The State Of . . . Black Owned Business

Cook County, Illinois, that’s Chicago if you don’t know, has more black owned businesses than any other county in the U.S. according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

The number of black-owned businesses grew by 45% from 1997 to 2002, more than four times the national rate for all businesses, according to a Tuesday report by Census Bureau.

Revenues from black-owned businesses increased by 25% during the period, to about $89 billion.

However, nearly all black-owned businesses are small - 92% had no employees other than the owners. By comparison, about three-fourths of all U.S. businesses had no employees.

Too often we want to play up the negatives about those not having jobs or losing them to immigrants. Well, if Chicago is any indication there are those who are taking matters into there own hands. If you’re not in Chicago, or Atlanta for that matter, it may take a little while longer to find a black businesses you can use. (When I was in Philly it took me about two years to find a dependable black doctor. Here in Chicago, it took less than three months and she even went to Meharry.) But we shouldn’t let time be a deterrent. Who says we can’t have another Black Wall Street?