Psychology of Black Millionaires

Stop Dystopian Defeatist Dogmas

For most, one of the worst problems with discussing race is the ease of being offended or being accused of being offensive or racist. However, more difficulty occurs when people try to claim “racism” or “white supremacy” is the definitive oppressive plan of another race resulting in inequities. In large part, this is because a series of events become missing or placed in the wrong order or are the result of phantom illusions. Merely trying to explain how a problem is not the result of racism but because of something else, causes some to say I am justifying the problem when instead, I am criticizing the assumption of what caused the problem. Yet, there are those who see racial inequities and exclusively blame racism when racism simply is not even the largest contributor to the inequity.

When I say the abolition of slavery was the result of the US Civil War but not the cause of the Civil War, many will fail to notice the difference but there are others who want debate. Also, racism did not cause slavery but was the result of slavery. Yet, many Black Americans insist on adopting a “slave identity” which only ends up enforcing racism. Most of the time slavery was used against defeated enemies and “non-believers” but in the United States, indentured servitude was about economics and it morphed into slavery as well as serfdom and ultimately racism.

In the United States, slavery was multi-racial, but directed to Africans. European Americans owned slaves. Black Americans owned slaves. Native Americans owned slaves, including owning White people (https://theimaginativeconservative.org/2020/07/native-americans-owned-slaves-peter-partoll.html). This includes the Native Americans involved in the Trail of Tears (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/how-native-american-slaveholders-complicate-trail-tears-narrative-180968339/). But what is the real impact today?

There are many Black American millionaires (https://earthweb.com/how-many-black-millionaires-in-america-are-there/ and https://www.zippia.com/advice/millionaire-statistics/). This is evidence proving White Supremacy has failed, but who the hell cares? Most certainly not me. But how did Black Americans become millionaires? They most certainly did not assume White Supremacy or other bigotry would cut them off from success. Even this count of Black millionaires is probably low as most disclosures on income do not mention race.

Native Americans also did not let European Supremacy in the Americas to defeat them or obliterate them.  Many Native Americans are becoming wealthy and it is not just a matter of casinos (https://moneyinc.com/richest-native-american-tribes/).

Here is some advice some Black Americans, as well as other racial minorities, should consider. First, stop with the blame game when it simply is an excuse for not fully understanding a problem (https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/overcoming-destructive-anger/201811/7-consequences-blaming-others-how-we-manage-anger). Problems can be caused by a multitude of things and can have multiple ways of correction. 

Second, be wary of those who fail and refuse to take personal responsibility for their own situation but more importantly do not enable their rampant excuses which push race issues (https://psychcentral.com/blog/do-you-know-someone-with-responsibility-deficit-disorder). The inverse of this tends to be the illusion of control (https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-the-illusion-of-control-5198406). People often assume they can control something or others have unique abilities to control situations but realistically, situations are most likely the result of several things. 

Third, a lot of people should do some sort of self-evaluation. If you feel you have no control over your life, you should ask what thoughts you have which hold you back (https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/shyness-is-nice/201912/four-core-beliefs-can-control-your-life). A lot of times, people buy into a self-defeating "sour grapes" attitude  (https://psychcentral.com/health/help-your-clients-stop-self-defeating-behaviors).

Fourth, we must address racially traumatic events. This is not just Black Americans, but European Americans as well, who are often described as “white”. Many Black Americans have experienced such trauma and they are given broad support in discussing such matters to the point of privilege and will engage in racism, as no other ethnic group would be allowed such broad latitude to do so. I worry some Black Americans allow racial trauma to be inappropriately addressed resulting in persistent anger and hatred for other races while leaving significant problems unresolved.

I have had traumatic anti-white experiences. I work for an international company which hires people from all sorts of backgrounds. A racist and bigoted Black manager held hatred for me because I simply was insufficiently “progressive” and White. This Black person racially berated in front of another Black co-worker. As a “white” person, I had no avenue to protest without ridicule. I had to swallow the situation without any avenue to address my trauma. The conundrum is: what should I do next? Do I go out saying “We need to put the niggas in their place!” or do I decide I should waste no time with someone’s stupid thoughts about me? (Some will think this was about politics but it was not.) 

What I find most stunning is Black American conservatives rise above all this nonsense and succeed. I want to salute their success, not ignore it. I hope you feel the same. One Black conservative explains the conflicts among Black Americans. Try this from Brandon Tatum (https://youtube.com/shorts/DccmxWTO-s0?si=ANnFOSmcCapLg2Rw).