Black Business

OPEN FOR BUSINESS IN THE BLACK METROPOLIS:
RACE, DISADVANTAGE, AND ENTREPRENEURIAL
ACTIVITY IN CHICAGO’S INNER CITY
Cedric Herring

Butler argues that there has always been a portion of the Afro-American
community which has attempted to adapt to racism and discrimination
in the same way as did middleman minority groups. This “truncated
Afro-American middleman” group is grounded in the tradition of selfhelp,
education, and entrepreneurship. This group is responsible for the
creation of Afro-American businesses, educational institutions, and organizations
within the Afro-American community. Because a great deal of
institution building took place in segregated environments, this groups’
aspirations were grounded in their community rather than the white community,
and they supported and took pride in Afro-American institutions
even when they began to live in integrated communities.