Does Culture Produce Wealth Or Does Wealth Produce Culture?
The Answer: ‘Culture creates Wealth’! Every immigrant who came to America brought their culture, heritage and traditions; and integrated them into their communities, and developed the assets to create generational wealth for their people and themselves. The English, Spanish, French, Dutch, Irish, Italian, Chinese and others brought their cultures, traditions, and heritage to America, and today each is an integral part of the culture, we classify as “American”. Our American Culture is made of various cultures and is constantly evolving, which makes us attractive to the rest of the world. A melting pot, ‘No’ - America is a GUMBO!!!!
The African American Culture is no different. Slaves and immigrants from Africa and the Caribbean, brought to America their cultures, traditions, and heritage. Openly and in secret, they continued to practice them, and many have survived for over four hundred years. Our music, art, dance, foods, traditions, trades, skills and creative intelligence are integrated in the mainstream culture and society. Unfortunately, seldom is any thought or recognition given to their origin, or their economic value. Each cultural asset was placed into society without the originators recognizing that these assets can, and would be clustered in Black communities to duplicate the wealth that was created in the mainstream culture. It is the desire of the Pan African Cultural Heritage Institute leadership to begin the journey by assisting Forgotten Communities rebuild their cultural infrastructure by implementing the ‘Pan African Cultural Heritage Initiative’, with the assistance of the Institute and the National Cultural Heritage Tourism Center. These organizations were created to celebrate and reclaim the Pan African identity, and to develop clusters of cultural businesses in historic Forgotten Communities and Villages, to create wealth and opportunities. Motown, Stax, BET, and other companies that produced jobs, opportunities and wealth, serving cultural needs, are evidence of this concept.
The Pan African Cultural Heritage Institute will assist in the development of cultural economic entities that will bring to producers of cultural products and services, increased opportunities by marketing them to the Black Diaspora across the globe, via an e-commerce platform and network. The goal again being: to educate, connect national and global communities, create jobs, and opportunities. The primary focus of the Institute will be the creation of Cultural Wealth and the Reduction of Institutional Poverty.
All immigrants eventually must learn and navigate this complex, yet beautiful, matrix to seek the opportunities it possess. They must address its custom, traditions and protective laws that sometimes oppress its participants via laws and regulations that act as gatekeepers of opportunity. Their need to be an understanding that capitalism involves the management of natural resources, and investment of capital and finance in the production of products to support the needs and desires of a culture, to maintain a belief and traditional way of life. Overtime; culture, tradition and legal challenges, forged by activism and enlightenment, allows entry. It is a generational conquest of challenges. The Civil Rights Movement was such an endeavor that brought about the doors of opportunity being opened. Afro-centric and Forgotten Communities can create economic opportunity by understanding the principles of capitalism to develop and expand their business sector and creates jobs for it culture. Now we must take advantage and master capitalism and economics via cultural asset development and management by partnering with faith centered principals and organization.
The Faith Community is the one sector of our capitalistic society that ensures fairness and forges opportunity as a practice of it beliefs, customs and traditions. It opens doors, preserves and protects. It is what truly makes “America Great”:
One Nation, under God, Indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for “All”.`
The Answer: ‘Culture creates Wealth’! Every immigrant who came to America brought their culture, heritage and traditions; and integrated them into their communities, and developed the assets to create generational wealth for their people and themselves. The English, Spanish, French, Dutch, Irish, Italian, Chinese and others brought their cultures, traditions, and heritage to America, and today each is an integral part of the culture, we classify as “American”. Our American Culture is made of various cultures and is constantly evolving, which makes us attractive to the rest of the world. A melting pot, ‘No’ - America is a GUMBO!!!!
The African American Culture is no different. Slaves and immigrants from Africa and the Caribbean, brought to America their cultures, traditions, and heritage. Openly and in secret, they continued to practice them, and many have survived for over four hundred years. Our music, art, dance, foods, traditions, trades, skills and creative intelligence are integrated in the mainstream culture and society. Unfortunately, seldom is any thought or recognition given to their origin, or their economic value. Each cultural asset was placed into society without the originators recognizing that these assets can, and would be clustered in Black communities to duplicate the wealth that was created in the mainstream culture. It is the desire of the Pan African Cultural Heritage Institute leadership to begin the journey by assisting Forgotten Communities rebuild their cultural infrastructure by implementing the ‘Pan African Cultural Heritage Initiative’, with the assistance of the Institute and the National Cultural Heritage Tourism Center. These organizations were created to celebrate and reclaim the Pan African identity, and to develop clusters of cultural businesses in historic Forgotten Communities and Villages, to create wealth and opportunities. Motown, Stax, BET, and other companies that produced jobs, opportunities and wealth, serving cultural needs, are evidence of this concept.
The Pan African Cultural Heritage Institute will assist in the development of cultural economic entities that will bring to producers of cultural products and services, increased opportunities by marketing them to the Black Diaspora across the globe, via an e-commerce platform and network. The goal again being: to educate, connect national and global communities, create jobs, and opportunities. The primary focus of the Institute will be the creation of Cultural Wealth and the Reduction of Institutional Poverty.
All immigrants eventually must learn and navigate this complex, yet beautiful, matrix to seek the opportunities it possess. They must address its custom, traditions and protective laws that sometimes oppress its participants via laws and regulations that act as gatekeepers of opportunity. Their need to be an understanding that capitalism involves the management of natural resources, and investment of capital and finance in the production of products to support the needs and desires of a culture, to maintain a belief and traditional way of life. Overtime; culture, tradition and legal challenges, forged by activism and enlightenment, allows entry. It is a generational conquest of challenges. The Civil Rights Movement was such an endeavor that brought about the doors of opportunity being opened. Afro-centric and Forgotten Communities can create economic opportunity by understanding the principles of capitalism to develop and expand their business sector and creates jobs for it culture. Now we must take advantage and master capitalism and economics via cultural asset development and management by partnering with faith centered principals and organization.
The Faith Community is the one sector of our capitalistic society that ensures fairness and forges opportunity as a practice of it beliefs, customs and traditions. It opens doors, preserves and protects. It is what truly makes “America Great”:
One Nation, under God, Indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for “All”.`