Black Wall Street’s Forgotten Foundation

One of the greatest tragedies in Africa and the African diaspora has been rejecting the economic and institutional principles that fostered Western prosperity because of the injustices committed by Western nations. 

That reaction is understandable. Colonialism, slavery, segregation, and discrimination left deep scars, and no one wants to emulate those they believe oppressed them. Yet we must distinguish between the moral failures of a civilization and the principles that produced its prosperity. Yes, people have abused capitalism, private property, entrepreneurship, and constitutional government—but that does not mean those principles are themselves oppressive. Economic laws operate much like the laws of nature. They do not change because of our emotions or historical grievances.

The Socialist Turn

This distinction became painfully clear after many African nations gained their independence. As European colonial powers withdrew during the 1950s through the 1970s, many newly independent governments deliberately rejected Western capitalism and embraced various forms of socialism, state planning, and one-party rule. Leaders such as Kwame Nkrumah in Ghana, Julius Nyerere in Tanzania, Sékou Touré in Guinea, Agostinho Neto in Angola, and Mengistu Haile Mariam in Ethiopia all pursued socialist economic models to varying degrees. During the Cold War, many African governments aligned themselves politically, militarily, or economically with the Soviet Union, Cuba, or Communist China rather than the Western democracies. For many, socialism appeared morally superior because it promised equality, anti-colonial solidarity, and freedom from Western influence. In practice, however, state ownership, centralized planning, price controls, nationalization of industries, and hostility toward private enterprise often produced stagnant economies, declining agricultural production, shortages, corruption, and dependence on foreign aid. While not every African nation followed the same pathcolonial legacies certainly continued to shape development, the historical record shows that many countries compounded those challenges by adopting economic systems that discouraged investment, entrepreneurship, and wealth creation.

The same intellectual currents influenced many segments of the American black community. During the twentieth century, socialist and Marxist ideas found receptive audiences among some black intellectuals and activists who viewed capitalism as inseparable from racism. Figures such as W. E. B. Du Bois later expressed admiration for socialism, and organizations ranging from the Communist Party USA to the Black Panther Party incorporated Marxist or socialist analysis into their understanding of racial inequality. Even among leaders who did not identify as Marxists, democratic socialist ideas about redistribution, government-led economic development, and expansive welfare programs increasingly shaped political conversations. This influence continues today through activist organizations, academic institutions, and portions of black political leadership that often frame economic justice through the expansion of government rather than through entrepreneurship, family formation, educational excellence, and business ownership.

This does not mean that every government program is inherently wrong or that every black leader who supports social spending is a socialist. Nor does it deny the reality of discrimination or historical injustice. The point is that ideas have consequences. When communities look to the state as the primary engine of prosperity rather than to families, churches, businesses, and local institutions, they weaken the very habits that produce stable, flourishing communities.

Biblical Principles Built Thriving Communities

Dr. Karen Ellis, theological ethicist and researcher at The Center for Christian Endurance, recently joined us on Off Code and made an observation that has stayed with me. She noted that black Americans frequently celebrate Black Wall Street, but we rarely stop to ask about the  principles that built Black Wall Street. We admire the outcome without examining the foundation. 

The Greenwood district in Tulsa did not become prosperous because of government redistribution or centralized planning. It was built through entrepreneurship, property ownership, skilled trades, banking, education, voluntary cooperation, strong families, and a culture that valued work, saving, and investment. Those are not uniquely white values or Western values. They are biblical principles that have produced prosperity wherever people have consistently practiced them.

Delano Squires, director of the Richard and Helen DeVos Center for Human Flourishing at the Heritage Foundation, has similarly observed that too often the only thing we want to inherit from our ancestors is their suffering—because suffering has become politically valuable. We know the stories of oppression, but we are less interested in the disciplines, virtues, and institutions that enabled previous generations to overcome extraordinary obstacles. We celebrate their pain while neglecting their perseverance. We remember the discrimination they endured but overlook the businesses they built, the churches they strengthened, the marriages they protected, and the habits of thrift, sacrifice, and responsibility that enabled many communities to thrive despite enormous barriers.

The temptation to reject everything associated with the oppressor is understandable. History gives us plenty of reasons to distrust those who abused power. But wisdom requires discernment. A society should reject slavery, racism, and colonial exploitation without rejecting private property. It should reject segregation without rejecting entrepreneurship. It should reject injustice without rejecting the economic principles that create opportunity and wealth.

Truth Matters More Than Its Origin

Christians, in particular, should evaluate every economic system not by its origin or its political branding but by whether it reflects biblical principles concerning human nature, stewardship, work, personal responsibility, justice, generosity, and the dignity of every person made in God's image. Scripture does not endorse laissez-faire capitalism as an ideology, nor does it endorse socialism. Yet the biblical pattern consistently affirms the legitimacy of private property, rewards for productive labor, voluntary generosity rather than coerced redistribution, honest commerce, and faithful stewardship. History repeatedly demonstrates that societies embracing these principles tend to create the wealth necessary to alleviate poverty, while societies that suppress them often produce greater dependence and scarcity.

The question, then, is not whether these principles came from Europe or America. The question is are they true?. If they are rooted in God's design for human flourishing, rejecting them because they were practiced by flawed people only ensures that future generations inherit less prosperity. 

The challenge for the black community and for African nations is not to recover the ideology of those who oppressed them, but to recover the timeless principles that allow people to build families, businesses, institutions, and cultures that flourish for generations.