The tide of communism rises. As the Black Lives Matter protests continue to sweep America, one thing is clear: An entire generation of collectivists is on its way in, expecting government to solve all of our problems.
The intentions of these protests are wide-ranging, and some are perfectly justified. But the Black Lives Matter organization is inextricably linked to communism. In the words of Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Cullors: “We are trained Marxists. We are super-versed on, sort of, ideological theories.”
Cullors initially became a trained organizer with the Labor/Community Strategy Center, whose goal is to “focus on Black and Latino communities with deep historical ties to the long history of anti-colonial, anti-imperialist, pro-communist resistance to the U.S. empire.” Her embrace of communism is evident in BLM’s official policy platform, which stereotypically employs the word “comrade” and denounces the “Western-prescribed nuclear family structure” in favor of “extended families and ‘villages.’” Not surprisingly, BLM also supports “a radical and sustainable redistribution of wealth” in the form of tax hikes.
While BLM purportedly stands against police brutality, a worthy goal, its leaders are setting their sights on America’s entire free market system. They are fighting a shadow war against entrepreneurship. According to BLM’s leadership, capitalism is the big-picture problem crippling African Americans and other minority communities.
Nothing could be further from the truth. What the black community needs is more capitalism — more businesses, more jobs, more economic opportunities. Last year, America was home to more than 1 million minority-owned businesses, employing almost 9 million workers, with a total payroll of $280 billion. Ninety-nine percent of them are small businesses with fewer than 500 employees.
On average, a minority-owned business employs eight workers. This means that, on a micro level, those eight workers rely on entrepreneurship for economic empowerment and financial security. Because of that one entrepreneur, those eight workers have a real chance at upward mobility — and a more comfortable life for their families.
On a macro level, millions of minority workers rely on the free market for upward mobility. Minority entrepreneurs, with the help of their workforce, create wealth for millions of people. Indeed, minority-owned businesses amass $1.3 trillion in total annual receipts. These receipts are ultimately turned into paychecks, bonuses, and a wide variety of employee benefits. The government is not responsible for this wealth creation.
Unfortunately, BLM’s leaders don’t see it that way. Based on their worldview, small-business owners like myself should not be able to expand their businesses and create jobs. If implemented, their policies, such as high taxation, would only make life more difficult for entrepreneurs searching for success. I’m proud to have hired and groomed countless minority workers over the years because they were competent. The government didn’t help them; the free market did.
Look at it this way: Because of the economic shutdown, the COVID-19 pandemic has destroyed more than 40% of black-owned small businesses. With them went thousands and thousands of jobs. Because of government mandates, thousands of black workers went on unemployment. It is not the finest hour for career politicians and state bureaucrats, yet Black Lives Matter protesters are fighting for Big Government.
This should make us all appreciate private sector economic activity even more. The free market is the single most important tool for African American economic empowerment. From LeBron James to Daymond John and Oprah Winfrey, the examples of black entrepreneurs succeeding as capitalists are endless. We need more of them, not less.
The Black Lives Matter organization doesn’t understand that. Only with capitalism on their side can BLM’s leaders find the racial justice they so desperately seek.
The owner and manager of Joseph’s Premier Real Estate, Joseph Semprevivo serves as an adjunct professor of finance, business, real estate, and insurance at Indian River State College. He is also the author of the best-selling book Madness, Miracles, Millions and the former state economic development commissioner of New Mexico.
