Framing the Study of Black Economics by Justin Gammage, Ph.D. Associate Professor California State University Dominguez Hills Department of Africana Studies
African Americans’ quest for economic justice and equality has been a complex and multifaceted journey that is at the core of African Americans’ resistance to racism and its ill effects. Thus, a discussion focusing on the economic reality of African Americans must explore the historical politics of race that remain a prevailing certainty in the 21st century. The harmful effects of institutional white supremacy have manifested as a contemporary reinforcement of the racial currency that has been attached to race, which negatively impacts the global African community. The study of Black economics is a growing field and a critical pillar in addressing historic and systemic barriers that hinder the forward progress of people of African descent in eliminating threats that challenge their wellbeing. Economics is wide in scope and intertwined with nearly every aspect of American society. Economists recognize that economics is an integrative system that informs and influences all aspects of our society (e.g., politics, education, social structures; Karenga, 2002). Thus, it is impossible to isolate an economic analysis without considering factors such as race, gender, class, power, and politics. While economics is the study and process of producing, distributing, and consuming goods and services, Africana studies scholars have worked to provide a better understanding of its relationship with other social institutions. In May 2008, the Journal of Black Studies published a special issue dedicated to exploring the relationship between the discipline of Africana studies and economics. This collection of articles emphasized the need for Africana studies, as an intellectual enterprise, to infuse economics into its curricula, academic discourse, and training of future scholars. While this is not the first intellectual project to focus on an interdisciplinary approach to studying and conceptualizing Black economics, it raised critical questions that must be addressed. A central theme of this special edition is the significance of tackling economic challenges facing African Americans. Jessica Gordon-Nembhard (2008) states it best when proclaiming, 79
