So sad, i watch so many black businessmen get constrained by "finances" Black construction companies are strangled because they can not get the bonding thats needed to build homes (which today is lots of money) white businesses have fewer problems securing funds , it just trickles down from the "sky"
Frustrating to me that these “movers and shakers” are never referred to as a drain on the economy. All the resources flowing to a few select individuals on top is the sign of a sickly and inefficient economy.
I saved the throwing up in my mouth for my own restack. But to you, Marlon, I will just offer my great thanks and appreciation as one of my first subscriptions here. Your voice means so much! 😀💪
Excellent Use of the 1984 SNL Eddie Murphy “Whiteface” Sketch!
Yup. It’s an egregious double standard when it comes to Black Entrepreneurship and Bankrolling Black owned businesses and Startups and how VCs and Property Management Firms get jittery when they learn that their clients are Black owned. But as a Black startup owner myself, I’ve discovered that it’s all about having to know how to play the game, about being Transparent and real subtle towards VCs and Firms about the fact that you’re business is Black owned.
Think about this: Ronnie DeVoe of New Edition remains one of the Most Successful Real Estate Moguls in the Country. He’s mastered it. And it’s beyond stunning how he entered into it with such heavy skepticism from those around him. He’s proved everyone Wrong:
Speaking in gross generalizations, White people and the global ruling elite put roadblocks on every pathway to independence and prosperity, with rare exception (thinking of Oprah). Are there traitors within? Yeah. Looks like there are plenty of Clarence Thomases. And when Brown, Red and Black people finally pull it together by working together, everyone changes the rules and they throw a Rosewood, Black Wall Street massacre, or a Timothy McVeigh at us. "Pull yourself up by your own bootstraps?" We've consistently pulled ourselves up, them up, and every damned body else up. ... I believe the biggest problem facing African Americans in particular is trust. You know. The house slave versus the field slave. Also, there seems to be a deep-seated desire for White acceptance; to be able to blend in or bond with them. I invite dialog on this because, being raised in predominantly affluent WASP and Jewish communities, I'm guilty of this at times, too. You know. That Rodney King thing, "Can't we all just get along?" I've owned 4 businesses and, if I have to answer this question through the lens of business opportunity, my answer is a resounding "Hell No!" ... I'm a solutions-oriented person, though. What's the solution to this dilemma?
Oprah is a Sellout. MC Hammer and Ice Cube And Ice T aren’t Sellouts. Oprah was willing to throw Michael Jackson completely under the bus for Harvey Weinstein.
Regarding Uncle Toms and Jigaboos like Justice Thomas and even Sigh Snoop Dog, sometimes Money talks way too much.
One of things that I admire about New Edition as a whole is how all 6 members have learned from their experiences to stay successful, give back to their communities and help invest in fellow Black owned businesses. Mike “Sporty” Bivins says that the moment he and the other boys were dropped off home in Tour Buses in Orchard Park Projects in Boston in August 1983 with a miserable $1.87 Check to present to their mothers is something that sticks with him to this day. He also says that it was another lesson learned in Late 1985 when he learned that Although New Edition were signed to MCA Records, that they were all under contract with a Production Company called Jump N’ Shoot Productions, Bivins said “This is when I learned how easy it was to be caught into Bad Contracts”.
I'm not much for celebrities or reality tv or hero worship of any kind, so I don't know some of the people you mention. I knew too many of them growing up and they didn't leave me with a stellar impression. I do know that group in your 1st and 2nd paragraphs, though. Oprah, Snoop, Thomas - members of Dubois' "Talented 10th" who were sent out and didn't bother coming back. <sigh> I'm so incredibly disappointed in them. ... I've been giving a lot of thought to this "money" thing for many, many years. And, I believe I have an answer, however impractical it may seem: As I've written before on Substack, I'm reasonably sure that the answer is the barter system. We need to go back to it as a community. We also need to constitute a modern Rites of Passage for our kids. Another way of saying this is, we need to redefine what wealth is. It's not what we have that makes us wealthy, it's what we give back to our families and our community and to the world. We need to build a contemporary Rosewood. To some degree, the Iroquois Indians can serve as a role model as well. We can interface with everyone else, but we must build a bubble, a self-contained diaspora where that dollar circulates within our community 100x before we give it back. Everyone owns a beautiful home. Everyone has a decent mode of transportation. Everyone has safe water, food. We've entertained the world for millenia! We can certainly create entertainment, a rich quality of life in spite of them for any and everyone within our community, in service to Self. And when we succeed, because we always do, will they come after us? Yes, they will. We must prepare for this eventuality. As Nelson Mandela said, “It’s impossible until its done.”
1.) That crook in Arkansas was definitely a "Woman to Watch." Maybe if they watched her closer, she wouldn't have bilked them out of money.
2.) I'd be curious to know who ultimately ended up with the AT&T deal the banks wouldn't sign up to finance. It wouldn't shock to learn one of those bank managers' friends "got a hot tip" that AT&T was looking to finalize a lucrative arrangement, just like the one you proposed and couldn't get loan approval for.
I don’t even know what to say, this revulses me so much.
So sad, i watch so many black businessmen get constrained by "finances" Black construction companies are strangled because they can not get the bonding thats needed to build homes (which today is lots of money) white businesses have fewer problems securing funds , it just trickles down from the "sky"
Frustrating to me that these “movers and shakers” are never referred to as a drain on the economy. All the resources flowing to a few select individuals on top is the sign of a sickly and inefficient economy.
