White Elephant - by Pamela Kelly
By Pamela Kelly
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In recent months there have been many conversations in the African American social media community about re-building Black Wall Street, both virtually and brick and mortar, as it existed in Greenwood, Hayti, and so many Black communities in the 1880's through the 1950's.
It was apparent then, that you can't have a "Black Wall St." without the presence of a Black Banking infrastructure.
"Black Wall Street" resurrection is a popular topic on Social media, among by GenZ and Millienials, who have no recollection of Black Banking as a necessary strategy in response to discrimination.
This financial activism thrived through the Jim. Crow era, only to be curtailed in the 60's, after Eurocentric owned banks opened their doors to African American account holders.
That lack of cultural memory becomes problematic of every conversation about re-creating "Black Wall Street." ...if you don't know the history.
After all, what does a new Black Wall Street really mean? Are they banking Black? That's the 1st strategy to Black Ownership, banking our culture to build a collective financial core, in order to BUILD.
The "White Elephant" in the room is the invisible yet looming presence of Eurocentric banks as the primary choice of banking and financial investment decisions, in the minds of most African Americans today.
Wall Street
[ˈwôl ˌstrēt, ˈwäl ˌstrēt]
As an African American, born in the 50's, I find it difficult to trust in the sincerity or integrity of anyone with a "Black Wall St" | Black Ownership and Wealth plan, if Banking Black is not an imperative part of their financial strategy.
Our unquestioned deposits and confidence in Eurocentric financial institutions is the proverbial White Elephant that either we don't see, or refuse to discuss.
Why do we refuse to see or discuss this issue? Because awareness and discourse lays bare our culpability for our own economic disenfranchisement. This pathology, if continued, is a leading factor towards African American Zero Median Family Wealth by 2053.
The numbers don't lie.
Consider this hypothetical scenario:
If an African American Athlete is awarded the highest paid contract in the NBA, and is heralded as the "highest paid athlete in the NBA".
He proudly self-identifies as "Black" or "African American."
Yet, what does he typically do, at the advice of Sports Management and their Financial Advisors - generally individuals who do not look like him, ethnically?
He (figuratively) takes his multimillion dollar paycheck to Bank of America, JP-Chase, or some other majority Eurocentric owned enterprises.
Now who has he just enriched, to an extent greater than his initial deposit? The Eurocentric economic tribe!
This is why the Eurocentric dominated American Sports Industry does not mind paying huge salaries to African American athletes. They understand that, within hours, the entirety or majority of that paycheck will return to the Eurocentric wealth building ecosystem.
Oblivious to their financial complicity, typically (not always), not a single coin gets deposited, first, to any of the readily accessible Black Owned Financial Repositories: Banks | Credit Unions | Investment Companies.
This is not applicable to just athletes. Every African American is complicit depending on your answer to one question. Do you bank African American?
We abandoned Black Banks in the 1960's after Eurocentric owned banks opened their doors to us, beginning in the late 60's. To ensure the appearance of acceptance, they employed Non-Eurocentric (limited) African American representation on their Board of Directors (see links below.)
We have now returned to indebtedness to Eurocentric owned institutions for life, as if that is some proof of their support of equal opportunity. We have returned to the Plantation, through indebtedness, have we not? RAW, but true.
African Americans possess a $2 Trillion+ plus a year disposable income, that leave our ownership within the day. The consequence? We continue to face decreasing wealth to Zero Media Income by 2053.
I don't exempt myself from co-signing this pathology of supporting "Black Power" without supporting Black Banking Power.
I didn't know about Black Banks, until 15 years ago, I banked wherever convenient, without a 2nd thought of the long-term cultural consequences. Once you know, you can't un-know, and you become accountable.
While African Americans have $2.2 Trillion in spending power in 2026. We have no significant cultural economy. Spending power does not equate to a distinc self-sustaining economy.
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econ·omy
[ɪˈkɒnəmi]
the wealth and resources of a country, region, or culture, especially in terms of the production and consumption of goods and services.
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Once you know, you can't unknow.
Consider this. The same multimillions deposited by the aforementioned athlete, if deposited, at least 5%, to a Black Bank, will churn and compound exponentially to the benefit and economic growth of the Black Economy, before it matriculates to the "dominion" or "mainstream" economy?
When we prosper, America prospers.
No culture prospers without a banking infrastructure. Furthermore, no culture that gives their dollars to a historically adversarial culture, will ever earn mutual respect. We will continue to be economically bullied. We co-sign it with our daily banking decisions. Yes, this is the RAW truth.
Until African Americans and every other melanated and underserved culture, banks their culture, we are posturing, not prospering, and will continue to be bullied and disrespected.
Yes, this is an imperative not just for Black Americans, but Latino Americans (who face Zero Median Wealth by 2073), and Native Indigenous citizens, who also predominantly bank their dollars with Eurocentric owned finanical enterprises.
You are complicit in the economic hemorrhage of dollars, bleeding out, from the culture in which you self-identify.
I re-iterate, this pathology and complicity is applicable to every culture that is underserved, underbanked, underwealthed, not just African Americans.
Once you know, you can't unknow, and are accountable.
Solution: The "White Elephant" has it's place and purpose, outside the door, and not at the table of cultural, collective wealth building.
When we begin to bank Black, intentionally, and first, we will become Financially KICKA$$ and Economically FREE AT LAST!
The "White Elephant" has it's place and purpose, outside the door, and not at the table of cultural, collective wealth building for underserved, underbanked melanated cultures, such as African Americans, Latino Americans, and Indigenous Americans.
Solution... Revival^ution:
1.Bucket BO$$ Your Dollars 5-10-10-75. Reduce consumer spending 25%
2.Bank your Culture
3.Restore a "Kind" Culture
3.Build Brick and Mortar Spaces
#RAWTruth #RAWFacts
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Feedback welcome....although in preface to any comments, I make the following disclosures:
∙ While there is African American "leadership representation" on the Boards of two major Banks, representation does not equate to ownership.
∙ This is not an journalistic "effigy" of Eurocentric people. So don't get it twisted!
I do not Begrudge a Bank's Leadership/Ownership for profiting and compounding their financial wealth from the dollars of their depositors, no matter the ethnicity of those depositors. Every culture deserves to revive and thrive.
👌This article is actually an assessment of Afrocentric culpability in our own economic disenfranchisement, and how we can abate it.
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