Are Black Men Afraid of Power? (Part 1)

When we think of powerful, athletes, you have Lawrence Taylor, Mike Tyson and Jim Brown. When it comes to market domination, you have names like John D. Rockefeller, Sr., Andrew Carnegie and J.P. Morgan. Those men are still called titans and owned, controlled and shaped entire industries.

In the black community, you may think of people like Frederick Douglas, Malcolm X, Reginald Lewis and Earl Graves, Sr. Without question, these men were titans. They exerted their power and influence to fulfill their mission. More importantly, they did so in times racial difficulty. Like white titans, these men were pioneers. They paved a road for other black men follow. However, while they passed on generational money, it does not appear they set up the same generational wealth, power and influence in a way their white counterparts did.

It also appears black men have not sought to own industries in the way Carnegie, Rockefeller, Gates and Jobs have. Much of today’s black wealth is tied up in entertainment.

While entertainment can shape culture and generate lots of money, it cannot exist without venues owned by non-black business people. Entertainers use Internet, stadiums, TV, radio, cable and Hollywood.  Without owning the industry, you don’t control pricing and you don’t control which entertainers are most successful. Since entertainers shape your culture, it would be in the best interest of black Americans to dictate which celebrities become influential. If not, someone else determines what is positive or negative.  When that happens, you have no power.

The reality is there are enough black Americans with money. For some reason, the strategy to own, control and shape industries is not. This is a testament that money is not power.  Money is money.