Don’t Pigeonhole Me: A Pragmatic Capitalist’s View on Community and Growth

Recently, I found myself in a heated but respectful debate with a friend — a former state legislator and fellow public servant. He’s a proud progressive Democrat, and I’m what I like to call a pragmatic capitalist.

Our disagreement wasn’t about whether we care about our community. It was about how we believe progress should happen. He argued that as a capitalist, I’m all about myself. I told him that couldn’t be further from the truth. I’m about building wealth that lasts — for my family, for my grandchildren, and for the generations who come after.

God gave me the talent to create, to build, and to grow. I believe that when you plant and nurture your own “economic tree,” your success produces fruit that others can eat from. I’m not building for greed; I’m building a bullpen of strength so that my family — and ultimately my community — has something to stand on.

My friend’s vision of collective progress is noble, but I reminded him: he has a pension, he owns a home, and he benefits from the very economic security he now critiques. So I asked him — what makes me different? Why is it wrong for me to pursue that same stability through enterprise and investment instead of government policy?

That’s what’s wrong with parts of today’s Democratic Party. Too often, they pigeonhole people like me — Black men and women who believe in both self-reliance and shared responsibility. You can love your community and still believe that empowerment starts with economic independence.

I’m not against collective growth. I’m saying it starts with individual empowerment — with families owning homes, running businesses, and teaching the next generation how to make money work for them, not against them.

If we’re serious about rebuilding Detroit, about closing the racial wealth gap, and about creating generational stability, we need to stop dividing ourselves between “progressives” and “capitalists.” We need both.

Because in the end, a strong community is made up of strong families — and strong families are built by people who are not afraid to plant and grow their own economic trees.