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· Community convenants for business:
Controlling the economics
Tbp much plblicizedAfrican
� rican boycott 01 two
Kprean grocery stores in Brook-
lyn, N.Y. hu once again drawn
alteDtio to seems like an
ge old problem in African
. American communities.
With rare excepion most of
the sbops and stores in northern
urban African American com
munities are run by non-African
Americans. (Because of histori
Cal circumstances this pattern is
far less prevalent in the South).
In the early part of this cen
tury various European ethnic
groups from the Italians to the
Jews �cd the neighbor
hood economices within the
Black nation.
In recent years Arabs,
Koreans, Vietnam and other
people of color from the Third
World have come to dOminate
shops and stores in Black Neigh
borhoods.
THIS DOMINATIO by
ou . ders been a source of
irritation and conflict within the
African American community.
There has always been
chool of thought within the
African American community
hich espoused the idea that
busines in Black neighbor
hoods oug to be responsible to
Blac people.
Malcolm X, for example,
constantly stressed the need for
Black people to control the
economics of Black com
munities.
Consistent with this notion,
Adam Oayton Powell and other
leaders in Harlem utilized pcket
lines and boycotts in Harlem in
the 30 ' and 4Os' in an effort to
make community busines e
more responsive. So there is
nothing new about what i
transpnng in Brooklyn.
Regrettably conflicts with
this new wave of outside
entrepeoeurs ptted people
of color . t each other.
On OCCMion the medi
blown these conflicts out of
proportion by playing on what is
termed anti-Korean, anti-Arab�
or anti-Vietnamese sentiments
within the African American
community.
THE ACT IS THAT
African Americans by and large
are anti-racism and anti-ex
ploitation. African Americans
have a right, indeed, an obliga
tion to control the economics
within Black neighborhoods. To
do otherwide would 'be to ac
quiesce to a iod of colonial oc
cupation.
In colonial situation, out
siders set up shop and beoefit
from the exploitation of the
colonized.
Most of the peofit, ·beuefits
many Black studeats cease to
believe i heri own ability to
excel. Aad if these childrallack
consitent personal cOatact with
Black teacbcls, older tudcots,
aDd other ts bo are stro
role models for academic
achievemnt, theya re especially
likely to grow up vie ing
academics a white povince.
Finally, BI children ho
live in neighborhoods pi ued
by unemployment aod poverty
are fully are 01 the limited
opportunities aitiDS DWly
Black youth. If easy to UDder-
land by they may choose to
reduce their expectati rather
than risk the appointmnct 01
asiring to a future that appears
unobtainable.
• OIoosiug despair aver ex
celleeee" is the way paper
columnist Carl Rowan describes
Black students' retreat from
achievement. It' s imperative
that e Blac adultshelp our
children make a more life--af
firming choice. How traggic it
would be if we allo ed our
and rc:soun:es flow out of the
colony to eabanc:e the develop
ment and pro perlty of the
colonizer.
)"be colODized are al ay left
in a eo bon of poverty and
underdevelopncDt. This is an
unacceptable condition if
African American communities
are to develop.
Creating and enforcing
Covenants for businesses
operating in Bl e neighbor
hoods is oae means through
which African Americans can
establish greater control over
the economics within Black
communities.
A COVENANT can be like
a contract between the com
munity and ANY business, ir
respective to the ethnicity of the
owner, which eeks to do busi
ness in the Black community.
I Cov should be based
on the priDcipies of RFSPON
SIBILITY and ACCOUNT
ABRlTY to the community and
the obligation to SHARE or give
something bac to the com
munity. Even African American
businesses should be bouDd by
these CoovenaDts.
The followi. are some b c
elements which might be in
cluded in a Community Coo
venant:
- CLEANLI - b .-
nesses should be clean and
operated uDder safe and sanitary
cooditi •
- . COU EOUS SER·
VI£ - cust meats are
�ed to be like human
beings. Theref e, thoughtful
courteous ervice at all
is imperati e.
