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The BMDC is on the move! -- May 2004
If you have visited my website you know it is based on the life and death of Brother Marcus Garvey. As the site opens it is accompanied by the sound of a “Whirlwind” and photos of Marcus and his movement. One of our mailing lists is called the Whirlwind List, in keeping with those prophetic words of Garvey, “I will return in the Whirlwind.” The other mailing list on the site is the Blackonomics Million Dollar Club (BMDC). Little did I know when the BMDC was formed that our first nationwide assistance effort would be to send money to the Marcus Garvey School in Los Angeles, California. How appropriate. Before I say anything else, let me say, “Thank You” to all of those who joined the BMDC. Because of you I am confident we can do great things. You are the example our children (and adults) need. You are soldiers in that army that Marcus Garvey wrote about in his letter from the Atlanta prison. You are the love and trust I often write about in this column and in my books that will release us from psychological enslavement. x0Dx0A x0Dx0AYou are, indeed, a group of dedicated, selfless, supportive, and enthusiastic brothers and sisters who are willing to make the small sacrifices necessary to obtain true freedom. You are doers, notx0Dx0Ajust “rhetoriticians” (I made that up), not just hearers, not just complainers, but the ones who will get things done. Maybe we have finally found DuBois’ Guiding Hundredth. x0Dx0A x0Dx0AThank you from the bottom of my heart, for believing in this cause and for demonstrating that belief by responding to the call. I love all of you.x0Dx0A x0Dx0AThere were times, I must admit, that I had my doubts about whether the BMDC would work. In my idealistic thinking, as was the case with the Piney Woods School campaign, I thought we would have 200,000 names in a month or two. I also thought that we would collect a million dollars for Piney Woods in time for Kwanzaa 2003. In both cases, we did not meet our goal, not by a long shot. However, there are some very determined brothers and sisters who wrote to me and said things like, “I don’t care how many people we have signed up, let’s go with who we have.” They just wanted to do, to help, to take action. So, on May 7, 2004, my daughter’s birthday, we moved with who we had and issued the call to send our first contribution to the Garvey School.x0Dx0A x0Dx0AIt was so encouraging to receive those e-mails from the group. I always wonder why it seems so difficult for our people to do something so simple, why we do not get in front of the curve sometime rather always being behind it, and why we continue to discuss our problems ad nauseam rather than doing whatever we can to solve them. Well, I am convinced there are more brothers and sisters of that ilk than I ever imagined. They are either in the BMDC or on their way to joining the BMDC.x0Dx0A x0Dx0AThe Blackonomics Million Dollar Club was established to provide a means for national collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, and self-determination. It is an opportunity for “just plain folk” to do something to help one another, and to participate in a collective effort by putting our meager resources together and demonstrating what can be done if we work together. Each of us may not have a lot of money, and we may not be celebrities, but together we can do great things. x0Dx0A x0Dx0AWe will never, individually, get the kind of publicity a Bill Cosby, Willie Gary, and Oprah Winfrey get when they give millions to Black colleges, even though, relatively speaking, our individual donations mean the same to us as theirs mean to them. Our sacrifice may even be more difficult to make than theirs, but the collective aspect of pooling our money and doing things in support of one another is what is really important. The only important individual credit is the credit given to the group – The BMDC. x0Dx0A x0Dx0AThousands of people giving a few dollars can have the same result as one person giving thousands of dollars. Even better is the fact that more of us feel empowered and more of us have an opportunity to be a part of a meaningful and relevant movement. We become connected, like an expansive web, using the worldwide web. What a concept!x0Dx0A x0Dx0AThe Blackonomics Million Dollar Club is your opportunity to be able to contribute as little as $5.00 to worthy causes and institutions on a national – and international – level. The BMDC is a no-excuses cadre of honorable, ready-to-go, determined individuals who are willing to put their money where their mouths are, ready to put up or shut up. The BMDC is a group of brothers and sisters who stand ready, awaiting the next opportunity to give their financial assistance to the next worthwhile institution we select. Are you ready to do the same? If so, just click on the BMDC list and sign up. x0Dx0A x0Dx0ABe a part of history, and be a very important part of our future as well. x0Dx0A
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