ATLANTA - State leaders are interested in building
minority businesses, according to members of the Legislative Black Caucus.
Thursday, some of the legislators recounted their meetings two weeks ago
with Gov. Nathan Deal and House Speaker David Ralston.
"They are at least receptive," said Caucus member Rep. Virgil Fludd,
D-Tyrone. "Now it's incumbent upon us, and you, to identify qualified
vendors."
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What would happen if 34.5 percent of White men did not
have jobs? According to new U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics joblessness
for 16-to-24-year-old black men has reached Great Depression proportions
-- more than three times the rate for the general U.S. population.
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More Blacks Turn to Entrepreneurship
By: LAUREN DeLISA COLEMAN
Business media coverage over the last year has focused on the rise of
entrepreneurship as a result of unemployment challenges. While many of the
subjects interviewed typically include diverse faces, the fact is that
African-Americans are not only out-pacing most other demographics in the
United States when it comes to starting businesses but they began doing so
several years before the recession began. In fact, earlier this week the
U.S. Census Bureau released some powerful statistics that point to an
interesting economic trend in our country. From 2002 to 2007, the number
of black-owned businesses increased by 60.5 percent to 1.9 million, more
than triple the national rate of 18.0 percent, according to the U.S.
Census Bureau's Survey of Business Owners. Over the same period, receipts
generated by black-owned businesses increased 55.1 percent to $137.5
billion. This is an important statistic, which demonstrates not only the
interest in this demographic regarding business, but the level of business
acumen involved. "Black-owned businesses continued to be one of the
fastest growing segments of our economy, showing rapid growth in both the
number of businesses and total sales during this time period," said Census
Bureau Deputy Director Thomas Mesenbourg.
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