Redlining - Reverse Redlining in USA (II)

By

Sampson Iroabuchi Onwuka

I sound very strange to take the defense of African American Society in terms of the current poverty of their business in US, and in relation to their level of business ownership in the World. In the last essay, there were several questions about African American business capabilities, why their general involvement in the general progress of businesses in the world. But some have argued that such failures had nothing to do with Redlining or financial apartheid. But such reactionary tendencies and commentaries are the very essence of the general discourses on Redlining and Reverse Redlining, for the issue may be considered very American and but it requires a general view to draw specific conclusions about the whole thing.

I shall mention that it is only expected of many Nigerians and perhaps others, to see the financial shortfalls in African American society as a matter of laziness and perhaps a question of their failure to capitalize on US opportunity. Such reductionist view is largely true for people uninterested with the reasons behind such problems. Perhaps, Nigerians are not aware of how disappointing some African American leaders find the freaking ‘Giant of Africa’, for if Nigerians know how little other Africans take them, may be they will understand why American Blacks are more likely to align themselves with South African Blacks than the non performing Nigerians at anytime. Perhaps Nigerians may yet perhaps understand the great demands of informed inquiry into the left and right of African American society and the history behind them. Only then can they shade more light on very nature of Redlining.

The above categorization do not include Caribbean people, especially Haitians, who believe themselves much better have Nigerians, both in world history and in education. Haitians I know have hope that Nigerians may yet prove themselves in the world, but they were quick to remind me that Nigeria as a country had only independence to deal with in their relationship with Europeans. Haitians say that they have sacrificed more than any group of Africans outside the continent that they suffered from Whites in terms of slavery, savagery, rape of their men and women, statutory rape of 13 year old, leg and hand decapitation, evisceration of genitals parts, childhood castration, and public explosions of individuals stuck up with fire crackers in their anus. They also said that they were periods of diseases and long spells of epidemics without International attention, that they had poor International recognition including the full fledged war with Napoleon and his Army and prolonged US occupation. Haitian also managed to liberate their own country by arms, and not only that, they also liberated the entire Caribbean in the early 18th century.

They also mention that the brutal conflict with Europe forced Haiti into defense position and for a century they were to compete with Europe over some areas of business. That they were eventually other problems of racial competition between Caribbean people of dark African descent and the others from mixed parentage. In fact the issue of racial mix in dark society they say is such that Banks and financial institution played the card of financial apartheid quite well in Caribbean, decades before Redlining in the United States. Naturally in the course of the survival periods, Americans who ventured into the mix of financial heritage took the position of these others. That it was only a question of time that it reached other places starting from the end of the end of the World War I.

Then regarding other commentaries about people who should pull themselves up in a free society, it needs be said that such commentary is not unlike the issue of ‘Booth straps’ in Martin Luther King’s era. The statement that African Americans should pull themselves by their ‘booth straps’, was made by a distinguished African Statesman whose name Martin Luther King did not mention. The ‘Honorable African Statesman’ that Luther referred to was a certain Nigerian by name Nnamdi Azikiwe during his visit to New York. Azikiwe like many Nigerians was probably right in his judgment but it must be said that Azikiwe, who found the segregation of Blacks intolerable in his college years at Lincoln University, probably meant something else by the comments. Martin Luther King was talking about something else, and that is the issue of financial apartheid evident in the American society. There was very little blacks could do other than hope for a change in the attack which was all they prayed for.

Martin Luther’s spiteful nature misconstrued it as a mocking jest and went into the long elaborate deconstruction of the comment about someone pulling himself by ‘Booth Straps’, including the popular issue of Blacks without legs. Martin Luther tirade on Booth Straps may have completely alienated Africans leaders from the civil struggle of the Americans, and may have severed the relationship between African American leaders and Pan-African leaders of that era. It is probably right to say that he is responsible for short falls in relationship between African leaders and other Blacks leaders around the world, committed to the so called New Humanity.

But more than anything, we can suggest that Luther’s poor knowledge of the statement and the poorer knowledge of the implications of the statement may have choked the chicken on the very issue. But in terms of Redlining, all of these people, including Martin Luther King participated in its destruction in these United States. But that does not mean that Redlining has come to an end. It was different shades of its essence.

