As small as African American businesses may be in comparison to the multinational giants, they reflect in microcosm the broad economic currents of our society.

The African American man as a participant in business is not new. Negroes in Africa had some business experience in trade with their own people and with outside commercial interest. The African, however, was not generally prepared to do business with Europeans and American traders on an equal basis, because his medium was barter and his natural environment made any good news uniquely valuable.

Nevertheless, he had some contacts with commercial activity, and his transition to life in America under the institution of slavery did not destroy his initiative for business.

Prior to 1865, African American business in America was circumscribed by slavery in the South by African Americans population scarcity and lack of business organization knowledge in the North. It did, however, exits, falling roughly into two categories; one group composed of free Africans who were able to accumulate sufficient capital to set up businesses, and the other comprised of those slaves who through thrift, industry, native intelligence and sometimes the liberal paternalism of their masters, manages to develop small businesses.

The lines at business in which African Americans met with greatest success were those mainly at the labor and service types: barbers, mechanics, artisans, restaurant and hotel operators. African Americans were also engaged in the manufacture of boots, shoes, and clothing on a small scale. Many African Americans achieved considerable success in such areas as lumber, tailoring, pickle making, sail manufacturing, coal, jewelry, catering and bed manufacturing.

Financial management was apparent in the creative formation of "church relief societies". The beginnings of banking are found in the practices at successful African American businessmen who, early in the 19th Century, loaned not only their own money, but also the savings of their fellow men which were entrusted to their care.

Statistics an African American businesses indicate that in 1900, African Americans owned 300 fully edited newspapers, 140,000 homes, and had real and personal property valued at $920,000,000.

SUCCESS STORIES

THOMY LAFON, New Orleans, made his money in the dry-goods business, loaned it at advantageous rates and at his death left an estate at $413,000 (1810-1893).

JOHN JONES (1817-1878) a prominent citizen of Chicago and one of the wealthiest African Americans of the 19th Century, was born in North Carolina. He taught himself to read and write while serving as a tailor's apprentice. In 1845, with only $3.50, he and his wife migrated to Chicago, where be opened a tailoring business. A militant reformer, Jones' wealth helped him finance and lead the fight for many legal changes in Illinois where conditions adversely affected the African American.

H. C. HAYNES, born of slave parents in Selma, Alabama, worked as a barber's apprentice which gave him the idea for a "ready to use razor strop". Barbers were using parts at harnesses as "razor strops", which proved difficult and not always effective. Haynes first produced his 'strop" in his home and sold them to barbers. He later was able to increase production, advertise, and develop mail orders in which he supplied razors and scissors. By 1899, with the aid at his wife, the "Haynes strop" was a trade fixture. He obtained a patent, and was able to introduce and make a connection with a German manufacturer. By 1904, Haynes had imported an estimated 6,000 razor strops.

JOHN CORNELIUS ASBURY (1832-1932) was an outstanding businessman and politician. Educated at Washington and Jefferson College and Howard University, he organized the Keystone Aide Society, 1902, and opened the Eden Cemetery in Philadelphia, making burial plots available to African Americans. Its stockholders earned dividends each year during its operations. He organized the Keystone Bank in 1922, which was forced to close during the depression years of the thirties; however, not a single depositor lost money.

"MADAME" C.J. WALKER (1869-1919) millionaire cosmetic manufacturer, was born a pauper in Louisiana. Taking in laundry to make a living, she experimented with a combination at oils to condition her hair to remove the typical African American curl. This led to the development oh the straightening comb in 1905, and Madame Walker was in business.

FLOYD B. McKISSACK (1922-1991) Formerly director of the Congress of Racial Equality, McKissack resigned an director of CORE in 1968 to work full time for African American economic power. His national company helped organize and finance African American businesses. In addition to being president of Floyd B. McKissack Enterprises, he was the head of The Warren Regional Planning Corporation, Inc.

ROBERTS. BROWNE created New York's Black Economic Research Center, which provides technical assistance to African American economic development programs.

LEROY CALLENDER, one at the nation's foremast consulting engineers, designed buildings for the U.S. Army in Korea, worked on a nuclear power plant for the Consolidated Edison Company and completed the first phase design for York College, a projected university in New York City. He formed his own firm in 1969. A second, Callender and Smith, specializes in waterworks development.

REGINALD LEWIS attained the highest ranks at international finance when be purchased the European holdings at Beatrice Foods in 1987 far $985 million.

AFRICAN AMERICAN BUSINESSES

AFRICAN AMERICAN FRATERNAL ORDERS, which began with the organization of THE FREE AFRICAN SOCIETY, 1787, began to develop "insurance" features. The first was the GRAND UNITED ORDER OF TRUE REFORMERS, Virginia - 1881, organized by a Methodist preacher, W. W. Browne.

The first BANKS actually organized and operated by African Americans were: the Savings Bank of the Grand Fountain United Order of True Reformers at Richmond, l888, and the Capital Savings Bank at Washington, 1888.

The top 100 African American businesses, compiled annually by Black Enterprise, show a diversity at entrepreneurship, including entertainment (Motown Industries), publishing, cosmetics, broadcasting (Johnson Publishing Co., Inc.), hair care products and cosmetics (Johnson Products), supermarkets (Fedca Foods, Community Foods, STR Corporation), auto sales, wholesale wine and liquors, heavy construction, diversified manufacturing and distributing, petroleum, crude oil marketing, and exports, to simply name a few.