OPINION:
I was recently in an Atlanta bookstore and came across a title marketed to grade-schoolers called “Sylvia and Marsha Start a Revolution.” The book’s cover depicts two women of color. According to its Amazon description, the book is “a playful introduction to trans identities,” telling the story of “the transgender women of color who fought for LGBTQ+ equality.”
The moral of this story and so many others like it: Children, especially minority children, should pursue social activism and “revolution” to make the world a better place.
My thought was: Why can’t this book be “Sylvia and Marsha Start a BUSINESS” and feature a tale of entrepreneurship? Starting a business is a real revolutionary act that minorities can take to empower themselves and their communities. Entrepreneurship can bring financial independence and hard-earned confidence. In fact, minority entrepreneurship is a far better vehicle to overcome racial and economic divides than activism.
Want to start a real revolution that actually improves people’s lives? Start a business. While it doesn’t make newspaper front pages, minorities across the country are doing just this — starting businesses at historic rates and eliminating racial and economic divides through entrepreneurship. This is the message that we should be sending our children.
The debate about the better way to achieve racial, economic equality — via activism or entrepreneurship — isn’t new. The Black intellectuals W.E.B. Du Bois and Booker T. Washington clashed over this question while advocating racial equality at the turn of the 20th century. Du Bois argued that activism and political power were the way for Black Americans to attain racial equality, while Washington asserted that entrepreneurship was the better approach.
Du Bois believed capitalism to be inherently racist and became a member of the Socialist Party of the United States. He argued that Black schools should teach the liberal arts to develop an elite Black leadership class. He also called on Black Americans to increase their protests and political influence.
Washington, by contrast, believed Black Americans should harness the power of capitalism to become economically independent.
He called on them to pursue “industry, thrift, education, and property” to attain financial security that would usher in social equality. Of Washington, the historian C. Vann Woodward wrote, “The businessman’s gospel of free enterprise, competition, and laissez-faire never had a more loyal exponent.” Washington pushed for Black schools to focus on trades and entrepreneurship to teach students the skills they needed to earn a living.
Intellectuals and the media have celebrated Du Bois’ political approach, while Washington has been accused of selling out Black interests. Today, Du Bois’ spiritual descendants, including the Black intellectuals Ta-Nehisi Coates and Ibram X. Kendi, are similarly feted for their political activism.
Yet with time, Washington’s entrepreneurial approach has proved the better way to overcome racial and economic divides. Black political dominance in major U.S. cities in recent generations has not translated to economic equality among the races. In fact, minority residents in these areas often face high crime and a dearth of economic opportunity. By many economic measures, Barack Obama’s presidency was detrimental to Black Americans. His anti-capitalist policies reduced entrepreneurship avenues for the most vulnerable Americans.
In contrast, Black Americans and other minorities are quietly overcoming racial and economic disparities by heeding Washington’s call to entrepreneurship. These are the forgotten minorities of America’s racial story. Their incredible economic achievements are largely overlooked by society today. These real race revolutionaries eschew media glory for actual racial progress.
• Alfredo Ortiz is president and CEO of Job Creators Network. This column is adapted from his new book, “The Real Race Revolutionaries: How Minority Entrepreneurship Can Overcome America’s Racial and Economic Divides.”
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