Who is making the money? How do we honor and lift up entrepreneurs in the context of economic and racial justice? These are the questions that I’ve been mulling over as we close out November and mark National Entrepreneurship Month. In 2011, President Barack Obama designated November as National Entrepreneurship Month. The significance of the first Black President of the United States, commemorating entrepreneurship nationally and understanding the entrepreneurial spirit of Black and Brown communities, is not lost on me.  

Entrepreneurship is a pathway to wealth building for Black and Brown communities 

Black and Brown businesses are a vital part of the equation that can make real movement on racial wealth gaps. Entrepreneurialism has been one of the surest ways to amass wealth in this country. Being a successful entrepreneur isn’t easy. But for many, entrepreneurialism offers a pathway to wealth creation that is absent the traditional barriers of not having a formal education or having past interactions with the ’unjust criminalization system’ pop up during employment background checks. Being an entrepreneur offers the flexibility to chart your own path and advance beyond barriers that often have nothing to do with your skills, abilities, and determination. Entrepreneurship increases one’s opportunity to create jobs for others and even hire folks from your own family and community. Entrepreneurship provides an essential pathway for legacy building – leaving behind wealth and assets for your children and other loved ones. These are some of the attributes about entrepreneurialism that President Obama lifted-up when he proclaimed November as National Entrepreneurship Month. 

Why and how entrepreneurs of color are excluded – the racist systems are working as intended 

The reality is that for far too many Black and Brown communities, the racialized challenges that must be overcome to experience wealth through business success remain constant. Access to capital, capacity and technical information is often not nearly as accessible to entrepreneurs of color. Black and Brown entrepreneurs are much likelier to be sole proprietors, making the freedom to innovate and stay up to speed on market advancements less realistic than for their White counterparts. 

The reason these racial imbalances exist are centuries in the making. We know about the racially discriminatory history of US economic policies and institutions, that clearly established who were the intended sources of capital, and who were the intended capitalist.  We also know that the design of the US economic system, fostered a legacy of structural conditions and impacts that continues today. We know all of this, and yet continue to repeat the use of policies and practices that foster economic exclusion, and that stymie Black and Brown entrepreneurship success. 

The opportunity of the “Climate Economy”: Who is making the money? 

Investments to slow, adapt to, build resilience to, and recovery from the impacts of climate change has fostered a new, rapidly advancing, global economy—a “climate economy.” The federal government is making unprecedented investments to address climate change, and federal disaster recovery spending has risen rapidly in recent years. Usually, when there is public talk about climate change, the focus is on the dangers, especially for future generations. More recently, there is growing acknowledgement and concern about the disproportionate impacts on Black and Brown communities. But what is rarely discussed is the money that is being made. Even more noteworthy, is that Black and Brown entrepreneurs are largely not amongst those that are making the money. 

When disasters strike, the emergency management, clean-up, and rebuilding that ensues, all foster economic activity. Estimates offer that federal disaster spending is around $1 billion per year. That does not include the state and local spending that is often at play as well. That is a lot of money, and it made me begin to contemplate; who is making all that money? In a recently released Prosperity Now brief, I dug around and found out a couple of disappointing, yet not surprising things.  

1. It is very difficult, if not impossible to determine the total amount of disaster relief that is allocated, per episode, across the variety of federal agencies that administer those funds.  
2. Not much data on contracts awarded through federally allocated disaster spending is being collected, especially as it relates to race and business ownership.  

Among the information I did find, my assessment was confirmed. Black and Brown entrepreneurs are vastly under participating in the climate economy. For example, while Women-owned businesses and veteran-owned businesses won roughly 13% and 19% of total business for Hurricane Harvey, respectively, Black-owned and Latino-owned firms received less than 1%. You say what? But wait, Houston is the fourth largest US city, and has a majority population of people of color. Texas has the highest Black population of any US state and is the second most diverse state overall. How can this imbalance in disaster contracting be so pronounced in such a diverse place? Why are Black and Brown people locked out of this economic activity? Why are the people, that are benefiting the most, made up of the same demographic group that created the racist capitalist structure that advanced the system of slavery, even though, population wise, they are now the minorities? 

Unfortunately, the disaster recovery sector is just a snapshot of the  racialized condition of the climate economy. The lack of comprehensive data repeats itself in other climate change related sectors. However, we know that companies like Apple and Google have recognized the lack of diversity in their suppliers and other contractors. They are responding by providing business development that supports Black and Brown entrepreneurs to gain entry to these sectors. Apple, through the launch of an Accelerator that supports 15 Black and Brown businesses working on environmental solutions. Google, has transitioned to operating full-time on carbon free energy and has launched the Black Founders Accelerator, which helps Black entrepreneurs tap the best of Google’s “programs, products, people and technology.” Both efforts are notable, but these efforts must be scaled, if real and sustained impact is to be achieved. 

Communication and education about climate change was extremely slow to be shared with Black and Brown communities. Even when shared, the narrative did not take into consideration the unique needs of those communities. Nor did it recognize the disproportionate burden of the climate problem, that they bear. So, largely, Black, and Brown communities did not engage until advocacy groups and other Black and Brown leaders, created their own framing and conducted their own educational campaigns. Opportunities to participate in the climate economy repeat those same patterns. Black and Brown entrepreneurs are not sought out to participate in critical conversations, learning and innovation and investment opportunities. If they are sought out, little to no consideration is given to supporting their capacity to participate. Remember, most Black and Brown entrepreneurs are the sole proprietors of their companies. If they aren’t actually performing their work, they are losing money. Further, the business case for participation in clean and green sectors is not shared. When Black and Brown entrepreneurs are approached about participating in clean and green sectors, the framing is often about helping the environment, rather than lifting-up economic opportunities and the future trends for these growing sectors.  

Why are we repeating the same, racialized practices that continue to result in lack of access, undercapitalization, and economic vibrance for Black and Brown entrepreneurs?

Why can’t the progressiveness that has catalyzed and grown the race to net zero, ensure that the education, resources and economic opportunities are inclusively shared? Why aren’t the rigorous and galactic voices that made climate change a global household word, demanding that the economic benefits, be enjoyed by the people that are hurt the worsts?  We must ask, in the midst of climate change that is affecting Black and Brown communities the most, who is making the money? The very communities that are affected? Or the capitalists that have always been set up to succeed?