Never Too Rich for Racism: 10 Ways Racism Still Impacts Wealthy Blacks

The Belief That Blacks Never Really Earn Their Wealth Whether it's affirmative action or a “lucky break,” many racist white people find it hard to admit that wealthy Blacks obtain their wealth through hard work and strategic decision-making. The Idea That Black Businesses Provide Poor Service or Low-Quality Products It’s an idea that has plagued Black business owners for far too long. Many racist people will assume that Black businesses will provide cheap products or offer poor customer service. In fact, the belief has become so prominent that even members of the Black community have been known to avoid Black-owned-and-operated businesses. The Idea That Wealth Equates to Whiteness Many Black people are accused of not being “Black” enough once they have obtained a certain level of wealth. They are labeled as sellouts and told they no longer represent the Black community. What makes this mindset even more troubling is the fact that many Black celebrities have publicly “disowned” their African-American roots after obtaining a certain amount of wealth. Deceitful Employees Who Don’t Trust Black Leadership Many Black people in leadership positions have trouble finding white employees who aren’t threatened by the idea of Black authority. Many times, business partners, employees and board members of other races will slyly take resources from Black leaders before ditching the business and launching their own. The Idea That There’s Only Enough Room for a Few Black People Some Blacks seem to buy into the "crabs in a barrel" notion that there is only room for a few successful, wealthy Black people in a given industry. Blacks will compete with each other instead of working with each other to overcome the obstacles that many Blacks face on their way to success. This is the type of mindset that is encouraged by racists who believe there is only enough room for one or two Black people in a given industry in fear that the power structure could one day tilt in the favor of people of color. Wouldn’t want that “war on whites” that U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks of Alabama accused Democrats of launching. To the Authorities … Black Is Still Black From the poorest of poor to the richest of rich, Black men still have to go through every day hoping they won’t have a nasty altercation with local law enforcements. In a country where the judicial system is designed to keep Black men incarcerated and the war on drugs targets Black neighborhoods, there is no income large enough to exclude any Black person from being racially profiled. Many wealthy Blacks -- from award-winning actor and producer Tyler Perry to Grammy-winning Roots drummer Questlove -- have opened up about their own run-ins with racial profiling. The Commodification of Black Culture Aspects of Black culture are picked up by mainstream media and treated as a commodity, but many times there is one key element of the Black culture that’s removed – the Black people. Consider the way magazines called TV personality Kendall Jenner’s cornrows “epic” and “new” despite the fact that Black women had been rocking the style for years, the way the big butt movement didn’t hit mainstream media until we were all met with the likes of rapper Iggy Azalea and the fact that to this day mainstream media outlets still consider singer Miley Cyrus the founder of the twerk movement. Meanwhile, rapper Nicki Minaj and singer Beyonce have been criticized for their “trashy” twerk-filled performances, and critics slammed singer Solange Knowles for her natural hairstyles on the red carpet. When it comes down to it, even wealthy Blacks can’t escape the repurposing of their own culture for the benefit of their white counterparts. Black Titleholders Are Still Considered Disposable Many times, companies hesitate to let go of executive directors, associate managers or vice administrators. It’s not so hard to let go when those titleholders are Black. Black people in positions of power tend to be considered disposable and will likely get the boot at the sign of their first major slip-up while their white counterparts are quickly forgiven or get by with a slap on the wrist. That Pesky Claim of 'Reverse Racism' The lack of diversity among employees of many of the companies on the Fortune 500 list is enough to prove that most white businessmen do business with other white businessmen. Black people aren’t allowed to do the same. Black-owned businesses are accused of "reverse-racism" when they make public efforts to hire only Black employees or offer promotions and pay raises to Black employees over non-Black employees. Racists have a deep fear that one successful Black person will only open the pathway to more successful Black people and, to them, that can only be frowned upon. The Belief That Black Customers Cheapen the Business This is also related to the fact that wealth is often associated with whiteness, which means if someone wants to have a high-end business he or she needs to have white customers as the target demographic. Once a business becomes too closely associated with the Black community, it is often perceived as inexpensive and sub-par. This often makes it hard for Black companies to focus on the Black community while still maximizing profits.

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