.
THE BLACK
BUSI ESS I
TH,
. .
DWO
I
E
ITY AS
THI
D
-
By . Rambeau
Student often complain about the' and underemployment situtation apply
relev ncy of the tudy of foreign nations. in Third World nations like Grenada or
De pite tudent complaints, white Ameri- Haiti.
n history books will include signifi- If we look at igeria in west Africa,
c nt reference to Europe and particular- w_e see the first stages of family and
ly England. The continuity and compari- tr ditional culture disintegration as rural
on of political and economic sy terns of tolk flock to cities like Lagos. Without
the European and American models is adequate institutional structures available
both instructive and useful. to facilitate the rna ive migration, Afri-
With re pect to Blac Americans can cities hav generated urban slums
the comparison of the political and and juvenile delinquency. Similarly over
economic operation of inner-cities and the put forty years, e've seen the dis-
Black Third World nations is also valu- in tegration of the Black family-as Blacks
able. in the U.S. moved north to escape dis-
Like. many African (Third World) crimination and to find work in factories.
nation, the urban Black commu nity Of particular economic interest' .
mu import its food-stuffs. Because white flight (of people, skills, technology
they see the delivery trucks in front of and capital) from the city to the suburbs,
upermarkets, many young Blacks think and in Africa from the ex-colony (Zim-
food originates at the market. The only babwe, Mozambilue, Angola) to the
. nificant interf ce that they have with J mother country (England, Portugal).
the food production/distribution ystem When this occur after a political strug-
i when their mother use food stamps gle (a mayoral election or a revolution)
to "buy" grocerie . we witne m quick succe ion, a decline
In a similar fashion, many African of the tax base, an. exodus of small busi-
and Caribbean nations must import or ne, drop in the industrial productive
beg for food- tuft: to feed their populace. capacity and a decline of social ervices
In both , the failure to understand (police and fire protection and tran po r-
• and control the production/distribution tation). Rarely do we see the Third
proce shows a evere lack of economic . World nation (Kenya, Cuba) or the inner-
insight or balance. city (Washington, D.C.) have the tran-
Enemployment and underemployment itional cap city to resist the long-range
ar two more categorie where parallels reactive steps that political struggle and
can b sho n. In the inner-citie of the change generates.
U.S .• Black unemployment run between Accompanying white flight is the
15-25%, with Black youth unemployment devaluation of the monoculture's raw
from 60-70%. Underemployment, part- material. In the U.S. Black community
time jobs or job at kill level belo the the raw material i cheap labor, As
orker' training or bility,· also ram- white capitalist a utomated their fac-
p nt. The same chronic unemployment tories, or moved them to suburban .
areas or cheap I or states', or to a
(Korea, the Phillipines, Taiwan), they
devalued Blac k U.S. labor.
Similarly, through the control of
markets for raw materials (cocoa, copp r
coffee, sugar, etc.) western capitali
have teadily devalued income-generatin
African products. .
While Black labor, an energy re urc,
is devalued, fo n fuel (oil, g s e ro n,
coal) another energy ource increa
in value. Thu, each year e in th U.S.
and in Africa find more more
homes in th e inner-city ithou t heat,
electricity and water. Even tho who
have job find that tar er' portion or
percentage of their . come must be
spent on utilities.
To perpetuate this economic exploita­
tion of Black people in the U.S. and
throughout the diaspora, those in con­
trol of the economy, capitalists, have
manipulated the Blac middle class
through the imposition of value (self­
centered materialism) through the edu­
cational system (white literature, history,
cial science) and media (daily news­
paper, radio, film, magazine and tele­
vision). With little access to alternative
data or images, Black minds are brain­
washed or more ace urately ated, white­
washed.
Political change (the election of Black
mayors and congresspeople in the U.S.
or independence of African or Caribbea n
nations) ha not changed' the pattern of
economic exploitation, though it has
altered its facade. Political initiative
obtains political rights and freedom.
Unless political power is cou pled with
n
bu in p ople to J
politi. Wi�hout
thi inter ction e may have pave d
t , but fe er uto to drive· tele­
t but no Bl ck pro ramming;
new aper and new readers, but no
busine to advertise; ills, but on
f ctorie ,and hence, no jobs.
