Reading a friend’s Facebook post this morning brought to my attention once again, as we prepare to celebrate the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. that the mindset of parents can have a powerful and dramatic impact on the way our children see the world and approach life. I’ve always believed that some issues are best discussed only in closed quarters. Politics and religion are the first to come to mind but the discussion of race is in close proximity.
Nonetheless, my friend’s post which was as much a query as a position statement was too intellectually enticing to ignore leaving me feeling emotionally mesmerized and analytically compelled to respond. The post read as follows:
“I noticed that the NFL just hired 8 new head coaches and not one of them are African-American, 67% of the players in the NFL are African-American and 0% of the teams have an African-American owner. What’s wrong with this picture? Are we making progress or are we regressing? Not only were there 8 head coaches, hired there were 12 general managers hired, and all twenty were white males, seriously?”
My African-American friend whom I have known for nearly 20 years is not only a real person but one of the more intelligent people I know and not someone I just met on-line (see Manti Te’o). In his initial post he asserts that somehow the NFL “dropped the ball” in its hiring practices and that there should be more African-American general managers and coaches. While I would agree wholeheartedly that it would be great if those making decisions in the NFL – you could also add the NBA, NCAA Division I football and NCAA Division I basketball for that matter – had the same proportional racial and ethnic makeup to those playing on the field, I unequivocally disagree about who is responsible for the affirming actions that will level the playing field.
Moreover, as a parent, I believe thinking that our future and progress lies in the hands of others is dangerous, counterproductive, and inefficient; a bewildering ideology that if passed on to children will rob them of recognizing and believing in their innate power – their God-given dominion to be the master of their own fate and to be the captain of their own soul. I want my son to know what Dr. King believed – that not everyone is going to want him to succeed or believe in his equality but that he should never let the thoughts and/or actions of others dissuade him from being led by the principles of self-determination and self-love. I want my son to know as those who shared Dr. King’s faith like my mother and grandmother who also wanted me to know and believe – “If God is for us, who can be against us?”
The following is my reply to my friend’s Facebook post:
I’m not sure if it is more disconcerting that you are surprised by the lack of African-American coaches in the NFL or that during the week that we celebrate the birth of Dr. King that most have forgotten that the reason for this “inequality” is linked with the next phase of his movement…Economic Equality. The lack of African-American coaches is in direct correlation with Economic Power. African-Americans toss their Economic Power around just like a third string quarterback who doesn’t know the playbook – throwing passes like money inaccurately, incompletely and to the wrong team.
The buying power of African-American consumers is projected to reach $1.1 trillion by 2015; a figure larger than the GDP of most countries in the world. A figure that would rank African-Americans as the 16th wealthiest nation in the world with GDP higher than Egypt, Turkey, Poland, Australia, Taiwan and more than 150 other countries of the world. Yet, African-American household wealth is 22 times less the wealth of White Americans. That’s right 22 times less than the “average” White American not the owners of the football franchises who hire the key administrators (coaches, general managers, etc.)
In 2013, the blame for getting your hand burned by a stove has to fall on someone other than the stove. Change never comes from one who already benefits from the status quo; change occurs when those who are disenfranchised decide to make changes in their own behavior and actions. The statistics seem to suggest that neither you nor those calling for change are willing to do what it takes to make change.
Perhaps it is time for African-Americans to look in the mirror and make some internal changes. Perhaps, African-American athletes should learn to accumulate wealth so that one day they can have the financial resources to purchase a team and make hiring decisions rather than buying a bunch of depreciating assets (multiple exotic cars, multiple homes, bling-bling, making it rain, etc.).
Perhaps it is time for African-American athletes who overwhelmingly populate the NFL player/employee pool and dominate the sport, form their own league so that they can have greater control of their own destiny. Rather than being relegated to learn a game and become a hands on expert that will have little or no opportunity to make administrative or coaching decisions maybe establishing a “league of their own” would provide the real change that is needed and opportunities that are desired. Besides, can you imagine an NFL game without the presence of the African-American athlete?
Perhaps, African-American consumers should increase their financial acumen so that they too can increase their wealth. With increased individual/household wealth African-Americans would be able to become season ticket holders and/or purchase sky-box seating which would provide an opportunity to be in the room when deals are made and provide a chance to meet with the White owner to share their concerns on a regular basis.
Perhaps, African-American consumers rather than buying depreciating assets (luxury cars, over-sized homes, designer clothes, etc.) and watching the games from home should pool their financial and intellectual resources to establish a corporation that might be able to be an advertising partner with the NFL rather than working as an employee of a White advertising partner who only attends the games when someone from their White corporation gives them a ticket or they have a few pennies left – after purchasing all those useless depreciating items – to buy a nose bleed seat.
Maybe as African-Americans celebrate the life of Dr. King, we should not only remember but embrace and endorse the ideology that if we really want change perhaps we should start with the man/woman in the mirror.
Well said but why not go further. Black entertainers could pool there money to own a network and produce shows that would expose our youth to careers other than that of rappers and sports stars so that maybe they would aspire to be the managers, producers, financial planners, etc. And/or pool their money to own an entertainment company like Live Nation that handles most of the concerts. Can you imagine a year when African American entertainers are not performing?
Just my two cents.
Great insight sir! Dr. Claude Anderson in his book “Poweronomics” points to they great need for us to do just what you are suggesting. We seem to keep waitng for others to admit, that we are right, it is unfair, now do the right thing and give us our fair share. Yet they will not admit to the wrong doing nor ever plan to give anything back. So confuse MLK’s dream as just that, not understanding the continued need to overcome economic equality along with racial equality. Please share if you would in your next post, just how and where to begin this pooling of resources. I would love for our son’s to be apart of it. Thanks for the topic and the alert to refocus, as it is truly necessary.