According to a 2019 Pew Research Center survey, 40 percent of Black adults have a negative view of capitalism. Just three years later in a different survey, the results grew to 54 percent. Black people are rapidly changing their views on capitalism. Why?
The common understanding of capitalism is that it gives people the opportunity to build something financially profitable. But if according to the U.S. Census Bureau 23% of all African Americans live below the poverty line, is it really working for us?
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the quiet part out loud at a 2022 event honoring MLK when she admitted that the American economy hasn’t worked fairly for Black Americans. This hasn’t stopped many of us from engaging in capitalism though.
Many Black people still believe that supporitng Black businesses is the best way to manipulate capitalism to meet our community desires. But can the same system that exploits us and economically disadvantages us truly help us even if only a few of us grow wealthy from it?
It’s ok to acknowledge the issues in our current economic system. The best way forward is for all of us to begin imagining alternatives to capitalism that can radically bring us peace and liberation.