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Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781524602642 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | AuthorHouse |
| Publication date: | 04/08/2016 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 126 |
| File size: | 928 KB |
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Blacks and Poverty
By Raymond L. Chukwu
AuthorHouse
Copyright © 2016 Raymond L ChukwuAll rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-5246-0265-9
CHAPTER 1
Current Economic Status of Black People
The basic problem confronting black people and their leaders in this country today is the inability to determine the root cause of their economic problems and develop realistic plans for addressing those problems. Black people neither have any market share nor hold any influence in the science, technology, or medical arenas. This is a disturbing trend that demands an honest inquiry. The right answer will be, "Black people do not have any market share or any influence in the world, because they have no products to offer. The market is a two-way street; you buy my product, and I buy yours. It is as simple as that."
After readers review the data in this book, they will realize that black people still have a long way to go in their efforts to wield influence in the medical, technological, and scientific fields. In my opinion, this is not only disappointing but troubling. Black people, including black leaders, do not understand that without science, technology, or medical backgrounds, they will never be a productive part of the medical or scientific communities or participate and enjoy the current economic boom in the United States. Unfortunately, the election of Barack Obama, the first black man to hold the office of the president of the United States, has not done anything to change this equation. If Obama had organized a community-development summit with black entertainers and scientists, what an exciting discussion could have taken place. If people in those fields worked together to establish a high-tech corporation designed to embrace opportunity, the entire black community would benefit. It would change the tide for black people at this moment.
Black leaders emphasize that it is imperative to build philosophical bridges from Wall Street to Appalachia and the Delta, and from prosperous Silicon Valley to the ghettos, barrios, and lonesome hillsides in the Ozarks and Middle America. They say these bridges will be built if we focus on the following:
[check] access to capital
[check] quality education for all children
[check] the prison-industrial complex
[check] human rights around the world
[check] comprehensive health care for all Americans
[check] coalition building and shared economic interest
The only thing in this list that relates to economic struggle is the lack of a quality education. Yet no one explains that, at this time, education alone is not sufficient to obtain any market share in the marketplace. Black people must seek degrees in the fields of science, medicine, engineering, mathematics, and computer technology. Only then will they operate at the same level as other ethnic groups. If blacks have no products to sell, they will continue to buy from others, which means that no one will buy anything from them. It is difficult, if not impossible, to get access to capital without a market base or to form profitable trading partnerships. To have a measurable impact in the marketplace, a product must demonstrate scientific merit and technological feasibility. Given the limited participation of blacks in science or technology, they will struggle to benefit from the development of such products and will have no share in the world economy.
This leads me to the question: does technology discriminate against black people, or do black people discriminate against technology? Regardless of the answer, black people must be recognized as contributing members of the scientific or technology industries before they can gain any market share. Can black people achieve superior economic status in the twenty-first century after they have been suppressed and oppressed for more than one hundred years? Before the slave trade and the colonization of Sub-Saharan Africa, black Africans had prestige, integrity, and economic power. The slave trade and the colonization brought an end to that. As we begin the twenty-first century, black people's efforts to regain their integrity, prestige, and superior economic status has been disrupted by their limited access to the scientific, technological, and medical fields.
Before colonization, black Africans had untapped natural resources, most of which are still untapped. This is due in part to limited scientific and technological knowledge — the prerequisites for economic security. Black people have not been exposed to the education and training they need to gain such skills. Table 1997 1a shows the percentage of the US black population involved in the engineering, science, and medical professions. According to this table, the population of this country is about 267 million; white people comprise 82 percent (220 million), and black people comprise 13 percent (34 million) people. There are approximately 1.67 million engineers in the United States; 1.48 million (88 percent) are white, and only 58,000 (3 percent) are black. Of the 409,000 scientists in the United States, 358,000 (88 percent) are white, and only 17,000 (4 percent) are black. Of the 875,000 doctors in the United States, 759,000 (87 percent) are white, and only 28,000 (3 percent) are black.
These data illustrate the state of the black community today in the United States. They illustrate the impact limited access to education and opportunity have on economic success. These figures should be offensive to black people; they are a call for collective action to change these humiliating statistics and historical trends.
An analysis of the relationship between blacks, drugs, and gangs supports the data in table 1. People deprived of opportunities in science and technology might consider drugs and gangs as an alternative pathway to economic power. Table 1b lists the racial breakdown of the US prison population. Of the 1.6 million people in prison, 31 percent are black, which is very troubling. Imagine how many people could be turned away from gangs if there were more opportunities for careers in science, technology, and medicine.