I shall say is that ‘perception’ as Galileo explicated, it’s that different from reality. The reality of financial apartheid is that many educated Nigerians and Ghanaians are now beneficiary of the system that was not readily available to African Americans from the very beginning. I stake a correction to all sorts of assumptions on this fact since what we know from history is that African Americans have been involved in setting the world free from a misconception on its limits to rights and freedom. It was the likes of Alexander Crummel, Martin Delany, and Marcus Garvey that began to seek means of industrial independence from White society.

They were others such as Frederick Douglass who believed that Black American dream was in American and in emancipation. There were still others that were mainly concerned with proper education and career opportunity for Blacks, either in US or in the world, among whom was a certain Booker T. Washington. They were yet other African American leaders in the very early years who where citing that a new world of labor was emerging at the turn of 19th century and African Americans needed to better position themselves academically. Yet many others were complaining about financial segregation, about the disadvantageous condition of been in any society of whites and blacks with many of the business in the hands of Whites. They could not go further than America which was expanding, were not that allowed to visit anywhere but America. But many of them continued in spite of the obstacles.

It was the defiance of these groups of Blacks who sought inclusion in the wilder world that ultimately began to shape the psychology of the world towards Africa. The above mentioned individuals influenced the like of Edward Blyden, a man born in St Thomas who ventured into African studies and began to write prolifically for African redemption. If there were no financial support from Whites or powerful Blacks among others, these people Edward Blyden and the likes of Booker T Washington would not have made it for such a long time. Many of these mentioned people, including the mighty Ralph Bunche would not have lasted that long where it not for public acceptance from Americans first which influenced the views of the world about him, and then the financial support.

But the wires that held many other Americans down about Blacks, and in fact the society, were matters of self preservation which if they had managed to overcome will naturally inspire or unleash their suppressed affection for others. In many ways, many underperforming Whites would rather find a way to disrupt the pattern of thinking of these people I mentioned than encourage the competition through very other means.

That Nigerians or other Africans in American are surviving at a better rate than African Americans does not mean that they are better in any way than they. Even at that, there is no way we can accept that such claims about African Americans are true since the few who are locked in the jam of competition are doing fairly well. I shall also indicate that all types of enhancement in the educational system of US, in the way we understand today, is in fact an outcome of the struggles of these Black brothers and sisters through the years and other Americans seeking better days for their children. But of course, everyone is taking part in the opportunity this society now offers, including Africans who paid their own prize and the Asians of all types.

Part II. Origins

It needs be said that when we talk about the handicapped position of African Americans, we are not dealing with people who are poorly educated or unable to accomplish a whole lot, we are referring to the sedentary position and process which the years of segregation and Redlining essentially proved.

What we need to mention is that America as a land of opportunity is so strikingly protective of privileges, that the only way to understand the society is through the prism of history. We also need to mention that there is necessity to come to grasp with the very geographical size of the continent of America and how powerful the country is likely to be in future. For it seems clear that that there is not enough knowledge about the very size of the country, a country with the geographical size three times that of the continent of Europe. America is about one and half times the size of China or India, and cover the highest repository of earth resources, from Aluminum to Zinc.

In fact, US proven oil Reserves is as much as Nigerian, and in terms of offshore crude like the Gulf of Mexico, Nigeria is probably not a higher pedestal. In very many sense, there is need to be very clear about the serious powerhouse called USA, whose potential is only beginning and whose problems are seriously human. The intimidating size of the country force all kinds of issues especially the issue of apprehension and then financial selection. My personal point my however count in terms like this.

My travels over the years across US and mainly Tri State; New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut, and sometimes Boston, led me to understand why Americans are seriously apprehensive of others. As some point, I had to cover over 183 thousand miles of driving in one year and in many other years, I covered well over 150 thousand of driving within the Continent of USA. Such lengthy travels offered me as it will cover any one, a small window into the evolution of the society from its underdeveloped country side to the Urban and to City limits.

Needless to say that US is full of underdeveloped villages and jungles, not unlike what you find in Nigeria. The only difference is that these places have functional water system and electricity. As some point in your travels around USA, either for business or pleasure, you are likely to drive for hours on the road without seeing a single human being and only cars, trucks, and so on, zooming on at least 90 miles per hour. I mean for hours no real human contact heading south. Even traveling to some parts of South Jersey, you might just keep driving and driving without even a contact and only vehicles. Then all of a sudden, cars begin to appear and then humans and then a small town leading to a bigger town.