QUAL P ODUCTS
usine ses hould offer
qu ity poducts r ervices and
DOt exploit! . the com
mODity by mar ting inferior
�and ces.·
- 0 PRIC GOUGI G
- though small neighborhood
enterprises are 0 en forced to
charge more their larger
competitors, ex ive prices
are exploitat;ive victimize
those who often ve the least
incdme. Pdce g uging cannot
be tolerated. .
- NO D IL-
LE AL SALE TOBAC-
CO R ALCOH L - there is
a � aleg on that some
Dei hborbood sh and stores
enSMe in all k . ds of illicit
pra.c;tices. The co munity
should make it cI that the sale
of chgs or the s e of tobacco
and alcohol to mi rs will not be
iued,
� JOBS/EM OYME
- 005· 0 rating in the
Black communi hould hire
Black people fr m the com-
ty. Even s I mom and
pop perations m agree to. at
-
Help our children choose excel/en
I
when a group of BI high
chool tudents . cussed peer
pressure recently, a young
oman aid she didn't feel pres-
sured to or cobol.
I'm tired of ,. he said
ith a g deal of fediugs," is
hen my friends get on me for
being good tudent. They say
thi g like, pressure gainst
doing something positive."
A thi young oman
finished speaking, a munber of
tudent t rted to pplaud.
Then, 0 e after another, othr
members of the 'group related
perosnal aneco and insights
being "stigmatized" a
good student. One 12th grader.
aid he purposely did poorly in
the 10th grade because she w
cary of having to defend her
achiefvements to her peers, in
cluding her brother. by the fol- .
10 ing year, he h d realized
her mistake and was 0 the road
to demic recovery.
Two researchers who studied
predominantly Black 'high
school in Washigton, D.C, for
I ••
two years, found that many stu
dents interpeted academic suc
cess a ell to the white
world. And a student who
recently grad ed from another
W hingtoo, D.C, high school
says that when be staDdard
English school, the other
dents accused him of • talking
like a wihte boy." .
TEE AGER'S EARS of
losing their acceJOnce in the
Black community only one fac
tor among �y that hold back
the achievement of Black tu
dents, our huger society COD
standy gives Black childdreD
the m e that they are DOt
expected to succeed. Many
teachers and school pincipals,
for example, do not believe
BJ ck tudents are capable
white tudents. BI children·
are dispoportiooately . gned
to lower-track classe and
taug by UDSkilled or iDdiffe8-
net teachers ho demand very
little from their tudents. After
years c:l this kind of schooling.
5
least hire a youth Part-time a
MINIMUM requireme
. - GIVE SOMETHI G
HAC TO THE COM·
MUNITV - successful
ness enterprise should be
expected to buy ads in Black
ne spapers, ads in sourvenir
program boo lets for various
community groups and e
to various community pojects
including scholarship funds.
- BUSINE DEVELOP·
M NT FUND A D TECHNI·
CAL ASSISTA CE
non-African American bus i-
and business associations
should establish bu ine
de elopment fund t help
pring BI entrqxeneurs to
go into busin . Busidess
sod lions should also povidc
technical i lance to aid BI
entrepreneurs to succeed with
their business ventures.
The adopion of the pri -
ciples suggested for Community
Convenants and the items
recommended for inclusion in
the convenants can be the .
for negoti . ng with any and I
businesses eeking to operate in
the African Americ n com
munity.
The bottom line is th t
African Am rieans should OJ)-
, pose th exploitation and abuse
of our people wh rever the
source. African-American
MUS control th economics 0
the BI ck community.
I -.
the mes age that success In ..
schOOJ ope doors of oppbr
tuni . We msut let our children
kn that they are not expend
able. We are depending on them
to develop and use their energy
and eats to contribute posi
tively to the communiti . in
which they live. We need them
to choose excellence over
des •
MIIT;an Wright Edelman is
president 0/ the Children's
Dele e Fund; a national voice
lor c ·Idren.