Medill Newsmakers: The State of Black Entrepreneurs

By Haydee Clotter

A Medill Newsmakers Report

African Americans own 1.9 million businesses in the United States, an increase of nearly 61 percent from 2002, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, American Express 2015 State of Women-Owned Business Report, Wells Fargo and Gallup’s Small Business and Diverse Segments Lending Study.

In this edition of Medill Newsmakers, black male entrepreneurs from Chicago, Austin and San Francisco discussed how they started their business, how race plays a role in their business and the future of black entrepreneurs.

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Photo at top:Haydee Clotter with local Chicago entrepreneurs, John Thomas and Jimmy Prude.(Haydee Clotter/MEDILL)