New Business

Can you name this tune?

"Fish don't fry in the kitchen. Beans don't burn on the grill. Took a whole lot of tryin' just to fix up that meal" or "Just lookin' out of the window. Watchin' the asphalt grow."

Blacks from the inner city to the suburbs know the words to these sitcoms depicting the Black struggles of modern times.

Regardless of our status, we would gather around televisions nationwide in anticipation of watching Good Times, The Jeffersons and years later, The Cosby Show.

The Cosby Show was unique in that it was the first time America had seen us as everyday professionals. Cosby presented a happily married couple raising good kids, not the ghetto gangster children too often depicted on television. The show was groundbreaking and breathtaking, because it was a stark contrast from the downtrodden Black family typically depicted in sitcoms and described daily on the evening news. White Americans were seeing a dynamic of the American Black family never before shown on TV. Some of us were middle class, some of us were poorer. The fact remains that, regardless of those depictions, all of us still share the same struggle -- images of poverty and violence shown on the evening news.

In years prior to the 1963 March on Washington, our communities -- rural, suburban and urban -- were unified by the boundaries of racism across America. Laws enforced more violently in the south than in the north, referred to as Jim Crow or Black Codes, were aimed at limiting the economic growth and physical freedom granted to the formerly enslaved.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is the landmark law prohibiting discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex and national origin. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibited discrimination in public facilities, government and employment. This invalidated the Jim Crow Laws and Black Codes in the southern U.S. It became illegal to compel segregation of the races in schools, housing or hiring. Powers given to enforce the bill were initially weak, but were supplemented in later years.

In years prior to the Civil Rights Act of 1968, which prohibited discrimination concerning the sale, rental and financing of housing, the Black community was vibrant.

Our communities were filled with doctors, teachers, entrepreneurs, musicians, attorneys and working class citizens. We shared a common bond regardless of social status within the community. Segregation yielded a market for Black businesses that will never exist again. If you needed goods or services, the first place you turned to was the Black owned business that provided the service or produced the goods you wanted.. If the service was not found, we sought the next best business owner that would treat us with respect to purchase from. Regardless of our status, we sought out and patronized Black businesses.

With the passage of the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1968, we attained a certain freedom, defined more by what we could afford. That freedom afforded the choice of moving away from the Black community.

The Civil Rights laws enabled "the great exodus" from our communities to greener pastures. We were movin' on up. The Black consumer was being accepted more than ever in White-owned businesses, which were all too grateful to finally receive our money. It was not only okay to serve Blacks, it was against the law if they did not.

Prior to the passage of the Civil Right Acts of 1964 and 1968, Black entrepreneurs had a steady stream of Black customers. Our entrepreneurs opened all sorts of businesses in our community, which was the only place they could open a business. They were assured a chance at success because they had the Black consumer market to rely upon. When Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. led Civil Rights protests in Birmingham, Alabama, the marchers stayed in the A.G. Gaston-owned hotel. There was never a thought given to where we would find the goods and services we required for existence. Our community was creating the necessities of life.

We had Black hospitals and medical practices. We had to be create them to serve our people. For example, in the late 1940s, Black people were not admitted to the public hospitals in Dallas, Texas. It was the same across the rest of the United States. So the Black doctors created their own hospital. Drs. Joseph Williams, Frank Jordan Sr., and E. Holmer Browne were but a few pioneers worth mentioning.

Prior to Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier in baseball, we created The Negro League. We had baseball teams with stars. We filled the stands to see our own make history. We debated "what ifs" of legendary star Satchel Paige regarding what it might be like if he could pitch to the legendary Babe Ruth. A famous movie depicted the struggles of the league; The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings with early stars Billy Dee Williams, James Earl Jones and a young Richard Pryor. We had legendary singers and bands that filled the legendary clubs in Harlem, NY.

Black business owners were barred from setting up shop outside our community. The white consumer, then as today, does not come to our community to buy anything.

Suddenly we were competing for Black shoppers with better funded white business owners, who often could provide better prices and selection. Black consumers chose white business over Black businesses.

Today Black communities are not providing Black consumers the basics of life. There are far too few Black-owned and operated gathering spots for happy hour and professional networking. There are too few family restaurant for the celebration of weddings or special occasions. Basketball legend Magic Johnson has used his power and influence from the basketball court to create the Magic Johnson Theaters and Starbucks franchises stores. That is exemplary.

Blacks are projected to have the buying power of $965,000,000,000. Yeah, that's billions with a "B." That's us by 2009. Now there's a figure you can be proud of. It's an increase of over 203% since 1990. This figure comes from The Covenant with Black America by Tavis Smiley.

Obviously the Black dollar has always had this strength, as demonstrated by the Montgomery Bus Boycott. We showcased our economic power. That boycott is symbolic of what we can accomplish when we choose to organize, become committed and stay unified as a people.

We have the economic power in our hands today to create anew a vibrant Black community. We have the ability to bring all the necessities for enjoyment of life to places where so many of us grew up. As consumers, we have to become committed to giving consideration to the Black-owned businesses and professionals when we spend. The price wars will be won by the white business in most cases. White businesses have a distinct advantage of having you looking to them first due to their sheer numbers.

You know what you want. Locate that service within our community. Your consideration is what Black-owned and operated businesses seek when you buy.

Our doors are open. Come turn our doorknob and walk right in.

How can we serve you?

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - Re-directing $965 Billion in Purchasing Power