African American entrepreneurship has been an integral part of
the American economy since the 1600s. On the eve of the Civil War,
the collective wealth of free blacks was approximately $50 million.
In 2006, African Americans earned a whopping $744 billion, a figure
that exceeds the gross domestic product of all but 15 nations of
the 192 independent countries in the world. As W. Sherman Rogers so
ably demonstrates, African Americans have achieved these economic
gains under difficult circumstances. Slavery, segregation, and
legally limited access to property, education, and other
opportunities have taken a heavy toll, even to this day. Besides
providing a penetrating glimpse into the world of black
entrepreneurship both past and present, this book urges African
Americans to gain financial independence as entrepreneurs. Business
ownership, Rogers argues, will bring security, wealth that can be
passed to successive generations, and educated offspring with much
greater earning power.
"The African American Entreprenuer: Then and NoW" explores the
lower economic status of black Americans in light of America's
legacy of slavery, segregation, and rampant discrimination. Its
main purpose is to shine a light on the legal, historical,
sociological and political factors that together help to explain
the economic condition of black people in America from their
arrival in America to the present. In the process, the book
spotlights the many amazing breakthroughs made by black
entrepreneurs even before the Civil War and Emancipation. Profiles
of business people from the Post-civil War period through today
include Booker T. Washington, pioneer banker and insurer A.G.
Gaston, hair care entrepreneur Madame C.J. Walker, Ebony publisher
John H. Johnson, Black Entertainment Television founder Robert L.
Johnson, publisher Earl Graves, music producer Damon Dash, rapper
Sean Combs, former basketball stars Dave Bing and Magic Johnson,
food entrepreneur Michelle Hoskins, broadcast personality Cathy
Hughes, former Beatrice Foods head Reginald Lewis, Oprah Winfrey,
and many more. As Rogers points out, reading about remarkable
African American entrepreneurs can inspire readers to adopt an
entrepreneurial mindset. To further that goal and help readers take
the plunge, he outlines many of the skills, tools and information
necessary for business success-success that can help chart a new
path to prosperity for all African Americans.
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