The Facts

Black owned businesses account for 8% of all us businesses and only .9% of all us revenues. Compared to other businesses, black owned firms tend to have fewer revenues, fewer profits, higher employees at lower rates, and are more likely to close their operations. We are historically undercapitalized, lacking in access to human capital and are less likely to realize parental self-employment.

About 5% of black workers are self-employed, as opposed to 11% of white workers. On average, black owned firms make a 33% of what similar white owned firms would. These staggering statistic paint black owned firms as insignificant, thus requiring less consideration and less of an ownership stake in the resources available to them. Black communities lack equity in the resources afforded to us because we lack equity in economic positions that would afford us these resources.

The Truth

·      Fostering black owned firms, helping aspiring entrepreneurs realize parental self-employment creates advocates and representation for black communities.

·      Connecting black entrepreneurs, creating a network by which they can champion each other’s firm through investing, patronage, or trade in kind, providing access to external capital and opportunities to increase internal capital will greatly increase black equity.

·      Growing black owned firms and resources in the black community in essential in closing the wealth gap.