The prerequisite for the rebirth of Black Wallstreet.

The idea of resurrecting a Black Wall street is a popular notion that often trumpeted by the well meaning visionaries of tomorrow who are all but content with the situation of Black life and culture today. Sadly, I feel that before the Black community can regain that lost footing dealt to us by the atrocities of Tulsa and Rosewood(along with many others)…we must develop a distaste for welfare and anything that is provided to the community “at no cost”. It is crucial to stave off the advances of government housing assistance and find better opportunities to rebuild our communities.

It is important to understand that welfare was originally intended for white people ever since the Emancipation Proclamation.and can even be traced back to 1619…and to this very day…there are actually more white people receiving welfare than their Black/Brown counterparts….but just because it might be originally meant for them…doesn’t mean it always should be available to us….mainly because it is a often psychologically mistaken for reparation.

Welfare provides initial relief at first that may well be an absolute necessity…but there are hidden costs that accumulate.

Welfare robs us of the value of choosing what initiative get subsidized in our neighborhoods. When you let the government into your life financially, then to a certain degree one must accept their regulations and oversight.

Welfare dependent neighborhoods often put the inhabitants struggles and hurdles to the forefront ‘en masse’, which often leads to crime and a dilapidated landscape with trash strewn across streets as well as a sort of lawlessness that often pervades Black culture caught in its grasp.

Welfare also deprives its captives of political independence. How many democratically aligned enclaves are there that serve poor people of color? While they are good at promises and painting idealized pictures of fairness and decency…the truth is that the best thing they do is pack in more affordable housing into poor neighborhoods….instead of setting up pathways and frameworks to help people get on their feet and leave public housing for their own brokered neighborhoods and housing.

As more affordable section 8 public housing is approved, these constructions are invariably inferior, government owned and placed in similar zones. Why? because if affordable housing is placed in wealthier neighborhoods, then homeowners would have to deal with a loss in property value.

Welfare is one of the worst kinds of inheritance that you can bestow on your child once your expiration date is near…and its not to say its someone’s fault for taking advantage of welfare…but if they live off welfare for the rest of their lives…then it presents a significant hurdle for the future generations. Ingrained welfare dependence disrupts ambition and keeps one locked into having a hand out instead of a hand up.

The first steps away from welfare starts with establishing a work ethic. Each brick on Black Wall Street had work ethic chiseled into it…but before we can even think of plotting a path towards normalizing an internal sense of pride in regards to work ethic we must present every available avenue to treat mental health hurdles in these communities where untreated trauma goes on unaddressed.

So for me the keystone in the mindset of regaining a Black Wall street in the 21st century is to make sure that everyone aspiring to be a part of that horizon is committed to not using welfare and helping other likeminded individuals, collectives and families to commit to do the same.

Just one problem:

How would we keep stop them from taking down the next Tulsa?