The importance of practicing empathy for ourselves Part 1

Capitalism is the key to understanding why black people DO NOT get what they deserve and worse why we are still enslaved.

Richard Wolff explains that the idea of living in a capitalist country implies that everything is about “maximising profit” (1. www.youtube.com, n.d.).

By agreeing to attend a workplace during the best “hours”(www.youtube.com, n.d.) of their days against a salary that is not increasing Professor Wolff is clear, as an employee you give up your rights to make any decisions about how the company in which you spend most of your time evolves.

Your ideas, intellect and creativity are not yours and the employer keeps you at bay by maintaining their right to dismiss you without any explanation. You are an asset !!! Like the desk or the computer or the chair or the uniform or the machine found in your workplace.

How does the capitalist concept affect black people?

Well, in the UK the IT (including softwares and computer services) sector has the most businesses owned by ethnic groups reaching 14% (2. Statista.n.d.).

Below this comes the Gaming industry with 10% of BAME owning a business and the lowest percentage are 4 and 3. Those last 2 percentages are found in the Film (including TV, video, radio and photography) for the latter and Museums (including library and gallery) for the former (2. Statista.n.d.).

The Music industry is also affected by the lack of representation of BAME’s and “86% of all Black music creators agree that there are barriers to progression”(2. Statista.n.d.).

This has been discussed by Pharrell Williams and Steve Stoute. During the conversation they both agreed that having a vision or an idea is easy but the hardest part of getting what is rightfully yours is to dedicate the effort that you need to develop your business idea. Of course you need others because you may not have all the skills/ talents to do it all by yourself (3.www.youtube.com, n.d.).

What I am keeping from that conversation is that if “black people do not have a voice” and this element influencing on our psyche and our economic power negatively because “we are not owners of our work” ( 3.www.youtube.com , n.d.),then we (black people) must work toward creating fairer opportunities for ourselves.

Thus, the necessity to focus on the ” For Us By Us” – FUBU- concept.

Thanks for reading,

Frederique

Reference

1. www.youtube.com. (n.d.). Richard Wolff on Shelter & Solidarity. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1T9qrgKzQE [Accessed 10 Nov. 2021].

2. Statista. (n.d.). Ethnic diversity in creative industries in UK 2019, by sector. [online] Available at: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1096448/ethnic-diversity-in-creative-industries-in-the-uk-by-sector/.

3.www.youtube.com. (n.d.). Pharrell Williams & Steve Stoute on Thriving in The Music Business and Black Ambition. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7w9sub4v_Y [Accessed 10 Nov. 2021].