Posted on 11/26/2003 11:25:55 AM PST by Luke Skyfreeper
Forty years ago next week, a prominent black businessman, SB Fuller of the Fuller Products Company, addressed the National Association of Manufacturers.
Because Fuller refused to "toe the party line," his speech touched off a firestorm of rage that would lead to much of black America boycotting his businesses -- thus destroying much of his fortune.
Nevertheless, although his business enterprises were forced through bankruptcy, he managed to hold on to at least a portion of his wealth. When the great businessman died some 25 years later, at age 83, he was still quite a prosperous man.
SB Fuller was born into abject poverty. His rise to wealth and prominence has to be one of the great success stories of all time. It is hard to imagine a least likely candidate for success.
As a young man, Fuller started out literally penniless.
He was a black man in pre-Civil-Rights America.
To top that off, he was a black man with only a sixth-grade education.
And to top that off, SB Fuller's search for success began... during the Great Depression.
In 1935, Fuller started his first business, with only $25.
He would eventually become a multimillionaire who owned or controlled 9 different corporations.
Below are excerpts from SB Fuller's earth-shaking speech of December 6, 1963. [Note: I have edited out Mr. Fuller's use of the (then-current) word "Negro," replacing it with more current language.)
It's Not Racial Barriers That Keep Blacks From Prospering:
American Blacks Must Pool Capital in Order to Help Themselves
[Reprinted from Issues & Views Summer 1991, with phrasing edits]
[Address by businessman S.B. Fuller to the National Association of Manufacturers, December 6, 1963.]
. . . . It is contrary to the laws of nature for man to stand still; he must move forward, or the eternal march of progress will force him backward. This the black man has failed to understand; he believes that the lack of civil rights legislation, and the lack of integration have kept him back. But this is not true. . . .
In 1952, the average black man's income was 57% of that of the white man's, but in 1962 it was only 53% of his income. In a period of ten years, the black man's income had dropped 4 percentage points in comparison with the white man's income. The main reason for this is black lack of understanding of our capitalistic system of government. Capitalism is defined as "an economic system in which capital and capitalists play the principal part. Specifically, the established economic system of most modern civilized countries, in which the ownership of land and natural wealth, the production, distribution, and exchange of goods, the employment and reward of human labor, and the extension, organization, and operation of the system itself, are entrusted to, and effected by private enterprise and control, under competitive conditions."
This black America does not understand. Let's take, for example, distribution at the retail level. One-sixth of all people employed in America are employed in retail selling; 11,650,000 people in retail sales as of 1962. If the black man had the amount of initiative, courage and imagination required, he could control the retail selling in his own community. Since he represents 10% of the population of America today, he would be able to employ 1,065,000 people. There are 1,788,325 retail establishments in America and yet in New York City, where there are over 1,000,000 black people, they do not own over 15 businesses which employ over 10 people.
Unfortunately, blacks believe that there is a racial barrier in America which keeps them from succeeding, yet if they would learn to use the laws of observation, concentration, memory, reason, and action, they would realize that there is a world of opportunity right in their own communities. . . .
Because [the black man] does not own and control retail establishments in his own community, he is unable to stabilize his community. For every evening, at the close of business, the substantial citizen leaves that community and goes to another community to live, thus leaving black community improverished, and the wealth derived from the community through retail sales is transferred to the other community, thus building up that community. These merchants are not to be blamed for this, because the supply and demand must be satisfied. Since blacks do not supply the demand in their own communities, the white man must come in, and he takes advantage of the opportunity. Then blacks think that there is a racial barrier that keeps them from making progress. Therefore, blacks ask for legislation to remove the barrier which they automatically created themselves, due to their own lack of action.
The average black man believes that the purpose of business is to furnish jobs, but this is not true. The purpose of business is to render service and to make a profit, and by doing this, it must employ people. These people must be able to render service and produce a commodity that the businessman can sell at a profit. If not the business can no longer employ the individual. . . .
Black people must pool their capital in order to help themselves. They must establish retail sales organizations throughout their communities and also must go into light manufacturing where retail selling has already produced an outlet for the products light manufacturing can produce. This will enable blacks to help solve their own problems. . . .
Since our capitalistic system is a competitive system, the black man must learn to compete with his fellowman. He must not only seek jobs, but he must own establishments which will give jobs to others. . . .
[Courtesy of Hagley Museum & Library, Wilmington, DE]
There are two economic systems in the United States. Capitalism for the middle class and rich, and socialism for the poor. Socialism is a trap and carries a stigma, but eveyone has a choice. Once a person picks socialism they have doomed themselves and offspring to a life of dependency and poverty.
Then you have to define poverty. In the U.S. the poor have running water, heat, color television, phones, plenty to eat, and all the trappings of the middle class. Yet they are still poor, so what is poverty?
It is dependancy on government programs. It is also a state of mind. It is the lack of movitation to take the risks, work hard, and determine your own destiny, instead of waiting in line filling out forms and get a government handout.
I would like to see Condi run for a Statewide office first, get some actual experience as an elected official. Maybe a Senator?
"There is a class of colored people who make a business of keeping the troubles, the wrongs, and the hardships of the Negro race before the public. Some of these people do not want the Negro to lose his grievances, because they do not want to lose their jobs."~ Booker T. Washington
Grow up. There are a lot of black FReepers here on FR. Just say blacks or African-American, or is that too hard for you?
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