Michigan’s Black Chamber of Commerce hosted its inaugural State of Black Business Conference in Detroit on Thursday, June 23, 2011. The spillover crowd of more than 250 prominent business leaders and entrepreneurs listened intently as Mayor Dave Bing discussed past and present developments in business and industry in Detroit and southeastern Michigan.
“Detroit has been known for a long, long time for its entrepreneurs, and their ingenuity. This city was built on an industry of entrepreneurs from all across the globe … our ancestors came here for opportunity. But things have changed dramatically over time,” said Bing, adding that the goal of the MBCC is to consolidate and filter all available resources for black entrepreneurs. Bing, a successful automotive entrepreneur, has been staunchly criticized for his controversial plan to geographically downsize Detroit.
According to MBCC president and CEO Ken Harris, the conference’s objective is to examine the “condition of black business and establish an effective agenda for moving black business forward. Through its aggressive advocacy, the Michigan Black Chamber of Commerce will change and improve the condition of black [owned] businesses in Michigan and achieve economic parity. The conference is a fundamental and strategic step towards that economic empowerment and the sustainability of African American businesses in Michigan.”
Conference highlights included remarks from U.S. Black Chamber of Commerce president Ron Busby, Sr., who cited staggering statistics decrying the lack of support for black business and its overall impact on the economy. “The majority of black businesses are sole proprietorships with only a single employee. … African American businesses employ 921,000 people vs. 23.9 million employees in non-African American [small] businesses,” said Busby, noting that a sharp increase in the number of black entrepreneurs is the result of corporate downsizing and unemployment.
“People laughed at me for leaving a job in corporate America where I earned $150,000 to run a janitorial business that wasn’t doing $150,000. We had the same five employees as when my father started the business: my mother, my father, my two sisters and me.” In 2009, Busby sold the business for $15 million dollars.
Keynote speaker and noted author George Fraser, president and CEO of FraserNet, showed strong support for Busby and his comments, quipping, “If I could not be me, I would be you.” Fraser urged African Americans to move from a consumer culture to become producers. “We have elevated the art of consumption to another level. With a $20-billion-dollar annual economy, if we were a nation, we would be the 11th richest nation in the world. But it’s used to consume, not produce.”
–roz edward
