One of the main reasons I have taken such an interest in enterprising and real estate is because it simply not enough young black men doing it in my opinion. It’s not because us black men are not educated, it’s not because a lack of money. We tend to buy things that we want cars, rims, bottle service at clubs, clothes ,high end fashions so on and so forth. Let me take you back about 4 years ago it was the summertime in Detroit on a Saturday night and I was headed to club.
Once I factored in what I was wearing ,Mauri shoes , outfit, linen sports jacket plus entrance into to club, the drinks, reserving a table plus dinner beforehand it was alarming. I added it all up for one night and it was enough to buy at least one maybe two houses at the city auction.
In Detroit at the time the property auctions opening bids where 500.00 and that’s no joke it was real. I look back at that time and it frustrates me because I wasted a lot of opportunities if I just had more focus and intention on wealth, power and influence. Sadly a lot of us are conditioned that it’s just not possible for a black man to have this.
It’s quite the contrary, go to school, get a good education so you can get a good job and enjoy things like traveling and having a good time. This is true being a data and technology technician for Local 58 here in Detroit is a good job. It provided me all the things I wanted to do as far as recreation goes. The draw back to that it you have to constantly recreate those moments, it’s nothing tangible I can take away from that except social media pics and good memories.
I can’t employ anyone in my community with that, I couldn’t house any of our seniors citizens or veterans. It was just and endless cycle to recreate what I did before at the same time I’m losing money instead of investing it, so I made adjustments, I made changes in my life. This wasn’t easy but it was necessary for me to get the boldness and mindset to want to build an ecosystem in my community. So the question is why is this so important? Well there is this word going around the last ten years even it’s been around for a while called gentrification.
The media and developers and local politicians may say that it’s good for the city, that it’s mean economic growth. They say it will mean better quality and more secure neighborhoods which is very true. But for whom? When they say the city, in my case the city of Detroit, is it the current citizens or someone else? What’s not being said is that it’s not just a financial upgrade with new developers coming in, it’s definitely about removing black people out of the major citys for non-blacks. Washington D.C, Detroit, Oakland, Atlanta, NYC, Baltimore, Dallas, Cleveland the list goes on and on.
That’s where we come in, particularly all my fellow black brethren. I wouldn’t ask of anything I am not willing to do myself. Fortune favors the bold, that’s the ways it has always been. It takes boldness to sacrifice your time and recreation to build and create an ecosystem. How ever all the sacrifice will be worth its while. We could determine who lives in our neighborhoods instead of being pushed out.
When we own our own and have an economy it will be difficult for law enforcement to leverage us with their brutality and bogus incarceration laws. It is a reason why the Chinese are still in Manhattan and San Francisco, they have strong ecosystems that can’t be moved. Gentrification is alive and well and it’s intentions for blacks are insidious.
There is a black filmmaker out of Louisiana named Jason Black who made a powerful documentary called Gentrified ethic cleansing American style. He goes into specific detail on the intentions of gentrification and how it will affect blacks because of our poor financial condition.
You can find it at blackchannelfilms.com, after viewing it you will see the urgency of acquiring real estate and building an ecosystem for black people. This will take intention, accurate knowledge and most importantly boldness. The more boldness we show the faster and stronger economy we can build.