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Though basically a complementary currency, a Black community currency system would be a bold move toward independent social and economic power that we so desperately need in our community. Given the many benefits that this option provides, and given the dire needs in our community, I’m inspired by Dr.Martin Luther King, Jr. who, in his Riverside Church speech “Why I Oppose the War in Vietnam” on April 4, 1967, called for a radical redistribution of political and economic wealth.
Another community in Canada contributed a portion of their money to community gardens, thanking (8) them for their role in the community, and enabling them to use the money for the gardens.
Imagine us funding the building of a local community center, or the legal defense for a falsely accused youth.
Imagine us funding the building of a local community center, or the legal defense for a falsely accused youth.
Wouldn't it be great for our community to have capital of our own to use the way we wanted to?
This system is a powerful one that can be implemented for the direct benefit of our community. Enabling this system would provide a way for us to build and thrive, even when the country is in bad shape. It could decrease the amount of financial suffering in our community by using what we do have to offer as solutions.
This circulation would build our local economy, put more people to work, and enable them to access goods and services they need, but often can't pay for in U.S. legal tender.
This system is a powerful one that can be implemented for the direct benefit of our community. Enabling this system would provide a way for us to build and thrive, even when the country is in bad shape. It could decrease the amount of financial suffering in our community by using what we do have to offer as solutions.
This circulation would build our local economy, put more people to work, and enable them to access goods and services they need, but often can't pay for in U.S. legal tender.
With the election of Barack Obama, some will say that we’ve achieved some measure of political strength, but no one pretends that economic wealth has been redistributed. In fact, according to the June 2008 issue of The Nation magazine, the recent predatory lending schemes have transferred 213 billion dollars from Black and (9) Hispanic communities. If we are to fulfill King’s dream of redistributed wealth, we must realize that the wealth is in us, in our trust of each other and in our trading with each other. Let’s create our own currencysystem to do just that.