To correct this unpleasant situation once and for all, we first must identify the principal cause of this problem. Unless we deal with the situation represented by the data in table 1, it is difficult to imagine that we can resolve the complex challenges facing the black community.
Sports
Black people play pivotal roles in professional sports in the United States but they have been unable to employ this success to improve their economic status. This too is associated with the data in table 1a. Let me explain.
Today, many black athletes are the fastest runners in the world, yet they lack the mathematical knowledge to accurately calculate their speed. In many ways, it is much more difficult to do the dash than to do the math. Here is an example to illustrate my point: the air we breathe is composed of nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide, and other atmospheric particles. Because these atmospheric particles are constantly in motion, they create opposing resistance to movement. Now, to win at the hundred-meter dash, a sprinter has to overcome strong air resistance in record time, carry and propel his own weight, and maintain total control of various external and internal conditions. To be successful, the sprinter must develop a wide range of skills, abilities, and habits:
[check] vigorous training
[check] concentration
[check] focus
[check] self-confidence
[check] determination
[check] courage
[check] willpower
[check] self-discipline
[check] body dynamics (or the maneuverability to overcome the air resistance in record time)
However, too many black students have been told that it is more difficult to calculate the velocity and the acceleration of the sprinter than to do the sprint itself. In other words, the skills needed to do the math are twice the skills needed to do the dash. If one needed only half of the wisdom, painstaking effort, willpower, and self-discipline it takes to become a sprinter to become either an engineer or scientist, we probably would not have any engineers or scientists in the world today. In spite of this, black people go through life feeling inferior when they should be feeling superior; they have superior talents and intelligence, but they don't have enough opportunities to put these abilities to the test.
Let's examine the following sports, which in the United States are dominated by black athletes.
Football
Football is the most competitive sport in the United States, and it is dominated almost entirely by black players. On most teams, 88 percent of the players are black. To play in this competitive sport, an athlete must have the following:
[check] endurance
[check] ability to outsmart an opponent
[check] ability to train extensively
[check] determination and willpower
[check] solid and strong self-confidence
[check] body dynamics — that is, the ability to overcome the massive collisions associated with the game while maintaining total control of one's external and internal conditions
Again, it takes a lot more to become a football player than it does to become an engineer or scientist, but black people have been told otherwise.
Basketball
This is another competitive sport in the United States that is also dominated almost entirely by black players. As was the case with football, each basketball team has more than 88 percent of black players. This sport requires the same skills as football:
[check] endurance
[check] ability to outsmart an opponent
[check] ability to train vigorously
[check] self-discipline
[check] determination
[check] self-confidence
[check] body dynamics — that is, the ability to overcome the massive collisions associated with the game while maintaining total control of one's external and internal conditions
It takes a lot more to become a basketball player than it does to become an engineer or scientist, but black people have been told otherwise.
Baseball
Baseball is called the all-American sport. It is a very competitive sport in the United States and is dominated almost entirely by black players as well. Each team has more than 70 percent of black players. This sport requires the following skills:
[check] endurance
[check] ability to outsmart an opponent
[check] ability to train extensively
[check] determination
[check] self-confidence
[check] body dynamics — that is, the ability to pitch the ball in the most skillful manner and the concentration needed to hit the ball forcefully
It takes a lot more effort to become a baseball player than it does to become an engineer or scientist, but black people have accepted fiction rather than fact.
Boxing
This is another intriguing sport that is mostly dominated by black people in the United States. Boxing is a one-on-one sport. It requires agility and physical fitness. It also requires the ability to throw and take heavy punches. Boxing is almost entirely dominated by black fighters. More than 90 percent of the boxers in the United States are black. An excellent boxer must exhibit the following skills:
[check] agility
[check] endurance
[check] ability to outsmart an opponent
[check] ability to train vigorously
[check] self-discipline
[check] determination
[check] self-confidence
[check] body dynamics (ability to outsmart and confuse your opponent)
If you compare tables 1a and 1c, you will notice an amazing similarity between the percentages for white and black. Representing only 13 percent of the population, black people dominate the field events, with an 83.4 percent average. This is a commendable and outstanding record. Yet, no significant progress has been made in this area to improve the image, prestige, or economic status of black people. It is sad that few professional sports teams are black owned. White people, on other hand, representing 82 percent of the population, dominate science and technology with about 88 percent of the engineers, 88 percent of the scientists, and 87 percent of doctors. This statistical data relates to the superior economic status of white people, who have the know-how to outsmart black people, even in the sports where they dominate.
