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Lawrence Spearman
Middle and high school Black students, especially those who find themselves struggling academically, too often complain that school seems irrelevant to both their present and future lives. The lack of understanding these students have about the workings of the market—and their place in it—systematically denies them opportunities for pursuing their dreams. Consequently, without dreams to pursue, many Black youth have little reason to invest in education and their own development.
Previous research has revealed that Black youth have the highest entrepreneurial expectations amongst Asian, Hispanic and White youth. However, research also shows that Black youth do not have access to enough entrepreneurial programs to convert their desire into achievement. Thus, there is need to create more entrepreneurial programs for Black youth with relevant vision, goals and objectives.
A 1999 study by the Office of Advocacy in the U.S. Small Business Administration estimates that between 1987 and 1997, the number of minority-owned businesses more than doubled. The revenues and number of employees nearly quadrupled.
Much of this growth, however, came from recently arrived Asian and Hispanic immigrants. Moreover, Asians produced more than half of the half billion dollars in revenue minority businesses generated in 1997.
To help counter this trend, youth entrepreneurial programs have sprung up that train youth in Black communities. Here are some examples:
- The National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) teaches the fundamentals of business to more than 4,000 low-income kids a year. Its business model is typical of all the youth entrepreneurial programs.
- The NAACP recently launched its $1 million Reginald F. Lewis Youth Entrepreneurial Institute, which helps young entrepreneurs write and implement business plans.
- Under the slogan, "It's dough money, not dope money," Champs Cookies Youth Entrepreneurship Society trains 60 African-American children a year how to manufacture and market their edible products in the nation's capital.
On the surface, these programs seem highly beneficial, but after a closer look, questions arise about the lessons being taught.
WHAT PRODUCTS AND SERVICES ARE CONSIDERED?
Are Black youth taught to produce items genuinely needed by the community, or Pet Rocks and Saturday Night Specials? The business product used by NFTE throughout its materials is T-shirt silk-screening. The only important product consideration, according to NFTE, is that the product "must satisfy a need of the consumer," not the many needs of the community.
WHAT EMPLOYEE POLICY IS TAUGHT?
When you learn how to be an effective entrepreneur, you also learn the importance of paying livable wages and giving health-care coverage to your employees. The NFTE training program has a section on "ethical business behavior," but the focus is on ensuring that customers feel you are punctual, reliable, courteous, and well dressed, and that employees do not feel "used" – no mention is made of the role of wages or benefits.
WHO OWNS THE EQUIPMENT AND MATERIALS?
Is the ownership local, or is it a branch of Starkist Inc. with little commitment to the community? The NFTE entrepreneurship materials teach that: "Businesses come in three basic legal structures: The sole proprietorship, the partnership, and the corporations." However, the most popular business ownership structures in the community – cooperatives, municipally owned, and community stock-held companies – are not even mentioned.
Too many youth entrepreneurship programs measure success by the number of local companies that become publicly owned, stock trading companies and the number of entrepreneurs transformed into millionaires.
