BLACK POWER SCORECARD

Harnessing true power.

“We are living in the time of a new renaissance—what we are calling the Black Renaissance,” wrote the historian Ibram X. Kendi. Perry, however, argues that the cultural, social, and economic strides made by African Americans tell only part of the Black power story in the United States. Fortunes amassed by successful Black artists/entrepreneurs like Jay-Z, for example, ignore “the exploitation that is often required to make large sums of wealth,” thereby making financial status a false indicator of Black empowerment. A Brookings Institution senior fellow, Perry instead envisions a framework that roots that power in forms of Black resistance to both capitalism and the white supremacist culture it supports. For Perry, true Black power—which includes expectations of a long, healthy life—comes from collectives built on strong families, good schools, and social networks that exist in spaces that are safe and sustainable. It also derives from the more equitable distribution of income-generating assets such as commercial real estate. To help Black communities generate more wealth (as through collective ownership opportunities), Perry suggests that more equity-driven forms of capital, both private and governmental, be made available. Activists must also compel institutions and companies to acknowledge “liability for past harms” and, in this way, deliver much-needed restorative justice—in the form of long-overdue reparations—to all African Americans. Readable and timely, this Black power analysis-cum-manifesto will appeal to both a general audience as well as to those with an interest in racial and social justice issues.

Necessary reading that offers clear and actionable ways to close the racial gap.