An excellent point!
I saved the throwing up in my mouth for my own restack. But to you, Marlon, I will just offer my great thanks and appreciation as one of my first subscriptions here. Your voice means so much! 😀💪
Thank you, Julie!
Excellent Use of the 1984 SNL Eddie Murphy “Whiteface” Sketch!
Yup. It’s an egregious double standard when it comes to Black Entrepreneurship and Bankrolling Black owned businesses and Startups and how VCs and Property Management Firms get jittery when they learn that their clients are Black owned. But as a Black startup owner myself, I’ve discovered that it’s all about having to know how to play the game, about being Transparent and real subtle towards VCs and Firms about the fact that you’re business is Black owned.
Think about this: Ronnie DeVoe of New Edition remains one of the Most Successful Real Estate Moguls in the Country. He’s mastered it. And it’s beyond stunning how he entered into it with such heavy skepticism from those around him. He’s proved everyone Wrong:
https://afrotech.com/how-ronnie-and-shamari-devoe-are-building-longevity-both-in-and-outside-of-the-music-business
There’s no telling that he likely knew how to run the game.
Not surprised. Just imagine where we’d be if everyone had a real shot.
Speaking in gross generalizations, White people and the global ruling elite put roadblocks on every pathway to independence and prosperity, with rare exception (thinking of Oprah). Are there traitors within? Yeah. Looks like there are plenty of Clarence Thomases. And when Brown, Red and Black people finally pull it together by working together, everyone changes the rules and they throw a Rosewood, Black Wall Street massacre, or a Timothy McVeigh at us. "Pull yourself up by your own bootstraps?" We've consistently pulled ourselves up, them up, and every damned body else up. ... I believe the biggest problem facing African Americans in particular is trust. You know. The house slave versus the field slave. Also, there seems to be a deep-seated desire for White acceptance; to be able to blend in or bond with them. I invite dialog on this because, being raised in predominantly affluent WASP and Jewish communities, I'm guilty of this at times, too. You know. That Rodney King thing, "Can't we all just get along?" I've owned 4 businesses and, if I have to answer this question through the lens of business opportunity, my answer is a resounding "Hell No!" ... I'm a solutions-oriented person, though. What's the solution to this dilemma?
Oprah is a Sellout. MC Hammer and Ice Cube And Ice T aren’t Sellouts. Oprah was willing to throw Michael Jackson completely under the bus for Harvey Weinstein.
Regarding Uncle Toms and Jigaboos like Justice Thomas and even Sigh Snoop Dog, sometimes Money talks way too much.
One of things that I admire about New Edition as a whole is how all 6 members have learned from their experiences to stay successful, give back to their communities and help invest in fellow Black owned businesses. Mike “Sporty” Bivins says that the moment he and the other boys were dropped off home in Tour Buses in Orchard Park Projects in Boston in August 1983 with a miserable $1.87 Check to present to their mothers is something that sticks with him to this day. He also says that it was another lesson learned in Late 1985 when he learned that Although New Edition were signed to MCA Records, that they were all under contract with a Production Company called Jump N’ Shoot Productions, Bivins said “This is when I learned how easy it was to be caught into Bad Contracts”.
Oh, I love New Edition so much! Always so uplifting. I did not know this about them. Going to have to revisit their excellent stuff soon. ♥️
I'm not much for celebrities or reality tv or hero worship of any kind, so I don't know some of the people you mention. I knew too many of them growing up and they didn't leave me with a stellar impression. I do know that group in your 1st and 2nd paragraphs, though. Oprah, Snoop, Thomas - members of Dubois' "Talented 10th" who were sent out and didn't bother coming back. <sigh> I'm so incredibly disappointed in them. ... I've been giving a lot of thought to this "money" thing for many, many years. And, I believe I have an answer, however impractical it may seem: As I've written before on Substack, I'm reasonably sure that the answer is the barter system. We need to go back to it as a community. We also need to constitute a modern Rites of Passage for our kids. Another way of saying this is, we need to redefine what wealth is. It's not what we have that makes us wealthy, it's what we give back to our families and our community and to the world. We need to build a contemporary Rosewood. To some degree, the Iroquois Indians can serve as a role model as well. We can interface with everyone else, but we must build a bubble, a self-contained diaspora where that dollar circulates within our community 100x before we give it back. Everyone owns a beautiful home. Everyone has a decent mode of transportation. Everyone has safe water, food. We've entertained the world for millenia! We can certainly create entertainment, a rich quality of life in spite of them for any and everyone within our community, in service to Self. And when we succeed, because we always do, will they come after us? Yes, they will. We must prepare for this eventuality. As Nelson Mandela said, “It’s impossible until its done.”
I’m always fascinated by the way Americans love a good con artist (who’s mostly always white), what’s up with that? Why?
Great post. Two things came to mind:
1.) That crook in Arkansas was definitely a "Woman to Watch." Maybe if they watched her closer, she wouldn't have bilked them out of money.
2.) I'd be curious to know who ultimately ended up with the AT&T deal the banks wouldn't sign up to finance. It wouldn't shock to learn one of those bank managers' friends "got a hot tip" that AT&T was looking to finalize a lucrative arrangement, just like the one you proposed and couldn't get loan approval for.