The Neo-Colonial Fix Is In

Editor’s Note: This article is part of an ongoing column called Camden Front and Center, analyzing the city’s politics, development, and power structures. It reflects the author’s examination and perspective on how decisions by political, business, and civic leaders impact the city’s Black and Latino residents.

The thing about neo-colonialism is that it is an infrastructure that provides colonies with a false sense of autonomy and self-determination. The colony maintains a sense of (cultural) identity; however, it’s largely symbolic. None of that symbolism translates into system-deconstructing power, only micro-level concessions. 

An example of this pseudo-power is the Black legislator. He or she works to funnel millions of dollars in projects to their constituency, yet fails to challenge the foreign policy responsible for the billions of dollars flowing outside of the country for hegemonic and imperialist aims that harm Black and brown people internationally… while Black and brown people receive table scraps domestically. 

“The essence of neo-colonialism is that the State which is subject to it is, in theory, independent and has all the outward trappings of international sovereignty. In reality its economic system and thus its political policy is directed from outside,” said Kwame Nkrumah in “Neo-Colonialism: The Last Stage of Imperialism.”

Were Camden City residents unaware before of who directed their politics, they have been made aware by the European Metal Recycling (EMR) fiasco that Camden’s political policy is directed from the outside. What activated the firestorm of criticism of EMR’s pollution facility – the Feb. 21, 2025, fire – should have activated city and county officials to remove the facility. However, political officials only sought reform. 

EMR responded with a memorandum of understanding outlining the precautions they would take to ensure the facility could remain in operation. However, those precautions are not fireproof, as there was another fire at EMR’s facility on May 29. The result was that city officials suspended EMR’s license and closed the facility altogether; EMR later filed a lawsuit seeking to have it reopened. 

A settlement agreement was proposed to the Camden City Council for a vote on July 7, with EMR hoping (if not outright expecting) to reopen its facility in August. The vote was unanimous: nay on the settlement with EMR. The very next day, the matter returned to court with the judge issuing a preliminary injunction stopping Camden from enforcing the suspension of EMR’s license. Camden City’s response was the following:  

“While the city awaits the actual Court Order, EMR will not be able to resume operations until it meets a series of conditions expected to be outlined in the order [from the judge]. This is ultimately a victory for Camden residents and a positive outcome, particularly for the Waterfront South Community. Our Camden residents will not be bullied by EMR or anyone. EMR will not be allowed to act in a way that endangers the health and welfare of our citizens…”

Here’s the thing… Camden residents have been bullied. EMR will be allowed to act in ways that endanger the health and welfare of Camden’s residents in the Waterfront South community. Because of Neo-Colonial politics. A preliminary injunction isn’t the smoking gun to prove Camden’s Neo-Colonial status. What proves Camden’s neo-colonial status here is that a corporation that received over $100 million dollars in public tax dollars to make its headquarters in Camden in the first place, without community input. And the residents clearly lack the power to remove it. 

A new law enhancing safety measures at scrap metal facilities throughout the state does not remove entities like EMR from Black and brown communities. It only justifies their presence. 

In his book “Neo-Colonialism: The Last Stage of Capitalism,” Nkrumah mentions that multilateral aid organizations–organizations like the IMF and the World Bank that receive funds from donor nations to fund poorer nations – are a neo-colonial trap. The state equivalent to this would be the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA). They receive money from multiple sources and distribute it. 

Why would bureaucratic agencies and politicians agree to initiate or support tax breaks for wealthy companies to come to Camden, such as EMR, Holtec, the Sixers, and others? Maybe someone really thinks they’re helping Camden. Dictators throughout the neo-colonial Global South believed the same thing as they enriched themselves with Western imperialist backing.

Mostly, though, these tax breaks happen for two reasons: politicians can claim to be job creators and community revivers (to parlay them into future electoral success) and to ingratiate themselves with corporate political donors and party bosses. The reward there is simple: money, some prestige, and power; politicians have their strings pulled for a price. 

Revenue that could have funded schools, transit, housing, or basic services is not. Voters be damned. 

What is true about these tax breaks is that they haven’t translated into jobs for the community. This is why city activists have protested against recipients of corporate tax breaks and demand better job opportunities for residents. Because luring corporations to Camden doesn’t mean those corporations will hire Camden residents. 

While corporations, eds and meds tend to be Camden’s largest employers, Camden residents who work in Camden are employed heavily by non-profit/social service agencies, the City of Camden, local manufacturers, and cleaning and maintenance services. In fact, recipients of the millions of dollars in tax breaks employ the lowest percentage of Camden residents: Holtec, only 5.2%; Sixers, 3.3%; Lockheed Martin, 1.4%; Subaru, 1.1%; and American Water, 0%. 

EMR has been an anomaly among its cohort, with over a quarter of its employees (29.4%) being Camden residents. They’ve put their Camden residential employees to work to counter calls for the facility and to save their profits by compelling Camden residents to think of these workers, who may be reentering society or are in workforce-ready programs, as people trying to make an honest living for themselves. 

Camden’s other corporate residents could step up to hire would-be-displaced EMR employees if their facilities closed. But let’s just be honest: these folks don’t want to hire Camden residents. The truth is they come here to take from taxpayers and to exploit resident labor and/or the land… under the guise of economic redevelopment and community (re)investment. 

Politicians and corporations: one hand washes the other. 

The recent “stand” against EMR by city officials could mean one of two things. It could mean that city officials were truly operating under a false sense of autonomy. In other words, they believed they had a say in what happened in Camden. Or, it could also mean that city officials sought to save face before the residents were screwed, so they wouldn’t look like the bad guys. 

I hope the stance taken by political officials was the former and not the latter. The latter implies something sinister about Camden’s political class that goes well beyond the notion of simply being a sellout. However, the idea of naivety here – that city officials have actual power in light of the political structure post-municipal takeover – is tantamount to negligence. 

So which one is it? 

Regardless of the answer, hovering over it is the equally damning truth that none of Camden’s ecosystemic identity – its norms, history, culture, internal divisions, and external boundaries – translates into power for the people. EMR – and other pollutants – are allowed the opportunity to continue to operate, despite the danger they pose to Camden’s residents, not simply because of environmentally racist political and economic policy decisions, although that’s part of it. But because those decisions are made by an “invisible government,” as Nkrumah mentioned. 

What cannot be denied is that neo-colonialism kills. It has killed Camden’s ability to determine how it is policed, how its youth are educated, how its people are governed, and the quality of the air its people breathe.

Apparently, despite Camden saying that it can’t breathe, it remains in a neo-colonial chokehold.