The Golden Age of Black Business (1900–1930)
An era of true entrepreneurship and Black excellence
Doctor Juliet E.K. Walker, a business historian who wrote The History of Black Business in America: Capitalism, Race, Entrepreneurship (2009), called the period between 1900 and 1930 the “Golden Age of Black Business”. Why? Because businesses owned by African-Americans were growing faster than ever at the time.
With racial division harshly dividing communities of color from their counterparts, predominantly African-American communities were often left to fend for themselves. Many of the businesses started by African-American entrepreneurs had one primary goal: to serve. Banks, barbershops, restaurants, etc. fulfilled the needs of their customers and created a large number of jobs, effectively building wealth within communities of color.
Black Wall Street
Before the Tusla Race Massacre of 1921, many African-Americans moved to Tulsa’s Greenwood district with the hopes of distancing themselves from racial oppression in the south and providing a better education for their children. In a time when Black ownership was exceedingly rare, African-American landowner Ottawa W. Gurley purchased 40 acres of land in 1906 and started the first Black business in the district: a boarding house where many African-American migrants found refuge. Over time, Greenwood grew to house a plethora of thriving Black businesses, from clothing stores, barbershops, and doctors’ offices to restaurants, theaters, and nightclubs. Gurley himself owned at least 100 businesses of his own and even loaned money to aspiring business owners to help them bring their ideas to fruition.
Greenwood was a wealthy, self-reliant community funded and run by its own creative citizens. A newspaper called the Tulsa Star kept Greenwood residents informed about their rights and updated them on new court rulings or pieces of legislation. They looked out for each other, aware of the dangerous racial violence prevalent in the country.
Unfortunately, their fears became reality on May 31, 1921, when the Tulsa Massacre began. Billowing smoke enveloped buildings as mobs torched houses, stores, churches, etc. By the time the dark clouds cleared, about 1,000 homes and businesses were demolished and about 300 Black Greenwood residents were killed. Today, the Greenwood District has yet to recover, but its rich history definitely contributed to the Golden Age of Black Business.
The National Negro Business League
Led by Booker T. Washington, the National Negro Business League was founded in 1900 in Boston, Massachusetts. Washington believed that part of the solution to achieve racial and social equality was a rise in the number of African-American entrepreneurs and businesses. While speaking at the league’s first meeting, he reminded the hundreds of delegates that the strive for economic growth was not simply for material gain. Instead, he told them, it should be viewed as “a means of aiding us in securing our rightful place as citizens and of enlarging our opportunities for securing that education and development” (Hartshorn).
In a letter dated June 15, 1900, Washington pinpointed “the need of an organization that will bring the colored people who are engaged in business together, for consultation, and to secure information and inspiration from each other” (Hartshorn). He envisioned an association of successful, intelligent Black entrepreneurs working together to grow their businesses and help their communities. As years passed with this vision in mind, the league cultivated a large network of Black business owners all across the country from a variety of sectors in the business world.
Later renamed the “National Business League”, the organization is now headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Just as it did decades before, the league promotes financial literacy within the African-American community and encourages entrepreneurship.
The businesses previously located in Black Wall Street and involved in the National Negro Business League, along with others scattered across the country, stand as evidence of the overwhelming number of Black businesses that began during the Golden Age of Black Business.
Sources
“Baker Library Special Collections Exhibits.” Harvard Business School, President & Fellows of Harvard College, https://www.library.hbs.edu/hc/AASU/the-golden-age-of-black-business/.
Bernardo, Joseph. “National Negro Business League (1900 — ) .” National Negro Business League (1900 — ), Blackpast.org, 26 Nov. 2008, https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/national-negro-business-league/.
Clark, Alexis. “9 Entrepreneurs Who Helped Build Tulsa’s ‘Black Wall Street’.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 14 May 2021, https://www.history.com/news/black-wall-street-tulsa-visionaries.
Clark, Alexis. “Tulsa’s ‘Black Wall Street’ Flourished as a Self-Contained Hub in Early 1900s.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 4 Sept. 2019, https://www.history.com/news/black-wall-street-tulsa-race-massacre.
Dailey, Maceo. “The History of Black Business in America: Capitalism, Race, Entrepreneurship.” EH.net, Economic History Association, June 1999, https://eh.net/book_reviews/the-history-of-black-business-in-america-capitalism-race-entrepreneurship/.
Hartshorn, William N. “Era of Progress and Promise, 1863–1910 : the Religious, Moral, and Educational Development of the American Negro since His Emancipation.” North Carolina Digital Collections, Priscilla Pub. Co., https://digital.ncdcr.gov/digital/collection/p249901coll37/id/4158.
Hill, Larry, et al. O. W. Gurley — Black Wall Street. http://blackwallstreet.org/owgurley.
Prieto, Leon C., and Simone T.A. Phipps. “How 20th-Century Black Business Leaders Envisioned a More Just Capitalism.” Harvard Business Review, Harvard Business Publishing, 7 Apr. 2021, https://hbr.org/2021/04/how-20th-century-black-business-leaders-envisioned-a-more-just-capitalism.
Sullivan, Missy. “‘Black Wall Street’ before, during and after the Tulsa Race Massacre: Photos.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 24 May 2021, https://www.history.com/news/tulsa-massacre-black-wall-street-before-and-after-photos.
