Cultural Change
After reading and researching statistics on why black-owned businesses fail at a high rate. There were articles stating that it was due to black income and wealth disparities. “ The racial disparities in entrepreneurship mirror overall racial economic inequality”.
That appears to be an oxymoron to a degree… Black people are the largest consumers in the U.S spending $1.9 Trillion a year nationwide. When it comes to buying power we’re at 48%, however, we make up 13.4% of the population.
Damn! It makes you wonder are we really failing from inequality? Banks don’t want to give us loans, it’s hard to get grants, it’s hard to trust our own people. Who are we as a whole? Or doesn’t even matter? Crab-in-the-barrel mentality has always been us! We support all the big corporations financially, without thinking twice. Yet we frown upon black-owned businesses because of their prices. I’ve heard that excuse many of times… Truth is we’re against each other by design. There are many other factors that compel us not to support or build up our own communities. These points I bring up are the commonalities, that we see as surviving in this world, that is forever changing, and it’s changing to where it’s going to be difficult financially for us as a whole.
This is an issue, therefore, a solution is needed. What is that solution? Spending our dollars back into our communities with black-owned businesses. Creating our own seats at our own table…. Coming together financially to acquire property, land, and establishing assets. Becoming self-sustaining by supporting each other through our resources, will create jobs. We are not only limited to sports. Our History not only tells us differently but shows us as well…. All we have to do is follow the footprints, and there are many who have paved the way. O.W. Gurley, founder of Black Wall Street, Harriet Tubman, Underground Railroad. Madam C.J. Walker, they all created their own seats! Most importantly, bringing awareness to financial literacy to all ages. This is key to understanding how to build wealth.
Let us take a stand by acknowledging those who are in our community. That is striving to make a difference in our communities. We should be supporting and celebrating them daily. It is in our black community, where we should find inspiration, and look to those black business owners to pull up the next aspiring black business owner. To be clear this should be done without looking for something in return. By building this type of foundation I can promise you the reward will be much greater. The journey shouldn’t be about outdoing one another, however, coming together to change the narrative of how we’ll flourish as a whole.
I want to acknowledge:
Kent and Chrystal O’Jon: O’Jon Enterprises/ Amps LA Magazine
AMPS Los Angeles – American Minority People Succeeding (ampsmagazine.com)
Kenya Rivers: Amps AZ Magazine
AMPS Magazine Phoenix – Empowering the Community
Nay Demps: Tru2Fitness
Keith Henderson: Copa Force
Alzamona Ware: MeNatural Energy
Natural Skin and Oral Care Products – ME natural (menaturals.net)
By: Antonio Lamar Hickman
