Green dollars in black hands

The hotel controversy did not go unmentioned during the events surrounding the grand opening of the International Civil Rights Center and Museum today, but when I reviewed my notes that wasn't the important element. Today was about the remarkable bravery of the four men who initiated the Woolworth's sit-ins and others who joined them. It was about the many roles played on the front lines and behind the scenes by nameless people who sought no recognition as they acted according to their consciences in a cause to dismantle an immoral code of racial separation.

Skip Alston alluded to the hotel project during a press conference in the museum when he reprised earlier comments about moving beyond "civil rights" to "silver rights." Alston and Jones made it clear that they view economic empowerment as the next logical step in the civil rights movement, and they see financial opportunity for themselves as being in no way inconsistent with that principle.

For the sake of posterity and discussion, here are Jones' full comments on the matter:

“Skip can’t say this, but I can. That hotel issue is a good example. There were three phases of the civil rights movement. The first phase was to kill of Jim Crow, which we did. The second phase was black political empowerment. And, of course, the president of the United States is African American. We’ve had Yvonne Johnson elected as the first African-American mayor. We also accomplished that, and won that battle. The next battle is economic empowerment: green dollars in black hands. And that hotel issue represents that. You have hotels built in this city every year all over the city. And you have hotel owners who want to compete with those other hotels. Why is this black-owned hotel selectively targeted for special scrutiny? So you have to think about those kinds of things.

“Now, the fight for economic empowerment is going to be the most difficult fight because it speaks to the heart and gut of free enterprise and capitalism. So until African America can come into the mainstream of free enterprise and capitalism, we’re always going to have some kind of social dynamic that places us in an impoverished category. If we can’t grow businesses, develop businesses, hire people, contract with African-American business folks and others, we’re second-class citizens as far as the almighty dollar. I think it’s very telling and very timely on the 50th anniversary…. And I think it’s very spiritual in nature that this should come up.

“Just to give you a little detail, it was indicated through the media that Skip Alston got up, didn’t inform his people…. I served on city council. We had a number of city council members abstain from voting. The law says, ‘You shall abstain from voting.’ That’s the law. He met the law. So why the special scrutiny? This is the next level. It is the major effort for silver rights. And I think the hotel issue is very telling. And it’s really strange that it would occur on the 50th anniversary of the Woolworth’s sit-ins.”