Is Black business ownership the path to economic equity? Can we rebuild Black Wall Streets across America in ways that benefit everyone? We often talk about bringing jobs to struggling communities, but creating wealth vs. providing paychecks are two different strategies. Black Wall Street in Tulsa and numerous other Black business districts in places like Atlanta, Georgia, and Durham, North Carolina, were thriving Black business districts despite the economic and social burdens of segregation and Jim Crow policies in the American south. How can we learn from the success of these Black business districts and use those lessons to build localized economies that benefit everyone with a larger tax base, lower need for emergency and support services, and more jobs for all.
Programming descriptions are generated by participants and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of SXSW.
Nehemiah Frank
The Black Wall Street Times
Karen Freeman-Wilson
Chicago Urban League
Philip Gaskin
Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation
Melissa Harris-Perry
Wake Forest University