The Bay Area Black Community initiative, spearheaded by Shawn Robinson, aims to improve the financial futures of Black individuals facing economic hardships in the U.S. The project focuses on uniting the community to combat issues such as unemployment and wealth inequality, particularly the significant wealth gap between Black and white households. By organizing town hall meetings and promoting resource sharing, the initiative seeks to foster economic growth and create a more competitive and united Black community.

1. The Bay Area Black Community…Working
towards a Better Financial Future for Blacks!
Throughout the United States, even in the big cities, the media is rife with
reports on how the economy is declining. Individuals are losing their homes,
jobs and relationships due to the lack of money.
A lot of people are desperate for change and want extra money. This is how
the concept behind The Bay Area Black Community came into being.
Brains behind the Project
A black man named Shawn Robinson living in California within the Bay Area
was touched by the plight of black people living in the United States in terms
of unemployment, layoffs and the general decline of living standards due to
economic decline.
He conceived the idea of bringing people together to combine resources so as
to improve community living. To this end, he is planning to hold several Black
Town Hall meetings, the first of which is during Black history month 2015.

2. The aim of this organization is to create awareness in the community and to
also solicit for support for a membership service and system of which he has
created from scratch.
Visit his website, www.bayareablack.org for more information.
Challenges Faced by the Black Community
Africans in America go through appalling conditions such as lowest quantity
of riches, highest rate of unemployment, lowest income, highest rate of crime,
and the quickest rate of death. Sociologists attribute these conditions as a
result of insufficient economic development.
The Predicament
Distribution of wealth is not equal
 Wealth is the money one receives from property ownership such as
stocks, bonds, real estate or business. It is money that is continuously
available to you so long as you are the owner of the property.
 On the other hand, when you sell your labor, you earn an income. The
problem with income is that if you are not working, you do not receive
any money. Black Americans have a lot of income (around 1 trillion
dollars) a year in minimal wealth.
 The gap for wealth is becoming wider between White society and Black
America. Studies show that in 2001, African Americans made up 13% of
the population. However, they were the owners of only 3%, (inclusive of

3. home equity) of the average family wealth. This translates to $121,000
for White homes and $19,000 for Black households.
 Accumulation of wealth is important as it determines the social
acceptance of an ethnic group, equal justice, good health care, individual
comfort and the life span and quality of the lives they lead.
IBP (Inappropriate Behavior Patterns)
Unequal Wealth Distribution is not entirely to blame for the low economic
status of Black America and the resultant life quality. Another big cause of this
is referred to as IBP patterns. IBP refers to acts which Blacks carry out that
are deemed inappropriate. This is a result of the social training of slavery.
Examples of IBP which is destructive are:
 Community Division
 Clashes with competition
 Looking for Whites’ approval
 Work attitude
 Attitude on Material Items
Community Division
 The inappropriate behaviour which is most destructive which African
Americans go through is Community division. This stems from slavery
which discouraged any efforts at unity.

4.  The slave makers were aware that communities which were not united
would be easy to continue controlling. Community Division is still
rampant in today’s Black Community.
 The major aim of the project for The Bay Area Black Community is to
unite Blacks so as to better their everyday lives.
What is the Solution?
Some Black Americans might opt to look for an additional job so as to combat
the above mentioned issues. However, this can prove difficult due to the
decline in the number of jobs.
The initiative for The Bay Area Black Community is a vision of ensuring that
Blacks start making money today to ensure a better future for them
tomorrow. This will prevent more suffering long-term and raise a generation
of Black people that will be competitive, socially and financially with the other
ethnic groups within the Bay Area and some day nationwide!
To get more information on this worthwhile venture, visit
www.bayareablack.org for more details!