Dear Brothers and Sisters, protests dont work. Especially those in #Ferguson and in New York in the aftermath of the killing of Michael Brown and #EricGarner. These protests are missing historical context and lacking specific tangible actionable goals. Sadly, the trending Twitter mantra #blacklivesmatter is only partially correct. Black lives matter to some folk. But black lives dont matter and havent mattered much in an American society that actively targeted and killed black people for more than 100 years following the Civil War. In case youre counting, thats all the way up to the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which is having a 50-year anniversary next year. And then the active terrorism transitioned. But we were so busy keeping up the marching and protesting that had moved the federal government to enact two significant pieces of legislation that we had a bout of amnesia on history. So, I wrote a book to remind us of how this country works, and how we can be more effective when we organize around an outcry. The challenge for black folks in America today is recognizing how to channel our protests and requests. When we are disorganized, thats when black leaders come in and channel our protests in the wrong direction. They benefit. We dont. Theres an entire history of data that clearly show such protests dont work ... unless those protests are organized in the right way and targeting an actionable goal. I wrote a book that gets to the bottom of the right way to protest and the right actionable goals to pursue. These goals are not to stop police brutality (although it will stop). Im not asking for jobs (although we will grow more than we can fill). Im not asking for government handouts (although we will be in a greater position for government to respond to us than ever before). But black people need to know our place. And by knowing our place, we can then have an active ability to change it. So, heres the reality: Black lives dont matter to white corporate America because we dont collectively contribute to the GDP (the economic competitiveness of the U.S.). All black-owned businesses contribute less than 1% GDP annually. Thats 1.9 million businesses that simply do not matter. And they collectively produce zero percent job growth. White America could care less if they all disappeared tomorrow. Black lives dont matter. White America, meaning both public and private sectors, systematically killed black people for generations at a clip of at least one per week. Black lives dont matter. White America placed blacks in economically quarantined communities and then controlled the economics of the communities. The resulting deterioration of the black family and rising crime were then labeled as the cause of the lack of economic opportunity. Try that Jedi Mind Trick and see how it works. Theres more we need to know. So much more. So, I wrote it in a book. And Id like to produce a marketing video for the book. But I need help. So, Im asking you to help me raise the $5K I need to produce a video trailer for my new book, From Freedom to Ferguson: The Private Sector Opportunity to Empower Black America. If youre interested in making a contribution, send me an email: mike@scaleuppartners. I will immediately send you a digital version of the published book and information on how to make a direct contribution. Thanks much! prlog.org/12402921.html
Posted on: Sat, 06 Dec 2014 12:40:17 +0000
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