Black businesses can fail when non-Black Americans engage in racial discrimination. Non-Black Americans may refuse to become customers of the businesses, refuse to supply or contract with the businesses, engage in extreme competitive behavior that is motivated by race, and decide against extending financing or credit to Black businesses.
Actually, such discrimination is logical on the part of non-Blacks given that their interests lie in supporting non-Black businesses. Most logical persons will agree that individuals generally feel most comfortable with those who look, think, act, and talk like them. Therefore, it should be no surprise when Black businesses experience racial discrimination.
It is true that discrimination is against the law of the land; however, legal enforcement is very weak. In fact, Black business operators should consider themselves to be extremely fortunate if they find that they do not encounter racial discrimination. Black businesses should expect racial discrimination from non-Black Americans, and should build their business strategy with this reality in mind.
Black Americans should discontinue the “Great Con Game,” and realize that we have no right to expect non-Black Americans to behave favorably toward us. That is neither the way of the world (capitalism) nor of nature itself. The first law of nature is self-preservation. Therefore, we should be of the mindset that we are in a war of us against the world.
To be successful despite discrimination by non-Black Americans, Black Americans should unify by:
(1) Patronizing Black businesses vigorously.
(2) Optimizing our business efforts by vertically integrating the businesses that we operate.
(3) Adopting soft-competition policies where they are in our best interest
(4) Motivating Black financial institutions to finance new Black businesses and to extend credit to existing businesses.
Under these conditions, when we achieve success despite discrimination, we alone will be the claimants to that success.
Contributed by Dr. Brooks Robinson
