Black billionaire? I prefer billionaire.
Some of my friends are excited that Michael Jordan is now a member of the Forbes Billionaire list. http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/12407104/michael-jordan-makes-debut-forbes-world-billionaires-list
They feel like MJ’s arrival on the Billionaire list is a huge accomplishment for black people.
Not sure why some black people feel this sense of accomplishment. What’s the significance for the black community? We are dealing with a black man that has a billion dollars, that does little to nothing financially speaking for the black community?
Black people have something to do with Michael Jordan’s rise to the Billionaire club!!
Some black people, don’t feel he should have to care, which got me thinking.
Does Michael Jordan owe the black community anything?
Based on our society, no, Michael Jordan does not owe black people anything. We live in a society driven by “possessive individualism.”
Personally, I would say yes, considering the fact that some of the images Nike has used to market his shoes come directly from black communities. The black community has been his most loyal customer over the last 25 years, and is undoubtedly a large reason MJ still receives 100 million dollars from Nike annually in shoe royalties.
Although not the first, Michael Jordan is the most popular, and the most powerful black athlete to distance himself from the black community.
Some black people pay attention to the fact that there are a number of black entertainers and athletes with large amounts of personal wealth, while ignoring the fact that these same entertainers and athletes do very little to develop the black community as a whole, economically speaking.
We find the same lack of concern amongst some rich black people, that we find in some rich white people. If the individual, does not have a communal attitude towards the black community it means nothing that he or she is a billionaire. That money does nothing for the black community.
The fact that Michael Jordan rose to billionaire status by playing a sport, and being extremely marketable based on how he played, makes this accomplishment that much less significant for black kids.
The chances of a kid getting to the NBA are non-existent based on the odds. Encouraging a kid to be like Michael Jordan, the greatest basketball player ever, is unrealistic and counter productive. We have generations of kids that were encouraged to be like Mike. The majority of kids that were encouraged to play a sport were not playing sports after their senior year in school.
Be proud and happy for Michael Jordan as an individual, but be realistic and stop acting like him having a billion dollars means anything to the black community, because it means absolutely nothing.
Come get me when Michael Jordan starts acting more like Magic Johnson, who is vocal about challenges hindering economic growth in the black community and also puts money in the community to back his words.