1. C. Erskine Brown / A Cry Among Men - The Novel 5
Outside the Exchange, in the shadows of concrete and glass
edifices, was three hundred and sixty degrees of chaos. Zoo York
City. Bulls scurried in tandem with bears through cluttered
streets to black sedans, high-end SUVs (the most desirous of the
nouveau rich), buses, cabs, subway stations and trains. Droves
rushed to their material gods, or to get more, while others
disappeared to high priced shrinks or to gratify lustful
addictions.
Although the economic recovery had been lethargic, the
business of Mergers and Acquisitions held its own. It was where
many say morally offensive amounts of money, headlines and
economic power are created or transferred on a daily basis,
moving us nearer to an oligarchic society.
In the eighties, M&A introduced the world to Ivan Boesky and
Michael Milken, the man who invented junk bonds. The period
graced us with a noble black man as well - the late Reginald
Lewis. He'd made history with his $985 million acquisition of
Beatrice International Foods.
The decade's momentum turned the nineties into a time of
unabated greed, lots of cocaine, sex and material consumption.
Another Sodom and Gomorrah.
Those years passed to bring a more complex era. And it
ushered in electing Barack Obama, the country's first black
President. Expectations to level the justice, jobs and economic
playing fields for blacks and other minorities were high but for
obvious