Black History Month - Cultural Wealth and Economics
February 23, 2023
This month has been a month of learning, sharing, and understanding different perspectives. In today’s blog we would like to continue the moments of learning, sharing, and understanding perspectives by sharing some history and importance of cultural wealth and economics from a different perspective.
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As of 2019, there were 134,567 registered Black-owned employer businesses (businesses with more than one employee) in all sectors of the U.S. economy. Black communities have a rich history of becoming entrepreneurs to provide goods and services that were not always readily available to us in mainstream sectors. We used our innate skills and talents to sell products and services within our communities. We all know the mechanic down the street that is not a registered “business” but certainly can feed his family using his abilities and skill sets. We know of our neighborhood elders that could bring a “country” remedy to soothe ailments and heal to supplement income. Or consider the seamstress, the laundress, the hair care maven and of course the builders. The list goes on and on. They may not have office space or “hang a shingle” outside of their door, but it worked, and black communities thrived. As more and more Black Businesses prospered, a need arose to catalog these resources, and ensure sustainability even in the early 1900s. Word of mouth was the primary advertisement until… Black Enterprise Magazine. This publication was unchartered territory and became a beacon of light for greater advertisement, exposure to larger audiences and provided resources to assist in growth and development of black business structure. As a Black Business, you knew you “made it” if you reached that level of recognition.
Black businesses were and still remain diligent to their crafts, humble in their delivery of products and services, expect no less than the opportunity to compete to provide products and services, and lastly expect to be equitably paid for products and services rendered. Black Entrepreneurship eventually did make it into some of the mainstream sectors. Generations of black business are still successful today based on family tradition, entrepreneurial values, good work ethics and most importantly faith! Please see below for some interesting and generational companies that have withstood the test of time and thrive today.
Read and learn about:
Black Wallstreet: Former byname of the Greenwood neighborhood in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where in the early 20th century African Americans had created a self-sufficient prosperous business district. - What is 'Black Wall Street'? History of the community and its massacre (cnbc.com)
5 Oldest Black Owned Businesses - Black Excellence For Generations: 5 Of The Oldest Black-Owned Businesses | The Michigan Chronicle
McKissack & McKissack (Founded in 1905) – Architecture, Nashville Tennessee
W.H. Jefferson Funeral Home (Founded in 1894), Mississippi.
The Philadelphia Tribune (Founded in 1884) – News Publication, Philadelphia.
NC Mutual (Founded in 1898) – Insurance, Raleigh North Carolina
E.E. Ward Moving and Storage (Founded in 1881) – Logistics, Columbus, OH
