The Rules Were Never Hidden—We Just Weren’t Taught to Read Them
Cecil Lipscomb
There’s a quiet frustration that lives in a lot of Black-led spaces.
You hear it after the meetings. You feel it after the grants are awarded. You recognize it when the effort was sincere, the leadership was committed, and the outcome still fell short.
The question usually sounds like this: Why does it feel like we’re always doing the right things—but still not getting the results?
The uncomfortable truth is this: The rules were never hidden. We just weren’t taught how to read them.
Effort isn’t the Problem
Black communities are not lacking passion. We are not lacking intelligence. We are not lacking programs, initiatives, or people who genuinely care.
If effort alone determined outcomes, we would have solved many of the problems we’re still fighting today.
But systems don’t reward effort.
They reward alignment.
And too often, we enter systems believing that good intentions, moral clarity, and community need will naturally translate into success. That belief—while understandable—sets us up for disappointment.
How Systems Actually Work
Systems don’t operate on fairness.
They operate on incentives.
They don’t respond to urgency.
They respond to structure.
They don’t advance causes because they are righteous.
They advance outcomes that reinforce how the system is designed to function.
This is not cynicism. It’s mechanics.
Every system—whether economic, political, philanthropic, or institutional—has:
A way it measures success
A behavior that quietly rewards
A risk it is designed to avoid
Understanding those mechanics is not selling out.
It’s learning the language of power.
Why Empowerment Language Often Falls Flat
We’ve become fluent in the language of empowerment.
We talk about equity.
We talk about access.
We talk about justice.
But language alone doesn’t shift outcomes.
Institutions can adopt empowerment language without redistributing authority.
They can fund initiatives without changing who controls decision-making.
They can celebrate representation while preserving the same power dynamics.
When that happens, communities are left confused—doing more work, producing more reports, attending more meetings—without seeing proportional results.
That confusion isn’t accidental. It’s the byproduct of entering systems without understanding how leverage is actually applied.
The Skill We Were Never Given
We were taught to:
Organize
Advocate
Mobilize
Serve
What we were rarely taught is systems literacy.
Systems literacy is the ability to:
Identify where decisions are truly made
Distinguish visibility from authority
Understand when compliance helps—and when it limits
Recognize how risk, control, and incentives shape outcomes
Without that literacy, communities end up mistaking participation for power and access for influence.
And that’s where progress stalls.
A Hard Truth We Need to Face
Racism is real.
Structural barriers are real.
Historical exclusion is real.
But another truth must be said plainly:
Many Black-led efforts don’t fail because systems block them outright—
They fail because the system is being engaged incorrectly.
That’s not an indictment of our communities.
It’s evidence of a missing tool.
No one gave us the manual.
No one explained the architecture.
No one broke down how power actually moves once you’re inside the room.
Reading the Rules Changes the Game
When you understand how a system measures success, you stop arguing with it—and start positioning within it.
When you understand incentives, you stop being surprised by outcomes.
When you understand where authority sits, you stop confusing proximity with power.
This doesn’t mean abandoning values. It means protecting them by operating with clarity.
Empowerment economics, at its core, is not about louder demands or better messaging. It’s about precision.
The Question That Matters Now
The question isn’t whether empowerment is possible.
The question is whether we are ready to stop assuming the system will respond to what should matter—and start engaging it based on what actually does.
Because the rules were never hidden. We just weren’t taught how to read them.
And once you learn to read them, the outcomes begin to change.
About the Author
Cecil Lipscomb
With a career dedicated to expanding opportunity, strengthening community institutions, and reshaping how capital flows into overlooked neighborhoods, Cecil Lipscomb brings a visionary, mission-centered voice to the work of economic empowerment. He believes deeply in the power of people, strategy, and intention—and in the possibility of building systems where resources align with purpose. His leadership reflects a simple but transformative conviction: when communities are equipped with the right tools and the right truth, they rise.
To reach Cecil, call (216) 238-2235