Hella Black Podcast EP 62: The Myth of Black Buying Power (feat Dr. Jared Ball)
Jan 17, 2020
Dr. Jared Ball, a Morgan State communication professor and media scholar, unpacks how the idea of Black buying power was built as marketing and wage control. He explores HBCU funding shifts, corporate and military ties, limits of local Black capital, and how media and elites sell consumerist narratives. The conversation points toward redistribution of national wealth as a real route to material freedom.
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HBCU Funding Pushed Toward State Needs
- Redirecting HBCU funding into STEM was intentional to align Black graduates with military and corporate needs.
- That shift marginalized humanities and radical thought, weakening intellectual leadership for liberation.
Excluded After Questioning AFRICOM Funding
- Jared Ball recounts receiving an AFRICOM-related funding email and being removed after asking ethical questions.
- His exclusion illustrated how institutions shield programs tied to defense and state interests.
Corporate Funding Shapes Campus Politics
- Corporations and defense contractors fund universities and internships, shaping curricula toward state and corporate interests.
- Jared Ball recounts losing participation when he questioned AFRICOM-related research funding offers.
