-------- Original Message -------- Subject: [BRC-NEWS] Harlem Ain't Nothing But a Third World Country Date: Fri, 07 Jul 2000 22:17:53 -0400 From: Art McGee <amcgee at igc.org> Reply-To: hboyd at tbwt.com To: brc-news at lists.tao.ca
http://www.tbwt.com/views/specialrpt/special%20report-3_5-04-00.asp
The Black World Today (TBWT)
May 2000
Book Review
----------------------------------------------- Harlem Ain't Nothing But a Third World Country By Mamadou Chinyelu Mustard Seed Press, 1999 -----------------------------------------------
By Herb Boyd <hboyd at tbwt.com>, National Editor, TBWT
About ten years ago, Dr. Harold Freeman of Harlem Hospital, co-wrote an article on the excess mortality in Harlem. In subsequent interviews, Dr. Freeman said that the death rates "for those between the ages of 5 and 65 were worse in Harlem than in Bangladesh." This news was a cause of alarm for some and an alert to others.
For noted journalist Mamadou Chinyelu, the news was both an alarm and an alert, and deftly uses this report as cornerstone of his charge that Harlem Ain't Nothin' But A Third World Country (Mustard Seed Press, 1999). This is also the title of his book, which expands his thesis of viewing Harlem within the context of global economy, empowerment zones, and the colonial status of Africans in America.
To a large degree it revives the notion -- popular in the late sixties -- of black America as an internal colony, a theoretical perspective most memorably argued by sociologist Robert Staples in his book, The Urban Plantation.
But what immediately distinguishes Chinyelu's research is his specific focus on Harlem, rather than a general analysis, though much like Staples a comparative approach is used to show how the capitalism and imperialism operate to keep the African American community in a perpetual state of poverty and powerlessness.
Before directly dealing with his theme, Chinyelu takes care of some definitional chores, that is, what is nationhood and Third World. One of the more striking characteristics of the 12 distinctive features he lists of a Third World nation states: "A country prevented, by first world countries, from owning the means of production." He goes on to explain, "Owning the means of production is necessary for any people to establish an adequate standard of living for themselves. In this case, first world countries force the third world country to be consumers, exclusively."
Central to his contention that Harlem is a third world country is his dissection of the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone (UMEZ), one of six such economic zones passed by Congress in 1994. Chinyelu's feels that the UMEZ, though set up to improve the economic condition of the community and to create jobs -- even if it is modestly successful -- will "merely make Harlem a cash cow for the masters of capitalism to milk. It will create a number of low-paying jobs, but it will not assist Harlem residents in establishing businesses of their own, thereby empowering them."
Citing the monumental works of Gilbert Osofsky, James Weldon Johnson, and Roi Ottley, Chinyelu combs the historical records to find precedents for his conclusions. The writer examines the first housing initiatives by the legendary Phil Payton and the Afro-American Realty a century ago. This effort, he notes, had nothing at all to do with making Harlem and exclusively black enclave. Quoting Claude McKay from his book Harlem: Negro Metropolis, Chinyelu agrees that the pioneer realtors were merely aiming to abolish "residential restrictions" and usher in a place where the black middle class could set up households.
The main question posed during the 1920s was would African Americans hold on to Harlem? Whether or not they retain a residential majority seems to be less of an issue than the presence of black entrepreneurs, which Chinyelu deftly tackles after a chapter on capitalism and its impact the black Americans.
Chinyelu defines the UMEZ as a Trojan Horse at full gallop through Harlem, leading a rip off campaign leaving behind a few meaningless jobs in exchange for the "$6 billion those 520,000 resident spend annually." He asserts: "When juxta- posing this economic arrangement against the model that capitalist countries use in dealing with third world countries, it becomes clear that the UMEZ is little more than a `foreign' aid program for Harlem, designed to create profit for corporate America."
A concrete example of Chinyelu's argument is Harlem USA that partially opened a few months ago. This 275,000 square feet retail shopping and entertainment complex, costing $65 million with UMEZ forking over a $11.2 million loan, has already been the source of several demonstrations. Jim Houghton of Harlem Fightback staged rallies outside the complex when it under construction, demanding more opportunities for black contractors and sub-contractors. Last week, protesters passed out flyers asking shoppers to boycott the stores, especially the Disney store, which exploits workers in Haiti, paying them 28 cents an hour.
Neo-Colonialism versus the vendors, particularly the current litigation underway at Mart 125, the now defunct Harlem Urban Development Corporation, Chase Manhattan Bank, Carver Federal Savings and the Apollo Foundation are all thoughtfully assessed, with the positive and negative aspects given a balanced analysis, although the tendency to rely almost exclusively on articles from the Amsterdam News rather than interviews with key players limits the result.
While Chinyelu's book is a strong critical indictment of the factors that make Harlem a third world country -- and this point cannot be challenged -- his proposal for empowerment is comparative weak, offering only a proactive boycott as a tactical means to reverse an increasing trend. Another answer short of the overthrow of capitalism is to find ways to compete within the system and hope that from small triumphs we can begin to bestow a more moral and fair economic process. Or as Chinyelu states more generally in his final paragraph: "If the African world is to be liberated and empowered, we must establish a strong economy by producing that which we need, as opposed to relying on other communities to produce for us."
Confusing what we want with what we need has always derailed progress in the African American community, and maybe in his next book Chinyelu can analyze some of the larger questions and propose some solutions for change.
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