Hi folks,
Do you take the time to get to know the entrepreneurs behind the scenes at your favorite local businesses? Do you know how many of them are Black?
According to data from 2020, Black Americans represent 14.2% of the population, but only 2.4% of employer firms (meaning they employ others). August is National Black Business Month, so it’s a good time to talk about why this inequity exists, and what we can do about it.
Started in 2004 by engineer Frederick E. Jordan and publisher John William Templeton, the recognition month serves as a yearly reminder to highlight and encourage Black business owners, who often face unique challenges.
Even the U.S. government acknowledges the racial wealth divide, and that much work remains to undo centuries of systemic choices that lead to inequitable distribution of wealth. On January 17th, 2022, at a public event in honor of Martin Luther King Jr., U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said, “[Dr. King] knows that economic injustice was bound up in the larger injustice he fought against. From Reconstruction, to Jim Crow, to the present day, our economy has never worked fairly for Black Americans—or, really, for any American of color.”
I had a chance to connect with five Black business owners who I personally know regarding black entrepreneurship. Click here to watch the highlights of our conversation.
We talked about their experiences, including challenges they faced, (nearly all of them said securing funding was a major hurdle), the resources that helped them, and why it’s so important to support Black businesses.
When my parents immigrated from Cape Verde, they sacrificed so much to pursue a better life for my siblings and me. Like many first-generation Americans, I had a front-row seat to the experience of coming to a country as an outsider and having to get creative to make a living.
And now, because of their sacrifices and the communities that gave us strength, I’m able to pursue a career path I love and achieve what I consider professional success. Because of this success, I can bring my perspective into decision-making rooms to ensure that a range of different voices are at the table.
So what can we do to help other Black Americans find a meaningful place in the workplace, or create a welcoming space of their own? And what can we do about the many systemic hurdles that exist to reinforce the racial wealth divide?
According to a 2021 report from the U.S. Federal Reserve Banks, Black-owned businesses are less than half as likely as white-owned businesses to obtain all of their requested funding. This same report offered recommendations for how to close this gap by creating a “Black-owned business ecosystem,” which includes creating access and investment opportunities, and promoting entrepreneurial resources for and by Black business leaders.
Are you a Black entrepreneur, or thinking about starting your own business? If you’re based in Rhode Island, you can start by seeking information from the Rhode Island Black Business Association (RIBBA), and apply for MBE certification (which can be incredibly helpful in securing partnerships with larger businesses).
And if you’re looking for ways to show your support for Black-owned businesses, check out the resources highlighted in this newsletter to get you started, and use Rhode Island Monthly’s 2023 list of Black-owned businesses to help support Black businesses financially.
Of course, this work requires consistent efforts from all of us year-round, not just during August. Through increased awareness and conscious efforts to be more mindful of how we spend our dollars, we can collectively make our economy more welcoming for all entrepreneurs—regardless of background—with the vision, determination, resourcefulness, and resilience to make it in a world that is not built equitably for all.
In solidarity,