You do not need to be a rocket scientist to determine, based on tables 1a and 1c, that technology, science, and medicine hold the master key to world power, superior economic status, international prestige, and improved academic status. Can black people ever restore the prestige and integrity they lost during colonization and slave trade? The answer to this question is yes.
If it is true that every adversity carries the seed of equivalent benefit and if that adversity is accepted as a challenge to try harder, then more than one hundred years of devastating struggle and suffering among black people definitely will be rewarded in the early twenty-first century, but only if they accept the challenge to try harder. How this will be successfully accomplished is a complex question. There are many answers, but the correct one is the theme of this book, which provides step-by-step strategies for how black people can shift the economic power toward themselves. It includes methodologies and implementation techniques. It is the first book to tackle the economic status of black people from perspective of science, technology, and medicine.
To do this successfully, we must identify the cause of the economic problems in the black community. Table 1a shows that science, technology, and medicine are prerequisites for economic security. Until black people are identified with careers in science, technology, and medicine, their economic problems will continue.
CHAPTER 2The Connections between Technology and Poverty in the Black Community
In my opinion, poverty in the black community can be attributed to the fact that black people as a race neither have a technology base nor are associated or involved with any scientific or technological developments. As a result, black people cannot enjoy any of the following benefits:
[check] economic power
[check] superior defense capabilities
[check] domestic and international prestige
[check] superior business reputation
[check] advanced academic degrees in science, technology, and medicine
The black race is unlike other races, who enjoy all of the benefits listed above because they have technology bases here in the United States. They share these benefits with their home countries, thereby commanding superior economic power in the global economy.
Why are black people where they are today? Several answers might come to mind, but the correct answer is that they are not identified with any science- or technology-related products. A second question might be, why aren't black people identified with science or technology? The two questions have the same answer: every race in this world, including the black race, is here for a specific purpose. Furthermore, every race in this world has strong and weak points. The white race, for example, is always very ambitious and has a defined mission. The black race, on the other hand has skills and talents but refuses to apply its God-given talents to advance the economic status of black people all over the world. Instead, black people always think in terms of individual success.
A large percentage of black people lack the patience and diligence necessary for the long-time, high-risk undertakings involved in development or study of science, technology, or medicine. Table 1a can be used to support this argument, because it compares the number of black people associated with science, technology, and medicine to the number associated with entertainment and sports.
An independent study conducted by Black Technologies Advancement revealed that about 0 percent of black-owned hi-tech businesses in Silicon Valley were prime contractors or subcontractors working for the more than five hundred Department of Defense and other federal government contractors and approximately 3,500 subcontractors that operate in Santa Clara County, California. This is due in part to the fact that blacks have never embraced degrees in science, medicine, and technology. In addition, the black community has missed out on economic stability because it identifies with athletes and entertainers at the expense of careers that would have led to success. This book discusses why black community failed to welcome the technological revolution, specifically:
[check] why the black community disproportionately suffers from poor health care in the United States and around the world
[check] the real reason black community is unable to identify the cause of its economic problems
[check] new solutions for changing the status quo
[check] how the black community can overcome poverty and gain economic power in the twenty-first-century economy
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Blacks and Poverty by Raymond L. Chukwu. Copyright © 2016 Raymond L Chukwu. Excerpted by permission of AuthorHouse.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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Table of Contents
Contents
Foreword, xi,Preface, xv,
Acknowledgments, xix,
"The Struggling Boy from Sub-Saharan Africa", xxi,
Introduction, xxiii,
Chapter 1: Current Economic Status of Black People, 1,
Chapter 2: The Connections between Technology and Poverty in the Black Community, 9,
Chapter 3: Science and Technology in Sub-Saharan Africa, 13,
Chapter 4: Sub-Saharan Resources, 15,
Chapter 5: The Fall of Black Civilization, 30,
Chapter 6: Opposing Motion against the Black Race, 35,
Chapter 7: Serious Diseases in the Black Community, 39,
Chapter 8: Black Patients and Doctors, 42,
Chapter 9: Black People and the News Media, 44,
Chapter 10: Is Prayer the Answer to the Problem?, 46,
Chapter 11: Bridging the Agricultural Gap, 49,
Chapter 12: A Strategic Approach, 65,
Chapter 13: A Superior Economic Status, 73,
Chapter 14: A Call to Action, 75,
Conclusion, 77,
About Black Technologies Advancement, 83,