Black Business in Colonial America
By Karleton Thomas
As enslaved Africans gained their freedom in colonial America, they used the labor activities
learned in slavery to start a new life. Across the cities and towns of this nation, free Blacks set
up agribusinesses. They took up as bricklayers, gunsmiths, shoemakers, nurses, and innkeepers
to form the initial steps of the Black business community. Collectivism underlined the economic
activity of free Blacks in colonial America as they worked to establish independence in an
outwardly racist society successfully.
Those days are long gone, and blatantly racist laws, such as those barring credit to free Blacks,
no longer sit on the books of American cities. By comparison, the discriminatory laws of today
hold little weight when viewed next to laws in place during colonial America. Few, if any, Black
businesses of that time were allowed to grow outside of the community, but colonial-era Black
businessmen thrived when compared to those of today.
Many arguments have been made regarding the decline of the Black business community -
integration, angry white mobs, racist laws, etc. Though all contributing factors, none can fully
explain the demise of the Black business community. As markets opened up and Blacks were
able to walk through doors closed to previous generations, one would expect burgeoning Black
business metropolises to follow, but despite our best efforts, that never happened.
Today, most Black businesses fail within four years. For all the businesses being started by
Black entrepreneurs today, 87% will gross less than $15,000. Most can be categorized as
lifestyle businesses - entities run by its founder for the benefit of its founder. That’s a hard sell in
a community but despite this, the age of individualism looms on. It wasn’t the angry mobs or
racist laws that first slowed and then stalled progress, it was the varying motivations developed
amongst the Black community. Now, instead of a few options, Blacks were able to chart
individual pathways designed for their sole benefit. This produced outstanding, singular results,
but for many Black entrepreneurs the lack of community has proven to be an insurmountable
obstacle.
Our formerly enslaved, African ancestors practiced collectivism because pulling together to
ensure a chance at survival. Collectivism does not make much sense today but the principals
live on in cooperative business practices. A cooperative business model is one that responds to
the needs of all stakeholders; employees, customers, suppliers, the local community, the
environment and future generations, as well as investors. The adoption of the cooperative
business model as the framework for current and future Black business communities presents
two huge benefits: the recirculation of Black dollars and low unemployment.
The Black dollar and its effect or lack thereof has been well documented across academic
journals. At one point, it was reported the average lifespan of the Black dollar in the Black
community was six hours compared to 28 in Asian communities. That fact was proven to be
false but when the majority of businesses in Black communities are owned by individuals who
do not live or hire from that community - the truth is not far away. It is safe to assume that over
$.50 of every dollar spent leaves the community.
When a business in the Black community is owned by someone who lives and hires from the
community - we all benefit. Cooperative business models present a number of workforce
development opportunities for free Blacks who have been denied entry to the traditional job
market. As more cooperatives are formed, unemployment in those areas will dramatically
decrease, so will crime, drug use, and dependence on government programs. Grocery stores
wholly owned by the community can employ 100’s of employees with an invested interest in that
venture's success. They would live and work in the same area - tending to and protecting their
future.
