Blacks On The Continent And In The Diaspora Experience Crisis Of Ownership
Across the world, from Kenya to the Caribbean to Kansas City, Dar es Salaam to the Dominican Republic to Detroit, Soweto to Sao Paolo to southeast Washington DC, the question persists: why do the sons and daughters of Africa remain poor—either in absolute terms or comparatively–decades after the sun has set on settler colonial rule, chattel slavery, Jim Crow and apartheid?
Known as privatization, the sale of publicly owned assets such as utilities, ports, and gas and oil industries, is a big piece of the puzzle. Similar to guns in the 19th century, finance has emerged as a principal tool for extracting wealth from workers– especially those of color– essentially reversing the gains made by liberation movements.