Philip Wolny - African American Entrepreneurs: Stories of Success

Published in 2018 by

Lucent Press, an Imprint of Greenhaven Publishing, LLC

353 3rd Avenue

Suite 255

New York, NY 10010

Copyright 2018 Lucent Press, an Imprint of Greenhaven Publishing, LLC.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer.

Designer: Deanna Paternostro

Editor: Siyavush Saidian

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Wolny, Philip.

Title: African American entrepreneurs: stories of success / Phil Wolny.

Description: New York : Lucent Press, 2018. | Series: Lucent library of black history | Includes index.

Identifiers: ISBN 9781534560796 (library bound) | ISBN 9781534560802 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: African American businesspeople--Juvenile literature.

Classification: LCC HC102.5.A2 W65 2018 | DDC 338.008996073--dc23

Printed in the United States of America

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CONTENTS

Foreword

Setting the Scene: A Timeline

Introduction:

Making It

Chapter One:

Black Entrepreneurs in Early America

Chapter Two:

Freedom, Struggle, and Profit

Chapter Three:

The Postwar Years to a New Era of Black Business

Chapter Four:

The Hip-Hop Generation Hits the Big Time

Chapter Five:

Breaking Barriers and Looking to the Future

Notes

For More Information

Index

Picture Credits

About the Author

FOREWORD

B lack men and women in the United States have become successful in every field, but they have faced incredible challenges while striving for that success. They have overcome racial barriers, violent prejudice, and hostility on every side, all while continuing to advance technology, literature, the arts, and much more.

From medicine and law to sports and literature, African Americans have come to excel in every industry. However, the story of African Americans has often been one of prejudice and persecution. More than 300 years ago, Africans were taken in chains from their home and enslaved to work for the earliest American settlers. They suffered for more than two centuries under the brutal oppression of their owners, until the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861. After the dust settled four years later and thousands of Americansboth black and whitehad died in combat, slavery in the United States had been legally abolished. By the turn of the 20th century, with the help of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, African American men had finally won significant battles for the basic rights of citizenship. Then, with the passage of the groundbreaking Civil Rights Act of 1964, many people of all races began to believe that America was finally ready to start moving toward a more equal future.

These triumphs of human equality were achieved with help from brave social activists such as Frederick Douglass, Martin Luther King Jr., and Maya Angelou. They all experienced racial prejudice in their lifetimes and fought by writing, speaking, and peacefully acting against it. By exposing the suffering of the black community, they brought the United States together to try and remedy centuries worth of wrongdoing. Today, it is important to learn about the history of African Americans and their experiences in modern America in order to work toward healing the divide that still exists in the United States. This series aims to give readers a deeper appreciation for and understanding of a part of the American story that is often left untold.

Even before the legal emancipation of slaves, black culture was thriving despite many attempts to suppress it. From the 1600s to the 1800s, slaves developed their own cultural perspective. From music, to language, to art, slaves began cultivating an identity that was completely unique. Soon after these slaves were granted citizenship and were integrated into American society, African American culture burst into the mainstream. New generations of authors, scholars, painters, and singers were born, and they spread an appreciation for black culture across America and the entire world. Studying the contributions of these talented individuals fosters a sense of optimism. Despite the cruel treatment and racist attitudes they faced, these men and women never gave up, changing the world with their determination and unique voice. Discovering the triumphs and tragedies of the oppressed allows readers to gain a clearer picture of American history and American cultural identity.

Here to help young readers with this discovery, this series offers a glimpse into the lives and accomplishments of some of the most important and influential African Americans across historical time periods. Titles examine primary source documents and quotes from contemporary thinkers and observers to provide a full and nuanced learning experience for readers. With thoroughly researched text, unique sidebars, and a carefully selected bibliography for further research, this series is an invaluable resource for young scholars. Moreover, it does not shy away from reconciling the brutality of the past with a sense of hopefulness for the future. This series provides critical tools for understanding more about how black history is a vital part of American history.

SETTING THE SCENE: A TIMELINE

INTRODUCTION

MAKING IT

I n October 2009, two giants of American entertainment and media met for an interview: Shawn JAY-Z Carter appeared on Oprah Winfreys television talk show. JAY-Z was a hiphop legend raised in an underprivileged housing project in Brooklyn, New York, while Oprah was a Southerner from a tiny farming town.

Though they were of slightly different generations, they felt an almost automatic connection. One had grown up in the tough urban environment of the 1970s and 1980s in New York City. The other had experienced childhood through the late 1950s and 1960s, a time of great change in the South. Both had experienced struggle and had overcome many obstacles. These two mogulsdespite their different paths and industrieshad risen to the top of their fields from very modest means.

JAY-Z often includes details of his rags-to-riches rise from his poor childhood, including time spent as a drug dealer, in his musical lyrics. His course had taken him to lead several companies over a couple of decades time, become the creative force behind a dozen solo musical albums, and emerge as a leading player in a number of other projects. Oprah survived terrible abuse during her childhood and teens in Kosciusko, Mississippi, before moving to Nashville, Tennessee, to live with her father. As an adult, she created an entertainment empire and rose to immense global fame.

A more important and obvious connection links these two famous success stories: Both are African American entrepreneurs. In the 2010s, many media personalities and academic voices have publicized the continuing double standards applied to white Americans versus non-whites in general, otherwise known as people of color, and African Americans in particular. The historical legacy has been especially painful for black Americans as they continue to search for and fight for equality in the United States. For many black Americans, especially younger ones, success stories such as Oprahs and JAY-Zs serve as inspiration for their own dreams and hard work.