Growth of Black Businesses is a Sign of Progress for All

This week, both the Richmond Times-Dispatch and Washington Post trumpeted the rapid rise in the growth of African-American owned businesses over the past few years. Citing data from the Census Bureau, the media outlets noted that there are, “1.2 million black-owned businesses in the U.S., a figure that rose 45 percent from 1997 to 2002, according to a report released yesterday by the Census Bureau. There are roughly 23 million U.S. companies.” Thus, black-owned firms account for around 5% of total firms nationwide.

The picture in Virginia and in Metro Washington is even brighter, where “about 8 percent of Virginia's roughly 530,000 businesses are run by a black entrepreneur.” In Metro Washington, “the increases included huge jumps in the previously small number of black-owned firms in Prince William County, which increased 103 percent, to 2,010, and Howard County, where black businesses grew by 87 percent, to 3,293.”

This amazing growth is both a sign of social progress, as well as, an indicator that the economic fortunes of black Americans are continuing to look upward. Entrepreneurship is the bedrock of the American economy, and only through full participation in what Alexander Hamilton deemed, “the commercial republic” can some of the more pressing issues that the African-American community faces be adequately addressed.

This rise in black entrepreneurship also has political ramifications. As blacks gain greater access to the upper-echelons of the economy, it can be expected that they will take on similar voting behaviors as their socioeconomic cohort. Inevitably, their individual economic circumstances will influence their outlook on government, for reasons as simple as keeping more of their hard-earned paychecks or as complex as advocating business-friendly regulatory schemes. As the Post article noted, “black-owned businesses appear to be going the way of the…black population, which for the past decade has been increasingly lured into the suburbs.” This increased suburbanization, coupled with higher income-earning opportunities brought on by increased “boot-strapping” entrepreneurship, stands to redefine the relationship of both the Democratic and Republican Party to the African Americans.

In the end, this latest economic good news is not about honing in on race as much as it is about acknowledging the steady march of progress that has been powered by the American marketplace. In the words of one Richmond area businessman, "What I'm seeing now is more and more people are realizing there are more quality businesses out there that are minority-owned." Black business owners are managing to overcome negative perceptions and prove their ability to compete. As such, their continued growth will pay dividends for all Americans.