What am driving at is that the size of the geography under the allocation of the Americans can create a sense of uncertainty about everything including the individuals, and that sense of uncertainty, sometimes lead to the unnecessary lack of trust among the PRIMARY colors. That lack of trust lead to competition, a competition that give, or gave Whites upper hand from the beginning, and even as the fear is long gone, many White Americans will still act as they will lose their minds if they unconscionable allow a progress of blacks.

I mean the current strength of whites in America and their untried and reserved ability to ride others is either based on their economic advantage over much of others or because of US military ability. It must be said that White strength also evolved in America by keeping Blacks at a minimum perform grade by force or by crook. You will notice that when some African Americans, actually believe that financial progress is only possible with White folks. So they can’t imagine a world that is free whites when they can survive. When any African American is however able to get away from that oppression – which is mainly financial and self serving – these Blacks become in matter of years, multi millionaires. Why? The best answer is in the history leading to the mindset of many Whites, many of whom are children of the years of African Scramble and the late Victorian age, some of whom are grand and great children of the Civil war era in USA - who saw the emancipation of Blacks from slavery and quasi slaves to full citizenship.

Before the advent of this Civil war and emancipation, there was the issue of slaves doing it all. During the slave era, African Americans were the constant house keeper, the constant gardener, the shoe makers, the trained and untrained doctors, the cook, the laborers and house builders, for a fact, the US White House was built by so called slaves under a certain White man who was the Architect and contractor. African American in those slave years acquired unusual skills in just about everything from wine making to plantation, to trade, to lantern production, to making candle wax, to painting and carving, etc. Of course, some of these artworks were mastered from the Whites themselves, but majority of it was a reaction to the necessity in those years.

But after the American Civil war of 1861-1865 and end of slavery or forced labor without pay and rights, these Black men or women began to make waves in the society with their new skills and labor. There was need for skilled laborers and artisans in the era of reconstruction following the Civil War, and the Whites suddenly found themselves in competition for Jobs in those early years of the new republic. The many, many, long lines of US rail road during the reconstruction era, the building of industries and management of their cotton and weaving technology, the road construction and wire fixing, the mining and blast furnace, the local use of men and women were all the work of ex-slaves seeking new lives. But the tide began to turn when Whites entered into the labor market. They began to demand the same Job as held by Blacks and from there, the issue of who holds what and who holds who began to create boundaries, and from these boundaries the issue of survival re-entered American society and then apartheid. The world was also seriously mechanized, so were Americans.

The financial matter of natural selection took on added weight that by 1900, much of the occupations once dominated by Blacks were now in grips of White. Newer hostility arose as vicious White communities attacked burgeoning Black society and openly shot many of their wealthy. There was also the influence of European views on those in America, and with Darwinian view taken hold of much of that Victorian generation, there was also the views of Charles A Conant, J.A Hobson, Rudolf Hilterding, Otto Bauer Rudolf, the wars in many parts of Africa and great slaughter of Black Africans by Arabs, French, Germans, English, and even Spaniards, in the Epic of 19th century scramble. So Americans were also feeding off on the sociology craps of Darwin, Huxley, Rosebury, Chamberlain, Rhodes, and there was no way blacks in America could survive the whole gangrene.

Then Jim Crow began to show up some time later, then the hate groups like KKK also started, and the law was an added advantage. Then there was the twenties frenzies about White biological superiority which divided the society into Blacks and Whites, a separation that continues even up today. Whites sometimes blamed everything in the neighborhood on Blacks and that behavior continues today among the children of American from that era. Then there the collective psychology of mass murder and collective public psychology of beating accused blacks – however untrue the allegations – from the court of condemnation to the hanging. Sometimes, they are so beaten that the eyes pop out and their hands twist and dangle and then disfigure, then their faces lose their color and teeth will all be missing enroot to the hanging. These were only the strange fruit of a society divided by color types and lived apart.

So, many people who visit America like Asians of all types feed into the White clouds as if Darwin was right about his view on evolution and then the contamination of Hindu.