Does My Vote Really Matter?

For those who didn’t think their vote counted. Here’s a newsflash: it does. Every time, it does.  But for it to count, you gotta show up. 

The next time you’re tempted to stay home as yourself these questions………….

1. What might happen to my environment if I don't vote?

Answer: much, much more of this. Remember "Drill baby drill!"?

Meanwhile, out in the real world this is what is actually going on.

The 'Drill baby drill" crew swears up and down that drilling is now safer than ever, but that red river ain't looking like a particularly good example of safety in action. Unless water's supposed to be red?

2. What could happen to my (or my friends') Civil Rights if I don't vote?

Answer: an erosion of the comfortable, easy, diverse universe you've known your whole life.

It is not accidental that it took this nation until the late 19th century to begin to acknowledge the Civil Rights of some of its members. Neither is it a surprise that those rights have been challenged and undermined at every opportunity since.  That's kinda the way we do. Resistance to the principles and practice of equality remains a central theme of American social, political, and economic life.  

If people who are uncomfortable with growing diversity are going to vote, then those of us who embrace it must vote in larger numbers. That's the math.

3. What could happen to my healthcare if I don't vote?

Answer: the candidate you fail to vote against might wipe out any chance you have of owning some.

If you're really lucky, the eventual election winner might think health savings accounts (HSAs) make sense. But in a world where income barely meets current expenses HSAs are not going to help you much.  

Or, alternatively, the winning candidate might gut healthcare access entirely, as they seem intent on doing in Minnesota. Check out this list of procedures and care options that AREN'T covered. Numbers 1, 5 and 23 are especially interesting. But don't worry about them because there's no war on women.

As I written before, democracy is nothing without us in it. We may have forgotten recently that democracy won't continue without our express participation but I think we know different now. We have the proof that it will not. We gotta show up. Every time. 

We must get back in the game. And we must do so in numbers too large to ignore. 

Survival of the Fittest: the Trump Years

When next you hear someone claiming that "We will survive" or "I will survive" the Trump years because others have survived worse in the past consider this: 'we' certainly will survive but 'we' won't all make it to the other side. 

Here's how I know......

1. Thirty years ago, there was the piss poor HIV/AIDS response, and still we survived
HIV positive people survived Ronald Reagan's cavalier attitude to the early appearance of the HIV/AIDS crisis. Reagan himself is said to have laughed off the growing crisis and Mrs. Reagan turned her back on longtime friend Rock Hudson when he was diagnosed.

St. Ronnie and his administration laughed off the crisis, kinda like the President-elect laughs off climate change. The world was slow to recognize the gravity of the situation (then as now) or to begin working on treatment and prevention protocols. The greater 'we' certainly survived, but we haven't all made to the other side have we? The AIDS quilt is proof of that fact.

2. Thirty years later, there's Flint & Standing Rock, and we will yet survive
In Flint, as in Standing Rock, calls for a potable water supply have been shrugged off. In Flint, early alarms raised by pediatrician Dr. Mona Hanna-Atisha were shrugged off as "data" (which apparently is a bad thing). It was more than twelve months before anything like an admission was forthcoming from the powers that be. That probably explains why there are now public officers facing felony charges.

Ultimately, the greater 'we' will survive the Flint crisis, but the children of Flint will not survive unharmed. Lead poisoning has lifetime consequences and we can be assured that they won't get the financial, emotional and/or educational support they will need. 

Thirty years from now, Flint's children will be struggling to find their way, Governor Snyder will be long gone, and we will all have conveniently forgotten what malfeasance and classist + racist Republican politics visited upon them.

So yes....
The greater 'we' will survive, but some of us won't make it to the other side: lives will be shortened, prospects will be dimmed or lost, families will be destroyed. 

We are entering an era of conservatism. Remember where the last one left us? 'Compassionate conservatism' my ass. There's an ox and a moron (oxymoron) if ever I heard one!

Did Black folk survive Jim Crow and slavery? Yes they did, but ask the good people at EJI (Equal Justice Initiative) how many people were murdered by mobs. How many lynching sites are they now trying to recognize? How many victims are they trying to remember and recognize? How many Neil deGrasse Tysons did we lose? How many Hadiyah-Nicole Greens?

Did Jews survive the Holocaust? Yes, they did, but ask any Jewish friend how many of their relatives didn't make it. How many Elie Wiesels did we lose? How many Anne Franks?

Did Native Americans survive the Trail of Tears? Yes indeed, but talk to an elder about the stories of loss. How many Joe Medicine Crows did we lose? How many Elouise Cobbells?

When we say "We will survive" we're also saying that a survival of the fittest approach is acceptable. It isn't; we're saying that entirely preventable human losses are acceptable. They aren't. 

Preventable losses are a criminal waste of human potential. We're in a compassionately conservative time. Brace yourself. This version of 'compassion' will leave some of us dead. We will not all make it. Sorry to be the harbinger of those sad tidings. 

Making a Way: Economics

Make a way out of no way

Over the next few years, we are going to have to do and be very different. The seasons have changed and we must make ready for winter.

I've seen one too many ridiculous memes about who and whose grandpappy made it through Jim Crow so we can too. While I understand the impetus to make such supposedly supportive utterances, I can't really say that they're helpful. I say if we want to be helpful to each other, we need to offer up some insights on what we might do to move ourselves forward economically, politically and socially.

If there is one thing that I am sure of, it is that the ingenuity and hard work that built the first Black Wall Street, can, and will, build us another if we make a concerted effort. This time around, with focus, effective use of social media and digital marketing tools, we can create and hopefully sustain an entire parallel universe.

