Entrepreneurship Binds Past, Present, Future

During his State of the Union address, President Barack Obama reminded us that in order for our children to compete for and win the jobs of the future, we need to “out-innovate, out-educate, and out-build the rest of the world.”  Drawing on the president’s vision, now is the time to revive and invest in innovation and entrepreneurship, particularly within our nation’s African-American communities, where there is great potential for growth that can drive larger economic prosperity.

From Thomas Jennings, who was the first black patent recipient – for a dry cleaning process – to Lewis Latimer, who invented a method of making carbon filaments for the electric incandescent lamp, to Madame CJ Walker, who commercialized hair care products, African-Americans were prolific innovators and entrepreneurs during the 19th and early 20th centuries.

There simply is no better vehicle for job creation in America than innovation coupled with entrepreneurship. In fact, over the last three decades, startups – firms less than five years old – have accounted for nearly all newly created jobs in the private sector.

The problem is that we’ve had too few of these dynamic, fast-growing companies blossom in our communities. I see the economic consequence of that scarcity when I return to my hometown of Lancaster, South Carolina. Textile mills were once the mainstay of our economy. Workers often spent their earnings at local businesses, including many African-American-owned businesses clustered on a strip called The Hill. It was the social epicenter of the community and a place where role models could be found. Today, the textile mills and most African-American-owned businesses have closed, and crime and violence have increased.

This same story has played out in cities and towns across the country. If it isn’t the textile mill leaving Lancaster, it’s the auto parts factory leaving Detroit or the steel plant leaving Gary. And these communities have been left reeling, with few if any good-paying jobs left and a dismantled social organization. Consequently, increasing numbers of young, capable people end up on our streets, disengaged and unproductive, instead of working on assembly lines or in local business offices.

This is a problem that defies easy solutions. The reality is that the number of good manufacturing jobs that provided a ticket to the middle class for many of us and our parents has been on the decline for years, long before the Great Recession.

It’s true that we may not be able to get all of those jobs back, but we can spur a new generation of startups that will create the jobs America needs. By working to free up credit, increasing small business loan guarantees, facilitating business-to-business relationships, and opening new markets abroad, President Obama has committed his administration to fostering an environment for businesses to start and flourish. In addition, the president has been working to expand access to federal contracting opportunities for small businesses, including those owned by veterans, women and minorities, and businesses in historically underserved communities.


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