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Black-owned businesses play an important role in the building of generational wealth for a lot of families, yet the number of Black-owned businesses still makes up the smallest share of overall firms in the United States.
A Pew Research Center survey conducted in 2023 revealed that while “more than one-in-five Black adults in the United States say owning a business is essential to their personal definition of financial success,” federal data shows that Black-owned businesses made up only 3% of overall firms compared to white-owned businesses, which made up 84.4%.
Black-owned firms showed a revenue growth of 66%, going from an estimated $127.9 billion in 2017 to $211.8 billion in 2022. Even with that growth, revenue from Black-owned firms was still only 1% of gross revenue from all businesses.
Black people made up just 14.4% of the total U.S. population in 2023, with 48.3 million people identifying as Black. This number includes people who identify as Black only or Black “in combination with other racial backgrounds,” according to Pew.
So why is this data important to note now?
The Trump administration is actively dismantling every policy that gives Black people a semblance of equal footing in this country. Edward Blum launched a successful crusade against affirmative action, and he continues to file lawsuits to put a stop to programs that seek to provide a leg up for Black people in this country.
Both the Trump administration and Blum claim their actions are a means of making everything “fair” for all. They see programs like affirmative action and the Fearless Funds as giving an “unfair advantage” to Black people.
Is there truly an unfair advantage for Black people when white-owned businesses make 91.6% of the total business revenue in this country?
The problem is that this administration and its sycophants see phrases like “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” and “Affirmative Action” and immediately determine that those who benefit from them are unqualified for the benefits they get from them.
They are so used to white mediocrity and people getting ahead because of who they know and not what they can do that they cannot fathom someone Black might just be the more qualified person, and a DEI program or affirmative action just helped them to be seen.
The truth is, white women have benefitted the most from DEI and affirmative action policies, but you won’t hear Trump or Blum talk about that.
You won’t hear them talk about this because the root of all their bellyaching over these programs is racism and white supremacy.
Trump, Blum, and those who support them don’t want Black people in this country to be equal.
They don’t want us to have a chance at the American dream, and if we are keeping it a buck, the so-called “American dream” was never meant for us anyway.
While we can applaud the strides Black-owned businesses have been able to make over the last decade, we need to acknowledge that the way the system is set up against us, we still have a long way to go.
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