A comparative study of Third World
(African and Caribbean) nation and U.S.
inner-cities would provide guide-line for
Black political and business leader to
develop short and long-range program
for our survival, development and pro­
sperity in a hostile environment .
About the author. David Rambeau
is the director of Project BAIT, a national
Black media organization, and producer
of "For My People", a news & Public
affairs program that airs on WKBD- TV,
Ch. 50, Sunday nights at 11:30 p.m.,
and "No Claim On Tomorrow", a Black
soap opera, now available for cable and
UHF televi ion.
About the organizatiOn. Project
BAIT has regional affiliates, in Los
angeles headed by Peggy Toy, in Wash·
ington D. C. headed by Cedric Hendricks,
in Philadelphia headed by Jospeh Davis­
son, and in New York headed by Tom­
mye Myrick. Project BAIT has head­
quarters at 13217 Livernois, Detroit, MI.
48238 (313) 931-3427.
CHILD WATCH � • G·"I. t /J'
. �BYI!lg OOuuys D, 8
By . right Edelman ,
tit Children'
Television?
ing x, violence, and crime.
Such programming take a toll on our
children and on the atomsphere in which
they grow up. Television violence can
lead to aggre ion in children and adole­
scents I who watch violent program.
Studie have shown that for la rge groups
of children, the more TV watched, the
lower their verbal skills, and the more
TV watched by high-school students,
the lower reading scor s. What, in the
name of pro fits, are we doing to our
children?
While some say that c able is be ginning
to offer children a wider range of quality
programming than the networks, many
families cannot afford to take advantage
of cable's bounty. Are we thus con­
demning our "have-nets" children to car­
toons, soap operas, and syndicated re­
runs, while rewarding the "have" children
with innovative and challenging program­
ming that will further enrich their live s?
The Reagan Administration tells us we
have a choice: if we don't like what
free television's broadcasters offer our
children, we can choose to purchase
better programs. The true meaning of
television's Saturday morning wa teland.
become clear when vie ed in light of
uch "choices."
In this very real modern world -
where 58 percent of mothers with chil­
dren g es three to five are in the labor'
force - many childre n tum to television
the one constant companion they can
depend on, a friend who . nev r too
busy to play make believe. Tho e of us
who work to create better ive for
our nation's children need to fi d ways
to ensure that television will e a true
"friend." Television sh· not only
reflect the realities of children's lives
but help them deal with those realities
in constructive way S'. Ra the r than
blocking the way toward progre ,the
FCC should do its part to ·help television
teach our children lessons from the past,
gain positive role model, and d velop
their capacity to face the future. What
suits the broadca ters is not necessarily
satisfactory fare even for adult vie wers.
In man y instances, it . downright bad
for children.
Any parent knows w fascinating
television i for children. Children
unde r 12 average 27 hours per wee k
glued to � TV et. Yet mo t of what
they watc as "designed" for dults.
For years the F deral Communica­
tion Commission (FCC) has p rodde d
the nation' broadcaster to increase
the quality and quantity of children's
program. But as part of the Reagan
Administration's attempt to "deregulate"
everything from education to child
welfare, the FCC has reversed itself.
. A. commission ruling in December
"write the epitaph of the FCC' involve­
ment in children' televi 'on," ccording
to the sole dissenting commissioner.
The nation' broadcaste rs would have'
free reign to choo wh at they pu t on
the air, an d the child audience is unlikely
to be a top priority.
The handful of high-quality program
by the Public Broadcasting Service and
the networ prove the television can
te ch reading and math skills to very
young children, can instill value and
behavior like altruism, kindn , and
cooperation, and can motivate children
to le m more about the orId around
them. Ye the promise of televi ion
i ast becoming a threat.
Instead of being a positive educator,
cornmerical televi on i a huck ter.
In te d of offering a indo on the
orld, mo television program treat
children to leeing peek through the
keyhole at a odd dominated by snicker-
Marian Wright Edelman is president
of the Children's Defe nse Fund. a nation­
al voice for children.
