He discusses how other ethnic groups consolidate control of their communities and provide the first employment for members of their communities. Today the LA Times has an article that discusses the changes in South Central LA that underscore the message of Claude Anderson and by extension Marcus Garvey. The first point of the piece is that black unemployment is worse in South Central LA now than when it was in 1992. That shouldn't be surprising to anyone who is paying attention. But deeper into the article we see the issues that Dr. Anderson has pointed out repeatedly:
Now South Los Angeles is 30% African American, according to U.S. Census data, and black-owned businesses that once had a stronghold in the area have declined steadily.So first we have the demographic shift of black populations out of South Central which took with it the entrepreneurial class.
Meanwhile, Latinos attracted by affordable housing have settled in the area and now make up about 64% of the population. Latino-owned businesses have cropped up along the main corridors. Mexican grocery stores are thriving. Immigrants flock to money-wiring outlets to send funds to relatives in Mexico and Central America. Spanish has become the language most commonly heard in the streets of South Los Angeles.Anderson has repeatedly told us what "Hispanic" groups would do when they are able. Mind you this isn't a condemnation of that group. Rather it is a condemnation of black folks for not doing what they ought to be doing. Continuing:
Latino immigrants, he said, tend to form tight-knit job networks. "What employers learn to do, if they find workers they're content with, they ask those workers to bring any relatives or friends and become more dependent on them."Garvey said a long time ago that the black man should not *expect* other people to provide employment for them. Rather they should create employment for themselves. Who can argue with that? That is exactly what other groups are doing. What are black folks doing? Arguing for "multi-culturalism" and anything other than black economic independence. If such an attitude continues I fully expect such findings like the one in South Central to persist. Martin Delany, Booker T. Washington, Marcus Garvey and Claude Anderson all understood the sequential equation: +i;s;e;p;m.. (e), economics, before the (p) political. (e) economics informs and empowers the (p) political.
