of injustices, crime, joblessness, failing schools, and lost opportunities resultingfrom economic and political neglect.
Other communities have long since solved these problems because they understood that while these problems may appear to be social in nature, they are in fact, economic problems with social consequences. They further understood that there could be no economic transformation of a community without a strong and thriving business class.
THIS IS A CALL TO ACTION: While we must continue to stand firm against all forms of injustices, ultimately we must develop a national strategy that will allow us to channel this combustible energy toward addressing the root cause of the hopelessness and frustration - a lack of economic equality. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., said, “We must now develop economic parity. No ethnic group in America has ever gained equality in America without first achieving economic parity.
The solution for achieving Economic (justice) Equality in African-American communities is inescapably tied to the growth of black businesses in local communities. Black businesses are the principle conduit for transforming the economic reality of African-American communities.
Communities grow and become stable entities when they possess sustainable and diverse businesses. Businesses are sustainable forces that make it possible for the dollar to circulate in the African-American community, generating the following benefits:
- A renewed sense of hope and optimism
- Jobs Creation
- An increase in reinvestment capital and income-earning opportunities
- Support for additional business growth and expansion
- Crime and poverty reduction
- An elevated standard of living
- Higher quality of life
- Increased property values
- Increased donations to local charities
We must aggressively pursue national strategies that will lead us toward the growth of the black business class.
How Do We Achieve This Economic Equality?
It is time we learned what others have learned; if we focus on growing businesses in our community we will equip ourselves with the necessary economic resources to solve problems in our community.
There’s power in numbers! These numbers exist in what we are calling the Collaboration For Economic Equality (CoFEE). CoFEE is a national collaboration of fraternities, sororities, elected and appointed officials, black consumers, faith based groups, government entities, professional organizations, non profits, corporations, HBCUs, journalists, and others. CoFEE’s principal objective is to take on this historical challenge of problem solving by helping to grow the black business class.
CoFEE consist of seven core components/partners that form the foundation for driving the process necessary for growing black businesses and creating Economic Equality in the African-American community.
They are: 1) Messengers, 2) Agitators, 3) Primers, 4) Partners, 5)Leaders, 6) Supporters, and 7) Drivers
help craft the message for Economic Equality so that it can be communicated and transmitted to the targeted population. They are the black Media, black journalists working in mainstream media, black political leadership (national and local), religious leaders and others with the power to influence at the local and national levels.
are African-American organizations that have been established on the premise of advancing the social, political and economic conditions of African-Americans. Agitators also include social activists, artists and others in the arts.
are the African-American consumers in the Collaboration For Economic Equality. They have an estimated annual buying power of nearly $1.14 trillions. They have the power to change the economic reality of African-American communities overnight by using their purchasing power to grow black businesses. And they must be encouraged to use it.
are public/government entities that African-Americans directly control. They include: public school boards, colleges and universities, supervisors and commissioners, mayor’s offices, city councils, and the procurement offices that buy products and services for these entities/institutions/elected bodies.
are those entities that possess a great deal of capital. Capital that can be used to help fund this national concept - the Collaboration For Economic Equality. This group includes Corporate America, the NBA, NFL, MLB, and others. They are one of the keys to this Partnership because they have a lot of capital, and a great deal of it comes from African-Americans doing business with them. This group is also currently facing a great deal of criticism because of their perceived lack of empathy for the crisis in African-American communities.; This group also includes African-American players from these professional leagues as well as artists, entertainers, and entrepreneurs.
this group must help orchestrate this Collaboration For Economic Equality effort. It must include a new breed of well-informed decision-makers and leaders in business, politics, entertainment, professionals, artists, and the community who are committed to setting a clear national strategy for changing the economic reality of African-American communities.
of all the elements of the Collaboration For Economic Equality, it is the black business class that forms the critical mass for problem solving and achieving Economic Equality in African-American communities. The black business class is the engine of the new economy we must build to sustain economic growth in African-American communities.
While the other six components of the Collaboration For Economic Equality are integral parts of the process, Drivers are the instrument of the new economy we must build: the black business class. A thriving black business class is the engine that drives an economy, and is therefore the key to Economic Equality. Any promised to address the conditions in our communities that does not have the growth of the black business class as an objective is just an empty promise.
Black businesses are the keys to achieving Economic Equality because they are the points of exchange for money. The greater the opportunities (locations) for money to be exchanged, the longer the money remains in a community. The longer it stays in a community, the greater its impact on solving problems. Unfortunately, herein lies the problem. In African-American communities, we control very few of the locations (businesses) where the exchanges (buying and selling) take place.
So, how do we grow black businesses and achieve Economic Equality? There is only one way to grow black businesses - grow their revenue by connecting them to local and national buyers. To achieve this we must engage a national strategy starting with a proven online interactive business marketplace to serve as the platform to connect CoFEE partners and business owners, secure the power and reach of social media, utilize the strength of well-established African-American/consumer rich organizations, and a strategically well planned national tour to key cities where African-Americans reside to promote CoFEE as a national strategy.
Impact411.com is a national, web-based, interactive business marketplace that helps grow African-American businesses by connecting them to local and national buyers.
Business owners can list their businesses on Impact411.com, along with a description, product images, video, and coupons where buyers are able to easily find them and secure their products and services. African-American consumers can search the site for black businesses in their locations.
Government and the Private Sector as well as consumers can use the portal’s unique QRSO (Quote, RFPs, and Subcontracting Opportunities) Feature to send quotes, RFPs, and subcontracting opportunities to black businesses. Upon receipt of the opportunities via e-mail, African-American business owners can use the QRSO Feature to respond directly (via the system) to the entity that’s seeking to purchase a product or service from the black businesses.
The online business marketplace allows CoFEE partners to quickly locate and connect with black-owned businesses regardless of location.
Impact411.com’s innovative 411ConnectLocal Feature makes it possible to systematically drive hundreds of millions of dollars to local African-Americans businesses from national and regional conferences, conventions, and meetings held by African-American organizations and associations in major cities across America.
Why Impact411.com? Because it is a proven system with a track record of helping state and local governments, and the private sector meet their diversity spending needs.