According to the Bitcoin and Black America author Isaiah Jackson, Bitcoin can be a force for good for Black America especially right now. America has been at a standstill for the last week following the death of African American man George Floyd at the hands of brutal police violence. Violent protests and demonstrations have been seen across the country and have even crossed over to other major cities all over the world. The hashtag #BlackLivesMatter has been trending nonstop for the past week and as expected; a lot of goodwill has been extended from various quarters towards the Black community. The fronting of Bitcoin as a good way to empower black lives has been part of that good will.
Addressing the wealth gap
The wealth gap between African Americans and White Americans created by a long history of racial marginalization is increasingly being challenged. The wealth gap has been analyzed a lot within the last two years with calls for reparations for slavery being made as one of the ways to address the gap. The murder of George Floyd at the hands of a white police officer has sparked off fresh scrutiny of the system and calls for change have never been louder in recent times. Author Isaiah Jackson who is a strong crypto advocate for the black community pointed to the lack of wealth and power in the black community as a cause for police violence by saying;
“Without economic strength, you have cops coming from outside of the community into there and they don’t value it. They don’t value your people. They don’t see you as a person and that is an issue.”
Although Jackson appreciates all the donations being made to aid the cause, he believes support needs to go further than just donations.
“As far as how you deal with an oppressor, there’s only two ways in my opinion: either bankrupt them money wise, the state or violence; I think a better option is money.”
Bitcoin as part of the solution
Protests like the ones being experienced right now across the U.S and the in major cities across the world have been known to lead to a surge in crypto interest. Signs calling for the purchase of Bitcoin have already surfaced in various cities. Jackson concluded by saying that he would love for crypto charity groups such as BitGive and GiveBitcoin to work with organizations like Black lives matter or more local organizations.
Image Courtesy of Vox
