The Black Informant | African American Commentary, News and Community Building

Written by William Reed

*Excerpted*

“In 1914, Henry Ford paid workers $5 per day and prompted the movement of millions of blacks to the urban north.AsA As America’s first major “equal opportunity employer, Ford reached out to African American communities, churches and newspapers to find factory workers. Automobile industry wages enabled black workers to buy homes, own cars, save money and send their children to college. In metropolitan areas with big auto plants, black auto workers were the most visible leaders of labor organizations, churches, and civil rights groups.

Auto work provided blacks with resources that few other jobs did, in turn they invested their resources back into community organizations and projects. As late as 1970 one in every five Big Three workers was black. By the turn of the 21st Century, auto work became less a source of employment for blacks. As Chrysler, Ford and GM lost market share, the industry workforce has shrunk to drastic lows.

These days America’s car manufacturers, and workers, are experiencing a bumpy ride. Car sales are still at historically high levels; but the Big Three’s share of sales has slumped. Each year in the U.S. more than 16 million new cars (and 40 million used cars) are sold. African Americans buy 1 in every 8 vehicles sold here and factor into the Big Three’s marketplace predicament. The reason Chrysler, Ford and GM are closing factories and cutting jobs is that they are losing U.S. market share to foreign competitors. Last year import car makers: Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Jaguar, Saab, Audi, Volvo, Toyota, Volkswagen and Honda commanded 36 percent of the $1.5 trillion US auto market. Nearly half of import buyers were African Americans, who bought luxury models in particular.” (more…)

Man, I would love to have a historical discussion on this (especially during the Henry Ford years). There is a lot of information here I think that had a direct effect on the Black economy for years (and still does to a certain extent). If I come across any related links on this, I will try to link it to this post.