I've privately vetted this idea to a bunch of different people, and they had several questions and concerns, so I decided I'd answer them in another blog entry:
When it comes to biracial people and non-white spouses and stuff like that, how would that be handled?
That's the biggest obstacle I've come across. I am not sure how to handle that, BUT Detroit could serve as a proving ground to see if the idea works. If it works, then people could follow that model and create cities like that all across the country (with a few tweaks of course).
Imagining the black community as a network, and participants as nodes in that network wherever they are, rather than requiring us all to be in the same place, is very workable in the current environment (given the internet, etc.) and already happening to a certain extent. Efforts that work to build on that community and empower it can find lots of support.
This could definitely work. I think it would be crazy to uproot everybody in the country and send them to Detroit. However these nodes can work if tied together through. I believe if we get Black distribution companies that cater to us by air, rail and truck then those nodes can work to our advantage.
My one worry is that it would go down exactly like all of our other attempts to build something for ourselves. Every Black Wall Street and business district and university has been burned to the ground at least once. And with the new paradigm of anti-"terrorist" rhetoric and legislation, as well as the resurgence of white supremacy, I could see us realistically getting nuked into the Stone Age.
That was my worry as well, BUT if we use Detroit as a proving ground just to see if it will work, then it could be implemented all across the country! We could have black hubs everywhere.
But whatever we do, we need an organization with 501c3 status. This will give rich people the incentive of donating to us and making it tax free for everybody. From there, we could control what the money goes to and where. We will need chapters of this group all over the country. This would be used to fund hospitals, infrastructure, social services, and any other functional elements that require a large amount of capital. We may also need to do this in secret, meaning no press releases, no going to mainstream media outlets in order to further the cause. We have to do this through conferences, through natural hair expos, etc since these sorts of events are examples of current Black spaces we have at the moment. If we do go to a media outlet, it must be one hundred percent ours. For example, The Final Call is a media one hundred percent Black owned media, and is one of the oldest in the country. Even though some of us might not identify with NOI, we must look past that sort of thing and ask ourselves, "What kind of good do they do, and how can we use that to our advantage?" The same goes with any other outlet ,organization, or group.
Get Oprah and other people to help invest in some type of industry/factory that can employ a bunch of black people and fulfill some type of market niche in the US. There would need to be investors for nice housing developments near the factory.
That sounds like a great idea. It would create reasonable paying jobs and housing for those who want to migrate. A variety of jobs to choose from would definitely be necessary. This may also be where the 501c3 organization would come in. If she donated to it, the tax write off would work for her benefit.
Who is going to be in charge? Police force, judicial system etc. are well and good but who are you suggesting for leadership?
I think the members of the 501c3 organization will be made up of said people. I'd like it to include a lawyer, a judge, an accountant, a doctor, etc. Basically representatives from each city would work. For example if there are 2 hospitals in each city, then a board member of each hospital will be appointed to meet up wherever the meeting will take place. The accountant from each 501c3 organization will have to go as well.
What happens if people do something corrupt?
Complete transparency is a must! Meaning everybody will receive a quarterly notice of all expenses, including how much everyone makes. This way, all citizens know where the money went, who it went to, why, what, when, which and how it was spent. And they have to live in the city. Once they move, away, they relinquish their position, and another person will be voted in.
I'm interested in this idea of transparency, not so sure about the lack of privacy. When you say 'how much everyone makes etc.' are you saying the council or everyone in the community? You don't think that this type of information will cause problems?
The Council would be subject to that. The rest of the citizens would be exempt.
What about non leaders who commit a crime--will they be expected to leave?
However if they compromised the integrity of the community via corruption, fraud and or embezzlement, then they would have to leave,but not before paying the funds back. Otherwise, they may be subject to trial, hearing etc in order to figure out how they will pay the funds back.
So far, these are the main concerns and issues that have been brought to the surface. Surely, there will be more, and I'll keep adding responses and solutions.
*Update: 9/28/15 I figured that we would not be able to make this work if we excluded people. That being said, the "gated community" idea will have to be scrapped, BUT the cohesion would be kept. This means we don't have to have an armed guard available. The community could still function without, but we will still need to make sure our resources stay in Black hands.
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