Making Self-Investments: Giving Blacks a Dose of Medicine

When it comes to the black community, I have always believed that the number one symptom to why we fall behind is due to a lack of education. I have always believed that the lack of education is primarily due to the fact that funding for schools is based on the property value of the homes in the school zone thus causing schools in poorer neighborhoods to be significantly worse than those in richer neighborhoods. Because blacks have yet to gain a significant economic advantage, we live in the poorer neighborhoods and hence go to the poorer schools. This in turn perpetuates the cycle of having an economic disadvantage because poorer schools equals a decrease in the ability to economically advance which means we will continue to live in poor neighborhoods and go to poor schools.

With that said (and I know I may sound redundant because I write about this a lot), I think that black people need to start taking more individual responsibility. It is not enough to point a finger at the government even if it is justified because in the end, you still allow them to win. It is unfair that we have to jump higher and run faster if we want to make it....and even then, because of other racial obstacles, we still run the risk of looking failure in the face. But despite whether it is fair or unfair, if the government (a.k.a. the white man) does not invest in us, then we have no other choice but to invest in ourselves.

Many of you may be tired of reading about this on my blog, but the reason why I'm rehashing this topic is because I continuously encounter new ways to possibly rid the black community of this disease called "The Miseducation of the Black Community". Each time I think of a new medicine for a symptom, I like to share it and am interested in knowing what others think about it.

Medication 1: A Noisemaker

The first medication that I prescribed to this symptom facing the black community that I wrote about in previous entries is that the black community needs to start making more noise. We have civil rights because people made noise. We can vote because people made noise. So now we have to fight for an equal education...it is true, that segregation in schools is no longer a direct symptom...but we currently face what I like to call indirect segregation. We have to write to our congressman or at the least our school district and continue to fight for an equal education. I will not go into further detail about this because I have addressed it before. But now I would like to discuss medication number 2:


Medication 2: Self-Investments


Throughout my entire college career I have worked 2-3 jobs a semester as well as held countless leadership positions on a variety of organizations. This of course has significantly impacted my performance in school. At least that was the assumption that I have always made. But of course, I never had any proof. Many of my colleagues have told me time and time again that I am one of the smartest people that they know and of course I never argued with that fact. But, it has recently come to my realization that subconsciously there was a part of me that doubted whether this was true...primarily because my grades have definitely been sub par.

This semester however, I am not working at all...and every assignment that I have touched has turned into the golden A. I was two points shy of a 100% of my Regression Analysis exam which to me is a big feat considering the statistical concepts in the class can be a little confusing. Not only did I get a 98 on the exam but I also finished the exam before everyone else.

I noticed this semester that every time I did receive a grade back, a part of me was ecstatic while the other part of me was in complete and utter shock. The fact that I had the feeling of disbelief showed me that there is a small part of me that may have previously doubted myself.

So what does this have to do with the black community?

I know many, many black students who have to tirelessly work while attempting to be a functional and successful full time student. Statistically, blacks tend to do poorer academically than whites but what statistics does not determine is causality. I am a living, breathing case study of how economics have a great effect on academic performance.

But as I said before, it is not enough to point fingers. It is about finding ways to overcome obstacles. The reason why I do not have to work this semester is because I saved enough money so that I would not have to work over the course of the semester. I made a significant self-investment and the rewards have been more than substantial. It is my opinion that most blacks are here-and-now thinkers....they do not tend to look ahead. When it comes to money, we are the least likely to believe in savings. This is proven through the fact that there are a considerable amount of blacks who are rich...but they are not wealthy. Even Oprah, the richest black woman, is not wealthy.

As black people, we have to make a way out of no way. And we have been good at doing this...but, we need to be better. If economics is a factor in you achieving a certain level of excellence, there is a great possibility you may need to make better self-investment choices. You may have to give up going to the hairdressers every one-two weeks, you may have to go without a cellphone, you may have to pass up those new pair of tennis shoes, you may have to eat oodles of noodles all semester long, and you may have to stay your ass in the house all summer long (which has been one of my downfalls).

It may not be fair that Little Susy gets to crash her car, break her laptop, and get it replaced within the next week. It may not be fair that Little Susy gets to blow $3000 a week at the mall. It may not be fair that Little Susy can go a whole semester well fed and not have to worry about wheter she is going to face financial suspension. And it may not be fair that Little Susy is dumb as a doorknob an has a higher GPA than you. But life is not fair. So you have to hustle and be on your grind....and a smart hustler makes wise investments concerning themself.


Medication 3: Group Investments

Another sympton regarding the disease "The Miseducation of the Black Community" is that blacks are a very self-centered people. We do not value collectivism. This is also seen in our homes. Statistically, black families are more broken up and broken down. But once again, statistics does not determine causality. I unfortunately do not know the cause as to why "collectivism" is not implemented in our value system (if you have an idea, feel free to comment on it) but it is not implemented nonetheless.

As blacks, we need to start thinking how action or inaction today effects the generation of tomorrow. We need to start thinking of how can we make it easier for those to come. Doing this is definitely larger than one person, so as I always say, you start with yourself then you start with the person next to you. I think the biggest group investment we can make should start with our families.

If you happen to be from a broken home or you are in a family where collectivism is so far from reality, then I suggest you make life good for yourself and focus on the family that you yourself plan to have. Make sure your children understands collectivism that way the next generation can be more unified.

Build your life not only to be rich but as I said, build your life to be wealthy. This is very important for group investments because being wealthy and having assets leaves something here for the next generation. Do not leave this earth without having something left for your children. Make sure they are taken care of. That's what the white man does.

The biggest issue that I have heard concerning this is that blacks are so afraid of having spoiled children who do not understand what hardship means. But to me, that fear should not be something that we live and breathe by. If you are a good enough parent and you work hard to instill certain values in your children, then it should not matter. The whole point is, you should want your children to have a better life than yourself but still turn out to be knowledgable, good people. It is nothing wrong with making things easier.

Asians are the best at practicing collectivism. They are a very relationship-based culture. Someone in the family may start a very successful and lucrative business and then they send their kids to school so they can come back and work in that business. No, these kids are not spoiled brats. Rather, they participat in a family legacy. They know how to invest in a group.

Do not quote me on this, but in my opinion I believe the main reason why the world and not just whites look down on blacks is because of our lack of collectivism. We do not even do right from one black person to the other black person so why should we expect more from anybody else?

Yes, we have been oppressed by whites and we have a lot of reasons to feel self-righteous. But how do you explain the world view? Why is it that one of the worst things for an Indian woman to do is marry a black man? Whites may follow us around in stores because they think we are going to steal...but how do you explain the Asian lady at the hair store who doesn't watch American TV because she cannot speak English? What's the reason behind her following us around thinking we are up to no good?

I have no real answers to these questions...it's just something to think about.