Misplaced blame

“We'll buy a lot of clothes when we don't really need them Things we buy to cover up what's inside because they make us hate our self and love they wealth” Those were the words Kanye West used to depict the current black condition, and while it may hold some factual weight in reference to blacks and their financial endeavors it is imperative that we all take an in-depth and alternative look into what is the catalysts for this live beyond your financial means attitude.

As a black youth, all too often I hear the repetitive rants from older individuals who seek to bash how the misguided “hip-hop generation” chooses to spend money. They claim we prefer to buy expensive jewelry and sneakers in opposed to materials that can aid in our life’s progression. My personal response to these accusations is a two part one. The first being, “yes we do spend money on expensive jewelry and footwear”. My second response is that we as black people are an oppressed people forced to develop at an accelerated pace in order to keep up with the country’s rapid growth. Caucasians, the majority race, possess much of the country’s wealth, but it’s important that we realize that it isn’t due to some money savvy gene that they possess. It is simply due to their opportunity to make mistakes and learn from them over many years. Over the course of those hundreds of years they too could most certainly fit the mold of that earlier Kanye West quote.

A little less than 100 years ago, this country underwent an economic boom and crisis in the 1920’s that led to the great depression. What was the cause of the depression you may ask? Simply put it was caused by middle class citizens seizing the opportunity to buy beyond their means due to the introduction of credit. It was a working class individuals chance to purchase and be seen with the same luxurious materials of upper class citizens. If this idea of essentially creating a larger than life facade sounds familiar it’s because it has the basis for those same repetitive rants black youth receive today, but please don’t be mistaken, the people making those overextended purchases did not look like myself, they were actually middle aged white men and women looking to achieve the “American dream”.