Jesse Jackson Announces Plan to Help Small Businesses
By Claudia H. Deutsch, The New York Times
The Rev. Jesse Jackson acknowledges that minorities have made lots of progress in the last few decades. But he is still frustrated by the slow pace.
So Mr. Jackson is stepping back into the arena. In January, his Rainbow/PUSH Wall Street Project, which he founded 10 years ago to prod American corporations into investing in minority businesses, will introduce the Small Business Institute. The institute will have a two-part goal: to teach entrepreneurship skills to teenagers, immigrants and minorities, and to prompt financial institutions to provide them with easier access to capital.
So Mr. Jackson is stepping back into the arena. In January, his Rainbow/PUSH Wall Street Project, which he founded 10 years ago to prod American corporations into investing in minority businesses, will introduce the Small Business Institute. The institute will have a two-part goal: to teach entrepreneurship skills to teenagers, immigrants and minorities, and to prompt financial institutions to provide them with easier access to capital.
“The ghettos and barrios are underserved markets with untapped spending power,” he said, “so we’re going to take Wall Street to Main Street. We give microloans in third world countries; why not in East Harlem?”
The need for assistance, he argued, is every bit as great as it was before civil rights legislation ended formal discrimination. Most studies of small business show that minorities are starting businesses at twice the rate of whites, he noted, and that ghetto businesses commonly employ people from the neighborhood.
Still, he asserted, white restaurateurs like Danny Meyer — who started the Union Square Cafe and a succession of other Manhattan restaurants — have little trouble opening restaurants in New York, yet the Woods family, which runs the popular Sylvia’s Restaurant in Harlem, still has only one restaurant in New York. Percy E. Sutton, a black former Manhattan borough president, had to go to more than 50 banks before he could get a loan to buy a black radio station, Mr. Jackson said
The need for assistance, he argued, is every bit as great as it was before civil rights legislation ended formal discrimination. Most studies of small business show that minorities are starting businesses at twice the rate of whites, he noted, and that ghetto businesses commonly employ people from the neighborhood.
Still, he asserted, white restaurateurs like Danny Meyer — who started the Union Square Cafe and a succession of other Manhattan restaurants — have little trouble opening restaurants in New York, yet the Woods family, which runs the popular Sylvia’s Restaurant in Harlem, still has only one restaurant in New York. Percy E. Sutton, a black former Manhattan borough president, had to go to more than 50 banks before he could get a loan to buy a black radio station, Mr. Jackson said
“Huge pension funds don’t hire too many minority-owned money management firms; the legal fees for mergers like Citibank and Chase do not go to black or brown firms,” he added. “And the current administration isn’t even enforcing E.E.O.C. and contract compliance,” he said, referring to the laws that govern hiring practices and that require a percentage of federal contracts to be set aside for minority-owned businesses.
Mr. Jackson said that once enough minority businesses operated in ghettos, they would be better able to help each other thrive.
Byron Lewis, a black man who runs an advertising agency called the UniWorld Group, agreed. Mr. Lewis said he still smarted from seeing his first employer, a black weekly newspaper in Harlem, go under. White companies did not want to advertise to the ghetto, he said, and there were not enough black businesses to pick up the slack.
Mr. Jackson said that once enough minority businesses operated in ghettos, they would be better able to help each other thrive.
Byron Lewis, a black man who runs an advertising agency called the UniWorld Group, agreed. Mr. Lewis said he still smarted from seeing his first employer, a black weekly newspaper in Harlem, go under. White companies did not want to advertise to the ghetto, he said, and there were not enough black businesses to pick up the slack.
“If more people of color start businesses, then whole neighborhoods will be resuscitated,” Mr. Lewis said. He expected the Small Business Institute to enlist corporations and banks to provide not just money but also training for would-be minority entrepreneurs in management and technology skills. “Reverend Jackson’s relationships with the corporate world will help bring best-practices training to those that need it,” Mr. Lewis said.
In a sense, the Small Business Institute is entering a well-populated niche. For example, more than 7,000 people have signed up to attend the National Minority Supplier Development Council’s conference in San Diego next week, and 825 minority businesses have taken booths at its related trade show.
Still, Harriet R. Michel, the council’s president, welcomed Mr. Jackson’s initiative.
“The future of our communities does rest on continued economic development,” Ms. Michel said. “Jesse’s ability to focus energy will help him generate interest among minorities to start businesses, and among companies to buy from them.”
In a sense, the Small Business Institute is entering a well-populated niche. For example, more than 7,000 people have signed up to attend the National Minority Supplier Development Council’s conference in San Diego next week, and 825 minority businesses have taken booths at its related trade show.
Still, Harriet R. Michel, the council’s president, welcomed Mr. Jackson’s initiative.
“The future of our communities does rest on continued economic development,” Ms. Michel said. “Jesse’s ability to focus energy will help him generate interest among minorities to start businesses, and among companies to buy from them.”
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