1. Dreams matter

I've had various dreams over the last several years. One of those things involved abandoned houses in Detroit.  I recognize that my dream of rebuilding communities that have fallen on desperately hard times is a crazy one, especially since I'm neither a multi-millionaire nor am I especially handy with construction, but that doesn't make it any less of a great dream. I have visions of entirely self-sufficient communities, a central farm surrounded by homes, schools and every possible business needed by a community. Ain't nothing wrong with dreaming.

The next step after having the dream though, is taking action. What I probably should have done and I certainly encourage others to do, is find funding for your ideas and programs. There are grants. Go look. Network with non-profit professionals (if your dream is a non-profit) and find ways to make your dreams a reality. This isn't necessarily about becoming wealthy, although that would be lovely. It is about providing a needed service and making a way for yourself and those around you. 

Look into non-profits that received federal money to support entrepreneurs here. Start thinking about that thing that you think the world, your street or your community needs and begin the process of creating that. If a for profit enterprise is your thing, find incubator programs and reach out to the SBA and Score for support and guidance. 

I'm not for a minute saying, "Quit your day job!" but I am saying that we need to see what else we can do to build something with our sweat and ingenuity. 

2. Make a plan

I am under no illusions that this is going to be easy. Lord knows, 'easy' does not reside in our neighborhoods and even if it's just passing through, when it hears us coming, it runs like hell. We will have to work hard and fight tooth and nail for every inch of ground we can gain but how is that different from what obtains today?

Many in the urban centers, particularly in poorer neighborhoods, live in food deserts. Can you deliver healthful food in your neighborhood? Can you make 'real food' available? Can you and a few friends make something like this happen? Then do. There are communities aplenty in need of this kind of support. Do the research. Go to the neighborhood library. Get the help you need and try your hand.

Don't have money start a food desert supply service? Then what about creating an urban garden? Check out the guerilla gardener! Allow yourself to dream and be inspired to imagine some new thing that only you can do.

3. Use social media

Look, I'm no expert on social media. If I were, I might writing fake shite and laughing all the way to the bank. That's not me, that's not how I want to roll. Still, there are those of you who have your finger on the pulse of social media. Use it. You know how to drive traffic? Drive it in the general direction of up and coming Black and POC businesses, especially your own!

These are going to be trying times. Have you seen who's being tapped for Cabinet posts? Good Lordt! We better get our shite together! Use your vast social networks to create and sustain interest in your business and those of your friends.

4. Get the help you need
There are people out there who can help you. Everybody's got a computer in their pocket. Use it! Spend less time matching three cropsies or whatever and more time building yourself up for the days ahead. Trump and Bannon  are gonna be running the store for a minute. We'd better make sure we are ready for what that is likely to mean.

5. Support each other
We will need to rely on each other and we will need to support each other. One of the great things about the original Black Wall Street was that there were so many complementary businesses there, that a dollar circulated between 36 and 100 times before it left the community. Where do we do anything even close to that today? *Hint: nowhere

Do you have a friend who's a painter? Hire her/him to paint your house. Have a friend who's a caterer? Hire him/her to cater some part of your next shindig. Have a friend who's a writer (psst! lol)? Share their work. We are really going to have to do a new thing in this Brave New Trumpet World. Let me remind you that during the Montgomery Bus Boycott, thousands and thousands of Black men, women and children walked for months (13 to be exact, 381 days) to make themselves heard on the issue of desegregation. We need to 'make a point' (and to both ourselves and the majority) about self-determination. 

6. Network
Networking is critical to success in this society, it's also a significant part of why people of color do not thrive in the professional world the way others do. We don't create networks and we don't do the glad-handing and socializing that's required to maintain them. I understand it completely. So much of our lives in the professional world requires performance of Black acceptability that it gets wearying. We just want to go home and switch it off. I hear you. I feel you and I tell you "Not today". Stay plugged in and turned on. We can rest later; maybe four years out when Elizabeth Warren or Tulsi Gabbard is president-elect.  

There are Black Entrepreneurs Meetups and networking events. There are also Hispanic entrepreneurs meetups. Find a group that meets your needs or interest. Can't find one? Start one. Find a mentor. Become one. Join something that will uplift and encourage you. Get help and support. Ask questions. Be vulnerable. Be brave but don't immediately give up your day job!

I dream of the day when super wealthy POC's foundations create opportunities for fledgling micro-enterprises, but that may not soon come to pass. In the interim, we have to find other ways. Hopefully, one or two of the six ideas above will give us places to start. 

Ultimately, we must have faith....in ourselves and our circles and our circle's circles. We are going to have to have each others' backs. We are going to have to support each others' endeavors and network like our very lives depend on it because they just might. Prayer is good and all, but Jesus ain't buying your services, the people in your neighborhood are. So talk to Jesus, but talk to Jesús next door too.

We are going to have to imagine and work our way to independence. Whether we have a burning desire to be 'job creators' or we simply want to offer a good or service as a side hustle, we're going to have to hustle. A lot.

Whether ours is a brilliant massive idea or a simple small one, whatever our gift(s) are, use it (them). Seek out the help needed to make something out of nothing, a way out of no way, a bridge out of thin air. We don't have much choice.

When candidate Trump asked what we have to lose by voting for him, we had an inkling of what might be at stake. As time passes and his Cabinet starts to take shape though, the 'what' we might lose looks to be every damb thing. 

Trying times are ahead, be the change. 

And while we're out there doing our thing, join the Injustice Boycott because social justice activism and political action are just as critical as economic independence.