Black Entrepreneurs on the rise
Black Entrepreneurship was something that was prevalent backing the 1950's and 1960's. As time passed on less and less black owned businesses were seen in communities across the world. Fast forward to the 21st century black owned businesses are appearing. However, they still don't receive the proper recognition they deserve. Cameron Burks owner of Freshmin clothing line and co owner of culture junkies and Lorenzo Grayson owner of FLOW clothing line spoke to the aforementioned points in a video below.
Cameron Burks is an Oakland, CA native who garnered his bachelors degree in Psychology from Cal State East Bay. Burks then went on to start his own clothing line and events company. Burks clothing line creates apparel for both men and women ranging from Balmer jackets, t shirts, and hats. Burks started Freshmin clothing line in 2015. Since then Burks has shifted his attention to Culture Junkies which is an events company that hosts soirées at black owned venues. When asked what about why black owned business don't receive the same recognition as white owned businesses Burks replied "If you spend the most money with your people you will see the growth",Burks said. Essentially if more black people support black owned businesses opposed to white owned businesses the recognition would be higher. Reason being more people would know about the product.
Lorenzo Grayson, is a Bay Area native who wanted to design a clothing line for Black people. In 2016 Grayson launched his clothing line FLOW. The acronym stands for Future Leaders Of the World. Flow sells apparel for both men and women sweatsuits and t shirts. When Grayson was asked why Black owned businesses don't receive the same amount of recognition as White owned businesses here's his response "Generational wealth the lack of it", Grayson Said. Case point a lack of financial resources from the previous generation does impact keeping a lot of businesses from thriving generations later.
In conclusion, both Burks and Grayson decided to go into business for themselves. The main goal for both young men was to create a space for black people to purchase clothing and attend events that represent them well in a positive light. Having a black owned business means you did something for you but also is a positive representation of your heritage and something the following generations can be extremely proud of. The stigma of black owned business not receiving the same recognition will only change when more black people support black businesses.
