On the recordJune 17, 2013
I want to thank my colleagues for anchoring tonight's CBC Special Order on entrepreneurship in the Black community. Since 1963, the President of the United States has issued a proclamation designating a week in which the country applauds the critical contributions of America's entrepreneurs and small business owners. Annually, we recognize the fact that, though they are called ``small businesses,'' there is nothing small about the impact they have on the Nation's economy. Last year, small businesses created nearly 700,000 jobs, accounting for 40 percent of employment gains across companies of all sizes nationwide. So it is fair to say that small businesses are truly the backbone of our economy and that entrepreneurship is still a primary pathway to realizing the American Dream. This is particularly true in the Black community. The heart of entrepreneurship is opportunity, and, historically, Black entrepreneurship has meant opportunities for equality, equity and a vehicle out of poverty. Throughout the years, Black entrepreneurs have harnessed economic power to strengthen the Black community, create jobs and develop a voice to advocate for the well-being of Blacks in America. After the Civil War, though employment prospects were slim for former enslaved men, Isaac Myers organized 1,000 black ship caulkers who had lost their jobs in Baltimore. He created a union, bought a shipyard and won a government contract to provide employment for these men.…
